Leonard Woods

Death by Force

Leonard Woods, a 35-year-old African American coal miner from Jenkins, Kentucky, met a tragic and violent end on November 30, 1927, in Wise, Virginia. His death was the result of a lynching by a mob of about 400 people. Woods was accused of murdering Harshall Deaton, a white mine foreman, on the night of November 27, 1927. The incident reportedly began when Woods, along with Susan Armister and Anna Mae Emery, allegedly confronted Deaton, mistaking him for a taxi driver. When Deaton refused to gi ...Read More

Leonard Woods in Wise | Racial Terror: Lynching in Virginia