Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

Files

File List

Full text release has been delayed at the author's request until June 01, 2025

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

The Lynching of Christopher Davis: A History of Race Relations in Athens, Ohio

Zdinak, Jordan L.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1586352303239274

Abstract Details

2020, Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, History (Arts and Sciences).
The lynching era in the United States lasted from 1880-1940 and occurred due to White men attempting to maintain supremacy over all hierarchies: Racial, gender, and class. They spread racist views about the oversexualization of African American men to create an irrational fear of the Black rapist and to discourage White women from miscegenation. White supremacists also used this fear and excuse for lynching to keep Black Americans in a marginalized position and prevent them from prospering economically or politically. These views existed in unexpected places thought to have good race relations. The lynching of Christopher Davis that occurred in Athens, Ohio, in 1881 exemplifies these characteristics of lynchings across the United States. To say lynching was a southern phenomenon is inaccurate and ignores how powerful and widespread White supremacy was. The newspapers that reported on the lynching of Christopher Davis tried to distort Davis’s image, which was common practice for lynch victims in the United States. Today, the media still attempts to defame Black Americans, and the violence on Black bodies continues in a different form. Racist views that stem from the history of lynchings are passed on through generations and are still prevalent today.
Katherine Jellison, Dr. (Advisor)
Marianna Dantas, Dr. (Committee Member)
Kevin Mattson, Dr. (Committee Member)
121 p.
African Americans; American History; Black History
Lynching; Ohio; Christopher Davis; Race Relations; Gender; Violence; Black Americans; Legacies; Biases

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Zdinak, J. L. (2020). The Lynching of Christopher Davis: A History of Race Relations in Athens, Ohio [Master's thesis, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1586352303239274

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Zdinak, Jordan. The Lynching of Christopher Davis: A History of Race Relations in Athens, Ohio. 2020. Ohio University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1586352303239274.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Zdinak, Jordan. "The Lynching of Christopher Davis: A History of Race Relations in Athens, Ohio." Master's thesis, Ohio University, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1586352303239274

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ohiou1586352303239274
© 2020, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Ohio University and OhioLINK.