In the late 1800s, three black men, Calvin McDowell, William Stewart, and Thomas Moss, opened a store, People’s Grocery in Memphis, Tennessee. The success of the black-owned business posed an economic threat to the status quo, resulting in a violent confrontation between the owners and a group of white men. The white men, who were law enforcement officers, responded by jailing over 100 black men, including the store owners. On March 9,1892, 75 masked men seized Mr. Moss, Mr. McDowell, and Mr. Stewart from jail. They placed ropes around their necks, murdering them in an open field. Asked for his last words, Mr. Moss responded, “Tell my people to go west. There is no justice for them here.” Despite several eyewitnesses and a grand jury investigation, no one was ever held responsible. In the days following the incident, the African American community continued to be terrorized by white citizens, causing over 6,000 black people to flee Memphis in just three months.