Just after midnight on July 13, 1885 Howard Cooper, a 15-year old boy, was lynched at the old Baltimore County jail in Towson. His murderers began their assault on the night of Sunday, July 12. That grim anniversary was observed 185 years later to the day in Towson.
About 100 people braved threatening skies and intermittent showers to gather at the old County courthouse for a brief but moving ceremony that recounted Cooper’s murder and its effects on his family, friends and community. The program was presented by the Baltimore County Coalition of the Maryland Lynching Memorial Project (MLMP).
Cooper had been convicted of rape and assault and was awaiting his execution date in the old Baltimore County jail. A mob of about 75 masked men lynched Cooper just after midnight to prevent an imminent appeal of his conviction to the US Supreme Court based on a violation of his 14th Amendment rights.
Baltimore Sun news coverage of the Towson ceremony can be found HERE.
The Equal Justice Initiative, in partnership with the Baltimore County Coalition and MLMP will install an historical marker at the site of Cooper’s lynching this fall.
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