Thomas Moss was a successful Black entrepreneur and postman in Memphis, Tennessee, known for co-owning the People’s Grocery, a thriving business that provided an alternative to white-owned stores in the area. In 1892, Moss was falsely accused of inciting violence, arrested, and lynched by a white mob along with his employees, Will Stewart and Calvin McDowell. After the lynchings, the business was seized and sold to his white rival, marking a tragic end to Moss’s successful business and life.
Thomas Moss was a respected postman and a prominent figure in Memphis’s Black community. In 1889, he co-founded the People’s Grocery, a cooperative venture located just outside Memphis in a neighborhood known as the “Curve.” The store was owned by 11 African Americans and operated as a corporate enterprise, providing a vital service to the local Black population.
The Peoples Grocery was not just any store, it was a well-organized, corporately structured business that offered Black residents a place to shop without the racial humiliation they often faced in white-owned stores. The store’s success, however, threatened the business interests of white grocer William Barrett, whose store had previously monopolized the area despite its reputation as a gambling den and an illegal liquor supplier.
As Peoples Grocery flourished, so did the animosity from its competitors. William Barrett, whose business began to suffer due to the competition, viewed Moss’s store as a direct threat to his livelihood. The growing Black economic power represented by Moss and his grocery store sparked resentment and, ultimately, led to deadly consequences.
The events leading to the lynching began on March 2, 1892, when a fight broke out between a Black boy, Armour Harris, and a white boy, Cornelius Hurst, over a game. The altercation escalated when the white boy’s father intervened, assaulting the Black child. Will Stewart and Calvin McDowell, employees of People’s Grocery, came to the boy’s defence. The confrontation turned into a larger brawl between Black and white residents, and at some point, William Barrett himself was struck. He later claimed Will Stewart was responsible for the attack.
The next day, Barrett returned to the People’s Grocery with a police officer, demanding to arrest Stewart. When McDowell informed them that Stewart was not present, Barrett struck McDowell with his revolver, knocking him to the ground. McDowell, in self-defense, picked up the dropped gun and fired at Barrett but missed. McDowell was arrested but released on bond, while warrants were issued for Stewart and Harris.
News of the altercation spread rapidly, and the Black community in the Curve became increasingly concerned about potential attacks. With racial tensions already high, Black residents feared that the conflict could escalate into a violent attack on their neighbourhood. A meeting was called, during which local Black leaders vowed to defend their community against further aggression. This was reported to the authorities by Barrett as evidence of a Black conspiracy against whites.
The tension reached a boiling point that same week when John Mosby, a Black painter, was fatally shot by a clerk in a white-owned grocery store after being denied credit. This incident further heightened fears among the Black residents of the Curve, who now faced the dual threats of mob violence and legal persecution. With little hope for protection from the police, Moss, Stewart, and McDowell, along with other members of the community, armed themselves in anticipation of an attack.
The Raid on Peoples Grocery
On the evening of March 5, a group of armed white men, including a county sheriff and deputized civilians, approached Peoples Grocery dressed in plain clothes and positioned themselves at the front and back entrances. Believing they were about to face a violent mob, the men inside the store opened fire when the white men entered, leading to a shootout in which several white men were injured. The incident was portrayed in white newspapers as a calculated ambush by the Black community, further inflaming racial tensions.
In the aftermath, dozens of Black residents were arrested, including Thomas Moss, who was falsely accused of being a ringleader in the alleged conspiracy. His two employees, Will Stewart and Calvin McDowell, were also jailed alongside him.
The Lynching
In the early hours of March 9, 1892, a mob of about 75 white men, wearing black masks, stormed the Shelby County Jail, where Moss, McDowell, and Stewart were being held. The three men were dragged from their cells and taken to a railroad yard outside the city. There, they were tortured and shot to death in a gruesome execution.
Calvin McDowell fought back desperately, managing to grab a gun at one point, but he was overpowered. His hands and fingers were shot to pieces, his eyes were destroyed, and his jaw was shattered. Will Stewart was shot in the neck and face, while Thomas Moss, the most well-respected of the three, was executed with similar brutality. His last words, according to reports, were:
“Tell my people to go West—there is no justice for them here.”
After the deaths of Moss, Peoples Grocery was looted by a gang of armed white men and eventually sold at a fraction of its value to none other than William Barrett, the same man who led the witch hunt against Moss. This transaction revealed the true purpose of the violence—eliminating Black competition to restore white economic dominance.
As was common during this era, no one was held accountable for the brutal murders of Moss, Stewart, and McDowell. The authorities refused to pursue justice, and the perpetrators of the lynching were never prosecuted. The lynching not only symbolized the destruction of Black success but also reinforced the racial power structures that continued to oppress Black communities.
The news of the lynching sparked outrage across the nation. Ida B. Wells, a close friend of Moss, wrote a powerful editorial condemning the violence and calling for action. Her words encouraged Black people to leave Memphis, and over 6,000 did, migrating westward in search of safety and opportunity. In the aftermath of the killings, the broader Black community began to unite against the violence, with Wells becoming a leading voice in the anti-lynching movement.
Sources:
https://historic-memphis.com/biographies/peoples-grocery/peoples-grocery.html
https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-memphis-appeal-avalanche-peoples-gr/49287438/
https://lynchingsitesmem.org/archives/peoples-grocery-historical-marker
