Pam Grier Reflects on Lynching Experience

Actress Pam Grier shared a story on Monday about how her mother prevented her from witnessing the body of a lynched man in Columbus, Ohio, despite the last lynching in the state occurring long before Grier’s birth. Grier, born in 1949, recounted an incident where she was walking with her brother and mother when they came across a body hanging from a tree. However, it’s worth noting that the last recorded lynching in Ohio was in Cleveland on June 27, 1911, and none were documented in Columbus.

Grier described the moment, saying that her mother urged her not to look at the horrifying scene. “Don’t look, don’t look, don’t look,” she recalled her mother saying. Grier felt the weight of that moment and reflected on the significance of such violence. She mentioned that there is now a monument to commemorate the victims, which serves as a reminder of those who suffered and the broader history of racial violence.

In a related historical account, it was noted that an underground lynching took place in South Point, Ohio, in June 1932, 17 years before Grier was born. A black man named Luke Murray was murdered by a mob after an altercation with a white man, highlighting the ongoing tragedies tied to race in America.

Interestingly, none of Grier’s co-hosts addressed the discrepancies in her story. Co-host Sunny Hostin frequently discusses issues of racism in the U.S. and advocates for diversity, equity, and inclusion.