Lynching of Felix Hall

For the English manor hall, see Fillol's Hall.

Felix Hall was a Black man from Alabama who, at age 19, was lynched, probably by fellow soldiers in Fort Benning, Georgia.[1] Hall had volunteered to join an African-American unit being trained in Fort Benning. He was last seen alive on February 12, 1941, in one of the fort's white neighborhoods. His body was found six weeks later, on March 28, hanging by a noose tied to a tree in a ravine near the Chattahoochee River.[2]

The killers were never found, and evidence suggests that no serious efforts were made at the time by the Army or the FBI to discover the cause of Hall's death.[2] Investigators first called the death a suicide, despite Hall's hands being tied, and later called it a sex crime.[1]

In 2021, a plaque in Hall's memory was installed at Fort Benning. Congressman Sanford D. Bishop Jr., who represents the district where Fort Benning is located, said, "This memorial reminds us of our duty to assure equality and justice for all those who follow in Private Hall’s footsteps in service to our nation."[3]

References

  1. ^ a b Stecopoulos, Harilaos; Stecopoulos, Harry (2008). Reconstructing the World: Southern Fictions and U.S. Imperialisms, 1898-1976. Cornell University Press. p. 108. ISBN 978-0-8014-7502-3.
  2. ^ a b Mills, Alexa (2 September 2016). "The story of the only known lynching on a U.S. military base in American history". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  3. ^ Mills, Alexa (August 1, 2021). "Army to memorialize Black soldier lynched on Georgia base 80 years ago". Washington Post. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
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