Constructions of Responsibility for Three 1920 Lynchings in Minnesota Newspapers

Abstract

For decades, Minnesota history books omitted the 1920 lynchings of three black men by a mob in one of the largest cities, and residents seemed to forget or “bury” it. This study explored how initial coverage of the event in seventeen Minnesota newspapers constructed responsibility for the lynchings and likely shaped perceptions that might explain their seeming absence from collective memory. Coverage in the newspapers showed: several constructions of responsibility for the lynchings; dominant voices that reinforced the dominant constructions; reinforcement of a dominant white social structure and institutions, such as the police and law enforcement mechanisms; and what was not reported or was slighted, such as certain ideas and voices of black and white women and black men. Ultimately, this showed that the coverage contributed to hegemony through marginalizing some groups, individuals, and ideas related to it.