Editing Duluth, Minnesota (section)

====Duluth lynchings====
In September 1918, a group calling itself the [[Knights of Liberty (vigilante group)|Knights of Liberty]] dragged Finnish immigrant [[Olli Kinkkonen]] from his boarding house, tarred and feathered him, and [[Lynching in the United States|lynched]] him. Kinkkonen had not wanted to fight in [[World War I]] and instead planned to return to Finland. His body was found two weeks later hanging in a tree in Duluth's Lester Park.<ref>{{Cite web |title=MPR: Postcard From A Lynching |url=http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/projects/2001/06/lynching/olli.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120812220443/http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/projects/2001/06/lynching/olli.shtml |archive-date=August 12, 2012 |access-date=June 25, 2012}}</ref>

Another lynching in Duluth occurred on June 15, 1920, when three innocent black male circus workers—Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson, and Isaac McGhie—were attacked by a white mob and hanged after purportedly raping a teenage white girl. The [[Duluth lynchings]] took place on First Street and Second Avenue East. In 1970, journalist Michael Fedo wrote ''The Lynchings in Duluth'', which began to raise awareness of the event. Members of many different communities then began to come together for reflection and education.

The men's unmarked graves were soon found. In 1991, gravestones were erected with funding from a local church. Vigils were held at the intersection where the men were lynched. In 2000, a grassroots committee was formed and began to offer speakers to groups and schools. It decided to commemorate the event with a memorial; the Clayton Jackson McGhie Memorial, which includes a corner wall and plaza, was dedicated in 2003. It includes three {{convert|7|ft|m|adj=on}}-tall bronze statues of the three men. The CJMM Committee continues to work for racial justice through educational outreach, community forums, and scholarships for youth.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kraker |first=Dan |title=Duluth marks anniversary of memorial to 3 lynching victims |date=June 15, 2013 |url=https://www.mprnews.org/story/2013/06/15/duluth-marks-anniversary-of-memorial-to-3-lynching-victims |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111190320/https://www.mprnews.org/story/2013/06/15/duluth-marks-anniversary-of-memorial-to-3-lynching-victims |archive-date=November 11, 2020 |access-date=August 2, 2020}}</ref><ref>[http://www.claytonjacksonmcghie.org/?page_id=92 "The Clayton Jackson McGhie Memorial, Inc."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160814070738/http://www.claytonjacksonmcghie.org/?page_id=92 |date=August 14, 2016 }}, official website; accessed August 22, 2016</ref>