Why Lynchings Happened

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Three black men were lynched by a white mob in Memphis, Tennessee. The women had been co-owners of a local grocery store. Their story shocked their friends and prompted them to find out why it happened. They discovered that the stories they'd heard about lynchings didn't hold true.

How well do the news media serve us as citizens, and what role does the notion of “objective,” or “neutral,” journalism play in the failings of American democracy?

Story reported by Lewis Raven Wallace, with host/producer John Biewen and collaborator Chenjerai Kumanyika. Interviews with David Mindich, Nikole Hannah-Jones, and Kevin Young.

The series editor is Loretta Williams. *The View from Somewhere *editor: Ramona Martinez. Music by Algiers, John Erik Kaada, Eric Neveux, and Lucas Biewen. Music consulting and production help from Joe Augustine of Narrative Music.