Lynching of John Griggs: June 21, 1934

By Lynching in Texas Staff

City: Kirbyville, Texas

County: Jasper County

Race or Ethnicity of Victim: Black

Gender of Victim: Male

Age of Victim: 30-years-old

Alleged Crime: Assault

Manner of Death: Hanged

Source of Information: NAACP 30 Years of Lynching

Files

Young Man Held in E. Texas Lynching" — Young Man Held in E. Texas Lynching"
Source: Houston Chronicle (Houston, Texas) | Date: June 23, 1934

John Griggs in the 1930 U.S. Census — John Griggs in the 1930 U.S. Census
Source: https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/39704234?mark=7b22746f6b656e223a224976306b7637464d795659347633733263734b6c6333566a7a722f312b694c726c615743415353587a79493d222c22746f6b656e5f76657273696f6e223a225632227d | Date: April 24, 1930

"Mob Snatches, Lynches Negro." — "Mob Snatches, Lynches Negro."
Source: The Evening Standard (Uniontown, Pennsylvannia). | Date: June 21, 1934.

"Mob Lynches Accused Negro" — "Mob Lynches Accused Negro"
Source: San Bernardino County Sun (San Bernardino, California) | Date: June 22, 1934

"Escort of Girl Assaulted by Negro is Held" — "Escort of Girl Assaulted by Negro is Held"
Source: Marshall News Messenger (Marshall, Texas) | Date: June 22, 1934

"Mob Lynched Man Who Aided Girl; White Attacker Freed" — "Mob Lynched Man Who Aided Girl; White Attacker Freed"
Source: In "Newspaper clippings on lynching in Kirbyville, Texas," NAACP Papers, Part 07: The Anti-Lynching Campaign, 1912-1955, Texas. (Jan 1, 1934-Dec 31, 1934). | Date: September 5, 1934

"Brutal Mob Lawlessness" (Editorial of the Week) — "Brutal Mob Lawlessness" (Editorial of the Week)
Source: "Anti-Lynching Campaign correspondence and press releases," NAACP Papers, Part 07: The Anti-Lynching Campaign, 1912-1955, Lynching, Mob Violence, and Race Riots. (Jul 1, 1934-Aug 31, 1934). | Date: June 23, 1934

John Griggs Death Certificate — John Griggs Death Certificate
Texas, U.S., Death Certificates, 1903-1982 | Source: https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/39703888?mark=7b22746f6b656e223a223473796346726c4f463377436a373176614436336f664c676a58672f53366167793164335533706e5a50553d222c22746f6b656e5f76657273696f6e223a225632227d | Date: June 20, 1934

"Maddened Kirbyville, Texas, Mob Lynch Negro" — "Maddened Kirbyville, Texas, Mob Lynch Negro"
Source: Daily American-Democrat (Anadarko, Caddo County, Texas) | Date: June 21, 1934

Joseph B. Keenan (for the U.S. Attorney General) to Catherine E. Teter — Joseph B. Keenan (for the U.S. Attorney General) to Catherine E. Teter
Source: "Scottsboro Boys case, antilynching efforts, and requests that Franklin D. Roosevelt promote Costigan-Wagner Anti-Lynching Bill," Department of Justice Classified Subject Files on Civil Rights, 1914-1949, Department of Justice General Records, Entry 112-B, Straight Numerical Files, #158260. (Jun 1, 1934-Aug 31, 1934) | Date: August 3, 1934

Catherine E. Teter to Franklin Roosevelt — Catherine E. Teter to Franklin Roosevelt
Source: "Scottsboro Boys case, antilynching efforts, and requests that Franklin D. Roosevelt promote Costigan-Wagner Anti-Lynching Bill," Department of Justice Classified Subject Files on Civil Rights, 1914-1949, Department of Justice General Records, Entry 112-B, Straight Numerical Files, #158260. (Jun 1, 1934-Aug 31, 1934) | Date: July 14, 1934

Catherine Teter and others to Franklin D. Roosevelt — Catherine Teter and others to Franklin D. Roosevelt
Source: "Scottsboro Boys case, antilynching efforts, and requests that Franklin D. Roosevelt promote Costigan-Wagner Anti-Lynching Bill," Department of Justice Classified Subject Files on Civil Rights, 1914-1949, Department of Justice General Records, Entry 112-B, Straight Numerical Files, #158260. (Jun 1, 1934-Aug 31, 1934) | Date: July 14, 1934

"Victim Taken From Sheriff After Arrest" — "Victim Taken From Sheriff After Arrest"
Source: In "Newspaper clippings on lynching in Kirbyville, Texas," NAACP Papers, Part 07: The Anti-Lynching Campaign, 1912-1955, Texas. (Jan 1, 1934-Dec 31, 1934). | Date: June 21, 1934

"Lynch Texas Negro" — "Lynch Texas Negro"
Source: Press of Atlantic City (Atlantic City, New Jersey) | Date: June 22, 1934

"Negro Who Walked With White Girl Lynched in Texas" — "Negro Who Walked With White Girl Lynched in Texas"
Source: Daily Worker (Chicago, Illinois) | Date: June 22, 1934

"Lynching Arrests Soon Are Predicted" — "Lynching Arrests Soon Are Predicted"
Source: Houston Chronicle (Houston, Texas) | Date: June 24, 1934

"What Price Color" — "What Price Color"
Source: Berea Citizen (Berea, Kentucky) | Date: June 28, 1934

"NAACP Flays Action Against Lynch Mobs" — "NAACP Flays Action Against Lynch Mobs"
Source: Afro-American (Baltimore, Maryland) | Date: June 30, 1934

"Texas Girl Fails to Shout 'Rape'; Youth Lynched" — "Texas Girl Fails to Shout 'Rape'; Youth Lynched"
Source: Chicago Defender (Chicago, Illinois) | Date: June 30, 1934

"Texas Mob Lynches Man Just for Spite" — "Texas Mob Lynches Man Just for Spite"
Source: Chicago Defender (Chicago, Illinois) | Date: June 30, 1934

"As Others See Us" — "As Others See Us"
Source: Chicago Defender (Chicago, Illinois) | Date: June 30, 1934

An issue of Soviet magazine Bezbozhnik, depicting the lynching of an African American, 1930. — An issue of Soviet magazine Bezbozhnik, depicting the lynching of an African American, 1930.
Source: Wikipedia | Date: 1930

"When Texas Lynches" — "When Texas Lynches"
Source: Chicago Defender (Chicago, Illinois) | Date: June 30, 1934

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Citation Information

Lynching in Texas Staff, “Lynching of John Griggs: June 21, 1934,” Lynching In Texas, accessed September 5, 2026, https://www.lynchingintexas.org/items/show/511.

Published February 27, 2018. Last updated June 15, 2025.

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