The National Park Service is conducting a special resource study (SRS) on lynching locations in the vicinity of Memphis, Tennessee, for their potential inclusion in the national park system, as directed by Congress under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (Public Law 117-328).
The law identified the following eight lynching locations in Tennessee to be included in the study:
• Christopher Bender and Bud Whitfield in 1868 (Memphis, Shelby County)
• Wash Henley in 1869 (Memphis, Shelby County)
• Thomas Moss, Will Stewart, and Calvin McDowell in 1892 (Memphis, Shelby County)
• Lee Walker in 1893 (Memphis, Shelby County)
• Warner Williams, Daniel Hawkins, Robert Haynes, Edward Hall, John Hayes, and Graham White in 1894 (Kerrville, Shelby County)
• Ell Persons in 1917 (Memphis, Shelby County)
• Jesse Lee Bond in 1939 (Arlington, Shelby County)
• Elbert Williams in 1940 (Brownsville, Haywood County)
Locations to be analyzed include the location of the lynching; where lynching victims were incarcerated or kidnapped; where perpetrators and observers gathered, organized, and/or watched; or where the corpse was mutilated, displayed, or recovered. Locations associated with other lynchings within 100 miles of Memphis, including Tennessee, Mississippi, Kentucky, and Arkansas, not listed in the legislation, may be identified through historical research and public input and added to the list of potential locations to be studied.
The authorizing legislation allows three years to complete the study and submit it to Congress. Once received by Congress, the final study will be made available to the public. Public input is an essential part of this special resource study. Please consider sharing your thoughts and ideas during the public comment period between between February 2 and April 3, 2026. Comments are welcome and encouraged from any member of the public. To provide opportunities to learn more about the lynching locations and the study process, the National Park Service intends to host four public meetings. One meeting will be virtual (online), and the other three will be inperson in the following locations: Memphis, Tennessee; Brownsville, Tennessee; and Oxford, Mississippi. All members of the public are invited to attend.
