More than a century after 7 Black men were lynched, an Indiana teen sought to rectify the injustice

Subject

Sophie Kloppenburg; Posey County

Description

Mount Vernon, Indiana — Sophie Kloppenburg stepped up to a lectern, said her name and without uttering another word, she received a standing ovation. 

What did the 17-year-old do to deserve such respect in Posey County, Indiana? She rectified an injustice, 144 years in the making. 

In 1878, after a rape allegation, seven Black men were lynched and four of them were hanged directly outside the county courthouse they never got to set foot in. It was the largest lynching in state history. Yet the whole incident had been largely forgotten — until Kloppenburg heard about it. 

Creator

BY STEVE HARTMAN

Source

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/steve-hartman-on-the-road-sophie-kloppenburg-lynching-memorial-posey-county-indiana/

Publisher

cbsnews,com

File

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