Silence Descends: Lynchings and Their Aftermath in Lafayette and Union Counties, Mississippi

The role of silence is explored with regard to how two lynchings in North Mississippi have, or have not, been memorialized. L.Q. Ivy was lynched in Union County in 1925. Despite several newspaper articles over the decades since the lynching has occurred his death is not acknowledged in the local history narrative, nor is it memorialized with a marker. Elwood Higginbottom was lynched in neighboring Lafayette County in 1935 and, despite a silence that has persisted for decades, has recently been memorialized. The process of memorializing Higginbottom’s lynching and what it has meant to the family is compared to the continuing silence around Ivy. In addition, the development of a MFA project incorporating an experimental “illustrated audio” piece and website is described.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.F.A. in Documentary Expression

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Southern Studies

Year dc:date.available

2019

Author dc:creator

• Smith, Jonathan

Contributors dc:contributor

• Andy Harper
• John Rash
• David Wharton

• documentary
• lynching
• memorialization
• race relations
• Other International and Area Studies

Repository record dc:identifier

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/1561

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:egrove.olemiss.edu:etd-2560