.:unconditionally:.: .:james t scott:.

I have never seen so many DSLRs and videocameras in one place in my life.

James T. Scott is a name that few recognized until recent. As the story goes, the Columbia Missourian ran an article with the headline "Columbia was Once the Scene of Lynching: How many people in Columbia today would believe that a law-abiding town, such as Columbia is now, was ever the scene of a lynching?" Only, that headline ran in the evening paper of the Missourian in 1920. James T. Scott was lynched in Columbia in 1923, only three years later.

The daughter of a white Mizzou professor, Regina Almstedt was assaulted by a black man while walking home one day on April 21st, 1923. The man told her that a white man had stolen his wife and that he was determined to ruin the next white woman he saw. Regina tried to defend herself by using her umbrella to deal out quite a few blows to her attacker, so much so that she ended up breaking her umbrella in the process. Though the attack, thankfully, did not end in her defilement, Regina was still badly bruised and cut and was slipping into shock by the time she reached home. James T. Scott was picked up April 25th when a witness came forward to claim the large sum offered as a reward for any informants. The witness stated that he had seen James T. Scott in the area of the attack at about the right time. Regina picked him out from the line-up of men (James had a Charlie Chaplain mustache like the one she said her assailant had). She identified him for a second time at the jail, declaring that he was the one who had attacked her despite the fact that James had no bruising or cuts on his face like the ones Regina, by her own admission, said that she had given her attacker in the struggle. Also, James was still happily married, unlike her assailant who had declared his revenge for his wife leaving him. Despite these major inconsistencies, James was charged with attempted rape--a sentence that could bring anywhere from five years to death. He was placed in the county jail to await his trial.

The night of April 28th an angry mob began to form. The mob demanded the sheriff hand over Scott for justice. The sheriff refused. Calls were made to the National Guard and to the Governor of Missouri to come and protect Scott. No one ever responded. By the time it busted into the county jail, it was almost 500 men strong. The men had chisels and hammers but when the iron doors to Scott's cell proved impregnable they called for a torch. The sheriff and police watched on as the mob swarmed in after they got the door down and wrapped a noose around Scott's neck and took him from the jail. The story continues that the mob took him down the street to the Stewart bridge where more than 2,000 people were waiting, cheering and calling for justice. Scott lost his life that night, a little after midnight on April 29th. A mob lynching took place in Columbia, Missouri. A place that only three years prior had scoffed at the idea that such an event could happen. An innocent man lost his life and for that we should all be saddened.

Scott was buried in the segregated black part of Columbia cemetery with no marker. Eventually it was determined through several descriptions where he was likely laid to rest and a temporary marker was placed in the 1990s. In September of 2010, a committee was formed to try to raise funds for a permanent headstone to be placed for Scott. The committee decided that they would have a time to celebrate Scott's life and his new memorial gravestone on the anniversary of his death in April. The support they received for their efforts was so overwhelming that not only did the committee raise enough funds for a beautiful headstone, but people from all over the country wanted to come and be a part of the celebration of James T. Scott's life. It was time to undo the terrible injustice that happened so many years ago.

So on Saturday, April 29th, exactly 88 years to the day that Scott lost his life, he was greatly celebrated by the citizens of Columbia and beyond. Relatives of Regina Almstedt and several other key players in the pursuit of getting Scott real justice were present. The service began with a dedication and a joyous celebration of his life at Second Missionary Baptist Church and moved on to a New Orleans style funeral march to Columbia cemetery where a graveside memorial was held. James T. Scott has now been honored as a citizen and a wonderful man, as he should have been so many years ago.

If you would like to read more of the story, you can visit the short e-book written several years ago here.

Second Baptist was packed, with even more people in their fellowship hall. It really was standing room only. Everywhere.

These are the children of Leigh Nutter, a journalist who not only reported the event, but also later became part of the trials to convict the persons responsible for Scott's lynching.

Rev. Clyde Ruffin helped to start the initiative in the first place. He is a pastor, a department head at Mizzou, and a man of much wisdom and dedication to history.