Lynching of Michael Green

Michael Green was an African American man who was lynched by a band of masked men near Upper Marlboro, Maryland, on September 1, 1878.

Green was arrested on August 26, 1878, in connection with an allegation that he had assaulted a woman identified as Miss Alice Sweeny. He was held at the jail in Upper Marlboro following his arrest.

In the days following his arrest, threats of lynching were openly made against Green. These threats were held off for a period of time due to the vigilance of Sheriff James N.W. Wilson, who was responsible for the jail where Green was held.

Despite the sheriff's efforts, after several days a band of masked men removed Green from the jail. The men placed a noose around his neck and hanged him from a tree outside of town, reportedly suspending his body approximately 15 feet in the air. His body remained hanging from the tree overnight and was observed by others the following morning.

The case remains associated with the broader history of extrajudicial lynching violence against African Americans in Maryland in the late nineteenth century.