

Good Morning POU.
The Hanging Bridge in Mississippi, also known as the Shubuta Bridge, was the site of at least six hangings between 1918 and 1942. White vigilantes would hang Black people from the bridge and dump their bodies into the Chickasawhay River. The bridge is now closed to traffic but still stands as a haunting reminder of the horrors inflicted during the Jim Crow era.
The story of the Clark brothers and the Howze sisters is a haunting reminder of the horrors inflicted upon Black people during the Jim Crow era. In Shubuta, Mississippi, 1918, four young lives were violently taken by a mob in one of the darkest chapters of American history. This is not an easy story to tell, but it is a necessary one. By examining the details of their lives, the events leading to their deaths, and the context of the society in which they lived, we give dignity to the victims and ensure their tragedy is not forgotten.
Mississippi: The Lynching Capital of America

Lynching in Mississippi was a defining characteristic of the state’s post-Civil War society. From the late 19th century through the early 20th century, Black people lived under the constant threat of racial violence. Mississippi led the nation in lynching statistics, with over 538 recorded cases by 1962. The state had the highest numbers in multiple categories: total lynchings, multiple lynchings at once, female victims, and cases involving victims taken from police custody. The brutality was unmatched, with Black men and women subjected to unimaginable torture, including burnings, drownings, and mutilations.
The Clark and Howze Families
Major Clark and Andrew Clark were the sons of Eddie and Charity Clark, both likely born into slavery. The Clarks had managed to own their own farm in Clarke County, Mississippi—a rare achievement for Black families in the South. Major, 20, and Andrew, 15, worked diligently to support their family.
Maggie Howze and her younger sister, Alma, came from a family of sharecroppers. Born to Elias and Amanda Howze, they, too, were descendants of enslaved people. Alma, just 16, and Maggie, 24, came from a family of sharecroppers and worked hard to support their family under challenging circumstances.
The Johnston Family and Everett’s Decline
Dr. Everett Johnston, a disgraced dentist and member of a prominent white family, played a central role in this tragedy. His family’s wealth and influence had allowed him to escape accountability for his reckless behavior, including his predatory actions toward the Howze sisters. By 1918, Johnston had abandoned his dental practice and returned to Shubuta to work on his family’s farm. Rumors swirled about his affairs with both Black and white women, creating tension in the community.
Everett Johnston invited Maggie and Alma to work on his farm, ostensibly for domestic or sharecropping labor. His true intention, however, was to exploit them. Both sisters became pregnant by him, and his obsessive control over them set the stage for a horrific chain of events.
A Tragic Love Story
Major Clark and his younger brother Andrew were sent to the Johnston farm by their father, Eddie Clark, to work off a debt owed for a mule the family had purchased. The brothers labored diligently on the farm, hoping to relieve their family’s financial burden. During their time there, Major grew close to Maggie Howze, who was also working on the farm. Their bond deepened, and Major fell in love with her. The two planned to marry, a decision that enraged Everett Johnston. Determined to maintain his control over Maggie and Alma, Johnston confronted Major and demanded he leave Maggie alone. His anger was not rooted in concern for his farm or reputation but in the sinister fact that he had impregnated both sisters.
The Crime and the Mob’s Response
On December 10, 1918, Everett Johnston was shot while milking a cow. Although no evidence implicated Major Clark, suspicion immediately fell on him. Arrested and taken to a jail in Meridian, Major was subjected to horrific torture. Authorities used a vise to crush his testicles, forcing him into a false confession. Under extreme duress, Major claimed that he, his brother Andrew, and the Howze sisters had conspired to kill Johnston.
Following Major’s coerced confession, Andrew Clark, Maggie Howze, and Alma Howze were also arrested. The four were initially jailed in Quitman but were later transported to a less secure jail in Shubuta. This jail, with minimal defenses, was guarded by a single deputy, William Crane. It became evident that the transfer was deliberate, setting the stage for what would follow. Mob members began to gather, and it was clear that plans for the lynching were already in motion.
The Hanging Bridge
On December 20, 1918, a mob of white men descended on the jail in Shubuta. After disabling the town’s power supply and overpowering the sole deputy guarding the jail, they seized the Clark brothers and Howze sisters. The mob transported them to a steel-framed bridge outside of town, ominously known as the Hanging Bridge.

At the bridge, the mob prepared four nooses. Despite the victims’ pleas for their lives and Alma’s desperate cries for the unborn child she was due to deliver in two weeks, the mob showed no mercy. Maggie, too, was pregnant, five months along. When she begged for her life, a mob member struck her in the mouth with a wrench, smashing her teeth. As Maggie watched, her younger sister and fiancé were thrown over the bridge to their deaths. She fought desperately to save herself and her unborn baby, clinging to the bridge’s railings after being thrown over multiple times, but the mob ensured she would not survive.
Aftermath and Injustice
The next day, their bodies were cut down by white men, as no Black residents dared approach the site. Witnesses later reported seeing Alma’s unborn baby move inside her lifeless body. The families of the victims could not claim their loved ones’ remains due to threats of violence. Instead, they were buried in unmarked graves, denied even the dignity of a proper funeral.

The coroner’s jury predictably concluded that “unknown persons” had committed the lynchings. Governor Theodore Bilbo dismissed calls for an investigation, telling the NAACP to “go to hell.”
The NAACP Investigation
After reports of the lynching reached the NAACP, the organization quickly acted to uncover the truth. Walter White, a 26-year-old investigator, was dispatched to Shubuta to piece together what had happened. White’s ability to pass as a white man allowed him to gain access to information that would otherwise have been denied to him. He posed as a Northern businessman interested in purchasing land, a cover he often used to investigate lynchings. While in Shubuta, White interviewed locals, including sympathetic Black residents and boastful white townspeople, gathering details about the events leading to the lynching. Despite the danger he faced, White’s investigation revealed a vastly different narrative than what local newspapers reported. His findings were later published in the NAACP’s The Crisis magazine, where he exposed the brutality of the lynching and the lies used to justify it.
Remembering the Victims
The lynching of the Clark brothers and the Howze sisters is a harrowing example of the racial terror that defined the Jim Crow South. It highlights the systemic failure of the legal system, the complicity of white communities, and the unimaginable suffering endured by Black families.
By telling their story, we honor Major, Andrew, Maggie, and Alma. Their lives mattered, and their deaths must never be forgotten. This history is painful, but it is essential to confront if we are to reckon with America’s legacy of racial violence and strive toward justice.