On January 27 at 5:30 p.m, the Missouri State Historical Society will present Douglas Hunt, author of Summary Justice: The Lynching of James Scott and the Trial of George Barkwell in Columbia, Missouri, 1923, who will discuss this true story that rocked Columbia.
Fourteen-year-old Regina Almstedt was raped on her way home from music lessons near Stewart Road Bridge. Arrested for the crime was James Scott, a black decorated World War I veteran. Hunt will summarize the incident and point to evidence showing Scott’s innocence.
Reverend Clyde Ruffin, pastor of Second Missionary Baptist Church in Columbia, where Scott was a member during the early 1900s, will discuss plans to raise a monument on Scott’s unmarked grave in Columbia Cemetery and ongoing community efforts to heal the wounds of the past.
This event is free and open to the public.
