Murder of Thomas Coleman
1866 racist hate crime lynching in Utah
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Thomas Coleman (c. 1832 – December 10, 1866), a Black man formerly enslaved by Mormons, was murdered in 1866 in Salt Lake City, Utah.[2][1] Sources report the lynching was a hate crime and was committed by a friend or family member (or multiple people) of a White woman Coleman allegedly had been seen walking with before.[5] The killer(s) slit his throat deeply and castrated his body. They then dumped his body near where the Utah State Capitol is now located,[6][2] and pinned a note to his chest which said in large letters, "Notice to all niggers! Take warning!! Leave white women alone!!!"[7]: 181
Thomas Coleman | |
|---|---|
| Born | Circa 1832[1] |
| Died | December 10, 1866 (aged 33–34)[1] |
Cause of death | Lynching, head bludgeoned with a large rock, throat cut with a knife[2][1] |
Body discovered | 11 Dec 1866,[1] 40.7759°N 111.8911°W |
Burial place | Salt Lake City Cemetery[1] 200 "N" Street: 40.776918°N 111.859853°W |
| Other names | "Nigger Tom",[2][3][4] Thomas Colburn,[2] Thomas Bankhead[2] |
| Occupation | Hotel attendant[1] |
| Employer | Brigham Young[1] |
| Organization | The Salt Lake House[1] |
Background
At the time, Salt Lake City's population was overwhelmingly White and 90% Mormon,[8] and church members were strongly influenced by church leaders' anti-interracial-marriage teachings in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).[9] For example, church president and former governor of the Utah Territory, Brigham Young taught on at least three occasions (1847,[10] 1852,[11] and 1865[12]) that the punishment for Black–White interracial marriages was death. He gave the example of beheading as a fitting method in one instance.[11] Young further stated the killing of a Black–White interracial couple and their children as part of a blood atonement would be a blessing to them.[13]: 37, 39 [14] Additionally, Utah's predominantly LDS government had outlawed Black-White marriages in 1852.[9] Nationwide, the ethnic stereotype caricaturing Black men as brutes who often raped White women was used as a justification for lynching.[15]