Unsolved case · 1919
Also known as Will Temple · John Temple
File:Willie temple marker.jpgCredit: DrmiesCC BY-SA 4.0SourceThe short answer
Willie Temple, a wounded African American railroad cook, was shot to death by a white mob inside a Montgomery, Alabama hospital on September 30, 1919, after a police officer was killed during his arrest.
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Suggest coverage for Lynching of Willie TempleWillie (also called Will or "John") Temple was an African American man born in 1894, the oldest of four children of farmers Lewis and Ella (Shorter) Temple. He worked as a cook for the Louisville and Nashville Railroad in Montgomery, Alabama.
On the night of September 29, 1919, Temple and another man were returning from a dance when a third man approached them and a fight broke out. A police officer, J. J. Barbaree (also spelled "Barbare" in a contemporary newspaper account), attempted to arrest the men, and shots were exchanged between Temple and Barbaree. The officer died from his wounds, and Temple, who was also wounded in the exchange, was arrested at a colleague's house.
Temple was taken to Hale Infirmary, a hospital serving African American residents of Montgomery. In the early morning hours of September 30, 1919, shortly after 2 a.m., a white mob entered the infirmary and shot Temple to death despite the presence of two police officers at the scene.
Temple's killing occurred during the period known as the Red Summer of 1919, a wave of racist violence and rioting across the United States. Two other men in Montgomery — both veterans of the Armed Forces — had been murdered the day before Temple's death.
A jar containing soil collected from the site of Temple's killing is held at The Legacy Museum in Montgomery. The jar is labeled "John Temple." It was filled by Vanzetta Penn McPherson, a retired magistrate judge for the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, and activist Anthony Ray Hinton, as part of a broader effort to memorialize sites of racial terror lynchings.
No individual is documented as having been identified or charged in connection with Temple's killing.
Willie Temple born, the oldest of four children of Lewis and Ella (Shorter) Temple.
Temple and another man are approached by a third man after a dance; a fight breaks out. Police officer J. J. Barbaree attempts to arrest them; shots are exchanged and Barbaree is fatally wounded. Temple, also wounded, is arrested at a colleague's house.
Just after 2 a.m., a white mob enters Hale Infirmary in Montgomery, Alabama, and shoots Temple to death despite the presence of two police officers.
Victims first. Every legal label is set from public records and court outcomes, not from the prose.
Police officer killed during an exchange of gunfire with Temple on September 29, 1919, while attempting an arrest.[4]
African American railroad cook, wounded and arrested after a police officer was killed, then killed by a white mob at Hale Infirmary on September 30, 1919.[4]
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