Existing comment:
Mrs. Frazer Baker and Children, c. 1899
Account of the Frazer B. Baker lynching trial, 1899
President William McKinley appointed hundreds of African American postmasters, including Frazer B. Baker of Lake City, South Carolina. Local whites burned the post office to force Baker to resign; when he did not, they burned his house and shot his family as they escaped. Because Baker was a U.S. government employee, his murder led to a federal trial. None of the accused were convicted, but the incident brought national attention to the lynching problem. |