The story of Jennie Steers is heartbreaking, steeped in injustice and oppression. Her life and death highlight the systemic brutality faced by Black women in America during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Jennie’s story is not isolated; it is part of a larger narrative about how Black women were demonized and brutalized simply for existing.
Between 1880 and 1965, at least 150 Black women were lynched, and thousands more were attacked and violated by white mobs. White southerners justified these atrocities under the guise of protecting white women from Black men. However, Black women, like Jennie, were lynched for unfounded accusations such as arson, poisoning, or even “offending” white people. Lynching was never about protection—it was a tool of racial subjugation.
The press played a critical role in this violence, spreading narratives that painted Black women as dangerous and monstrous. Public opinion was manipulated to justify these lynchings, ensuring no sympathy for the victims. These narratives did more than enable violence; they solidified the dehumanization of Black women, perpetuating a social order that treated them as disposable and unworthy of justice.
The Life of Jennie Steers
Jennie Steers was born Jennie Clayton in August 1877 in Northwest Louisiana. By 1900, she was a widowed mother of two boys, Walter and Robert, and worked as a sharecropper on the Crosskeys Plantation near Shreveport. Later, she moved to Shreveport to work as a domestic worker in the home of Alice Matthews, a white woman who ran a boarding house.
It’s difficult to imagine the courage Jennie must have had to navigate life as a widowed Black mother in the Jim Crow South. She would have known all too well the dangers of simply existing as a Black woman during this time. Her life—filled with hard work and responsibility—was an act of quiet defiance against a system designed to crush her spirit.
The Alice Matthews Tragedy
In April 1903, tragedy struck the Matthews home. Alice Matthews and her 10-year-old daughter Aline were attacked in their beds by an intruder wielding an axe. Alice died from her injuries, while Aline barely survived. The gruesome crime shocked Shreveport.
Jennie and another Black domestic worker, Mary Wells, discovered the crime scene when they arrived for work. Jennie screamed in horror upon finding Alice’s mutilated body, which alerted others in the boarding house. Despite the chaos, police investigations quickly veered toward blaming Black individuals.
Shortly after the attack, police received a tip about a Black man with blood on his shirt. This led them to Albert Washington, who had no connection to the Matthews family. When Albert ran upon being confronted, police fatally shot him. His body was later stolen from the undertaker and burned in the streets. Despite these actions, authorities eventually admitted Albert had nothing to do with the crime.
Albert’s fate not only underscores the cruelty of mob justice but also highlights how quickly Black people were dehumanized and executed without evidence. These events created a chilling atmosphere of fear that hung over Shreveport—a fear Jennie would soon face directly.
A Climate of Fear
This tragic sequence of events set the stage for what would happen to Jennie Steers. In July 1903, a few months after the Matthews attack, 16-year-old Elizabeth Dolan, daughter of a powerful plantation owner, John Dolan, died after consuming a drink poisoned with strychnine. Suspicion immediately fell on Jennie, who worked for the Dolan family. Without evidence, white townspeople accused Jennie of poisoning Elizabeth. Fearing for her life, Jennie fled.
Jennie’s fear was justified. She had witnessed what happened to Albert Washington and likely knew of countless other Black individuals who had been brutalized or lynched under similar circumstances. How must Jennie have felt in those moments? A young mother of two, hiding for her life, knowing that her very existence made her a target. The terror she endured is unimaginable but tragically emblematic of what so many Black women faced during this era.
Jennie Steers’ Lynching
A mob eventually found Jennie hiding in a hayloft. Despite her denials of any involvement in Elizabeth’s death, the mob dragged Jennie back to Crosskeys Plantation. There, the Dolan family identified her as the culprit. Jennie, a 26-year-old widowed mother of two, was taken to a tree, tied up, and lynched. As her lifeless body hung, members of the mob fired at her.
This wasn’t just an act of murder—it was a public spectacle meant to reinforce white supremacy. The mob’s violence was a message to other Black individuals: you are powerless, and we can take your life without consequence.
After Jennie’s death, the press fueled public outrage against her. Newspapers falsely accused her of being connected to the Matthews attack, despite no evidence. They described her as “one of the most diabolical female criminals that the country had ever known,” creating a narrative to justify her lynching.
Posthumous Vilification
The press did not stop with Jennie’s death. They fabricated stories, claiming Jennie had previously tried to poison Elizabeth on two other occasions and had acted out of jealousy. She was even accused of being violent, gambling, and having inappropriate relationships—all baseless claims designed to demonize her further.
Shockingly, in August 1903, another white couple, Robert and May Smith, was attacked in their beds in a manner similar to the Matthews case. Authorities began to suspect a single man was responsible for these crimes, contradicting their earlier claims that Jennie had been involved. A Black man named Jim Reed was accused and prosecuted, but he was eventually released and all charges were dismissed due to a lack of evidence.
The Cost of Injustice
By the end of 1903, three Black individuals had been blamed for the Matthews murder: Albert Washington, Jennie Steers, and Jim Reed. Albert and Jennie lost their lives, while Jim’s case highlighted the baselessness of the accusations. None of them had anything to do with the crimes.
Jennie’s sons, Walter and Robert, were left orphaned, forced to navigate life under the harsh realities of Jim Crow. Imagine the weight of their loss: their mother violently taken from them, their childhood forever marked by trauma, and their lives shaped by a society that deemed them unworthy of justice.
Honoring Jennie Steers and Confronting Injustice
Jennie Steers’ story is both heartbreaking and enraging. It forces us to confront the legacy of racial violence and systemic oppression that dehumanized Black women and justified unspeakable acts of brutality. Her life and death remind us of the power of narratives—how false stories and entrenched biases can be wielded as weapons to justify injustice.
Her story also challenges us to think critically about the systems that enabled such violence and the resilience of those who lived through it.
