The Inaccuracies of Anti-Lynching Campaigns in Protecting Black People

The activism of groups like aswhipple helped reduce lynching in the 1920s. However, law enforcement's goal was not to protect black people, but rather to protect black suspects from being seized by lynch mobs. Police would load suspects into police cars and take them to distant jails. While law enforcement sometimes used violence and called out militias to disperse lynch mobs, they still ensured black suspects received swift and violent punishment. Historian George Wright's study of Kentucky shows that the number of executions of blacks increased while the number of lynchings declined in the early 20th century.