A Story of Racial Injustice
On October 12, 1942, in the small town of Shubuta, Mississippi, two young Black boys, Ernest Green (14) and Charlie Lang (15), were lynched by a white mob. Their brutal murders were the result of a false accusation, a deeply racist justice system, and the complicity of law enforcement. Their story stands as a reminder of how racial terror was wielded to maintain white supremacy under Jim Crow.
Who Were Ernest Green and Charlie Lang?
Charlie Lang was born around 1928 to Hillard and Vester Lang in Shubuta, Mississippi, in Clarke County. Ernest Green was born around 1927 to Louis and Mintora Green, also in Shubuta. Charlie Lang and Ernest Green were two boys growing up in Mississippi—born into a world where their fate had already been written.
Despite the hardships of Jim Crow, Ernest and Charlie found joy in their friendship. They were inseparable, spending their free time playing together and doing odd jobs to earn extra money. One of the ways they made a few cents was by collecting scrap metal, salvaging anything they could find to sell. It was this routine activity that would unknowingly put them in harm’s way.
The Day of the Incident
On the morning of October 6, 1942, Ernest and Charlie set out to find scrap metal near the bridge in Shubuta. They roamed the area, searching for discarded metal pieces to gather and trade. That same day, Dorothy Martin, a 15-year-old white girl, was making her way across the bridge, heading home.
What exactly transpired in that brief moment remains uncertain. Charlie may have called out to Dorothy or startled her unintentionally. But whatever happened, it was over in seconds. Dorothy went about her day as usual, and the boys never gave the encounter another thought. However, by nightfall, their fate was sealed.
The Beginning of the Tragedy
Dorothy returned home later that day, and at some point, she told her mother that a black boy chased her across the bridge. Influenced by the strict racial codes of the South, her mother panicked. She took Dorothy’s words as a serious transgression and immediately sought help.
Dorothy’s mother took the matter to Jim Odom, owner of a convenience store and the local sawmill. Odom, known temper and drinking, reacted swiftly. Without verifying the story or seeking further details, he went straight to town Marshal Ed McLendon, insisting that something needed to be done.
The Arrest and Interrogation
Marshal Ed McLendon wasted no time. He gathered several men and went out to find Charlie Lang. He suspected Charlie was with Ed Manning, a black pulpwood laborer whom Charlie sometimes helped for extra money. They found Ed Manning’s truck broken down on the side of the road. Sitting in the back was Charlie Lang. Without asking questions, McLendon pulled Charlie from the vehicle and took him to Odom’s store for questioning.
Charlie found himself surrounded by white men, all demanding answers. The pressure was immediate and relentless. The men sent for Dorothy. They wanted her to identify Charlie as the boy who had chased her. Dorothy arrived and looked at Charlie. And then she spoke. She said he was the one who tried to violate her and then chased her across the bridge.
After Dorothy identified Charlie, Marshal McLendon took him back to the bridge, where he claimed Charlie confessed. According to McLendon, Charlie admitted that he not only tried to attack Dorothy but that he followed her from town, waited under the bridge, and then jumped out at her. McLendon also claimed that Charlie said Dorothy was scared, but that he told her there was no need to run because he was going to do something bad to her. But that wasn’t all. McLendon claimed that Charlie said something else. That he wasn’t the one they wanted. That it was Ernest. Dorothy’s original story had not mentioned Ernest Green at all, yet under the weight of the interrogation, Charlie named Ernest, dragging his best friend into the nightmare that was unfolding.
Ernest’s Arrest and More Interrogation
After obtaining Charlie’s coerced statement, McLendon set out to find Ernest Green. The teenager was soon located, arrested without explanation, and brought back to Odom’s store. There, he was subjected to the same aggressive questioning.
At some point, law enforcement claimed that the boys had “confessed.” Whether this supposed confession was coerced or fabricated remains unclear. What is certain is that no legitimate investigation took place, and the boys never had a chance to defend themselves.
The Boys Taken to Jail
Following their interrogation, Ernest and Charlie were transported to the jail in Quitman, Mississippi. There, they were locked inside a cell with another Black prisoner, Isaiah Shine. Shine had been wandering through Mississippi, struggling after being discharged from the army, and was picked up by authorities in Hattiesburg. He had been waiting to be transferred back to the state mental hospital when the boys were thrown into his cell.
The Night of Terror: A Lynching at Shubuta Bridge
On October 10, 1942, the mob came. Isaiah Shine watched as the men stormed into the jail. Terrified, he begged them to take him instead. He shouted, “Don’t take them! I’m the one who wants to go! I want to get out!” But the mob ignored him. Instead, they beat him and threw him aside, leaving him to watch as they grabbed Ernest and Charlie. The boys screamed, kicked, and cried as they were dragged from the cell, dragged down the stairs, dragged outside to a waiting caravan of cars.
They were taken to the bridge—the same bridge where, just 24 years earlier, four Black people had been lynched. The same bridge where the blood of the past had already stained the waters below. Nooses were placed around their necks. And then, they were thrown over the edge. One hung from one side of the bridge. The other from the opposite side.
The Morning After: A Cover-Up
By morning, Sheriff Lloyd McNeal and Marshall Fortner Dabbs went through the motions of an “investigation,” but it was nothing more than a formality. The mob used Dabbs’ keys to open the cell and take Charlie and Ernest. Dabbs claimed that the mob had overpowered him. But that was not true. He helped them carry out this injustice. So there was nothing to investigate.
Dabbs and Fortner began their investigation by going to Marshal Ed McLendon’s home. When they arrived, McLendon was asleep. Neither his wife nor Dabbs wanted to wake him, so they left. McLendon needed rest. After all, he’d had a long night at the bridge. Next, they stopped at the drugstore where Ernest worked. His boss hadn’t seen him. And that was it. Dabbs and McNeal looked at each other. No leads, no urgency, no problem. Dabbs decided he had farm work to do. Sheriff McNeal went to eat breakfast. Their search was over.
The town’s coroner also played his part in ensuring that the coverup was successful. He quickly concluded that the boys had been hanged by “parties unknown.” And with that, it was over. The mob had accomplished what it wanted. Ernest and Charlie had received a Jim Crow death sentence because of a lie. Two children had been brutally lynched for absolutely nothing.
Cruelty On Top of Injustice
Charlie and Ernest were cut down and loaded into the back of a Chevy lumber truck like discarded waste. As the truck pulled into town, McLendon and Sheriff McNeal set out to find the boys’ parents. Around the same time, Charlie’s father, Hillard Lang, was in downtown Shubuta—desperately trying to find someone who could post bond for his son. He didn’t yet know. And then, the truck pulled up beside him. In the back of the truck, uncovered, lay two small bodies. Nooses still around their necks. One of them was his son.
National Outrage and FBI Involvement
The brutal murder of two children could not be ignored. News of the lynching reached Washington, D.C., within hours, prompting FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover to launch an investigation.
However, Shubuta closed ranks. The townspeople lied, covered for the mob, and refused to name the killers. The investigation stalled, and no one was ever held accountable.
The Legacy of Their Tragedy
Today, the Shubuta Hanging Bridge still stands, unmarked and unacknowledged. There are no plaques, no memorials, no official recognition of what happened there. But their names—Ernest Green and Charlie Lang—must never be forgotten. Because only by confronting the past can we ever hope to move forward.
