On 100 Years Later, A Black Man Finally Loves Joplin
The author of this article oversimplifies the events that took place in Joplin. Joplin continued to have a black community after the lynching of Thomas Gilyard. It is true that some blacks left, but many returned to Joplin and remained there. I think it’s unfortunate that the author makes the sensationalist statement, “It’s been a long time since an African-American publicly loved Joplin, or vice versa.” It makes for good press, but it’s not an accurate statement. Read the book and get the full story.
For those who asked, the book jacket states: The cover is from the "Politics, Farming, and Law in Missouri" panel of A Social History of the State of Missouri mural by Thomas Hart Benton. You can view it at the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City.
"Caralle Wild" is mentioned in this article, but her name was Gisele Wild.
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On 100 Years Later, A Black Man Finally Loves Joplin
@Abe Sauer
It's clever to use Google News Archive, NewsBank, and ProQuest Historical Newspapers to do a little background research for your article, but you must realize that national newspapers rarely reported the facts as they occurred at the local level, as noted in my previous response that the name of Gisele Wild was incorrect. It's always best to look at the local paper, rather than how it was reported 1000 miles away over the wire.
Larry James' book is poorly researched. If you'll notice, he ripped off a lot of information from a website called Historic Joplin. As for his Eisenhower quote, I contacted the Eisenhower Presidential Library when his book came out and the staff there could not find any reference to Eisenhower making such a statement about Joplin.
As for Langston Hughes, no one has been able to definitively say whether or not his family left Joplin because of the lynching. It is worth noting Hughes' parents would, like any black at this time in history, have had limited opportunities. You forget that by the 1920s many blacks left the rural countryside to move to the cities where they could find gainful employment. It wasn't just a problem in Joplin, it was a problem everywhere.
If you were a local, you would realize that today that Joplin is more diverse than ever, even if it doesn't have an overwhelming number of African-Americans. The Joplin metro area is home to African-Americans, Hmongs, Hispanics from all over Latin America, Somalians, Micronesians, and other folks. Just because blacks and other minorities do not in the area in overwhelming numbers does not mean that the locals have been waving torches and pitchforks for the last few decades. If you visited, you might just find the area to be more hospitable than you imagined, and discover that a "live and let live" approach colors the region.