Wyatt Outlaw, the first African American to serve as Town Commissioner and Constable of Graham, North Carolina, was a pioneering leader and dedicated advocate for African American rights in Alamance County. He faced violent opposition for his stance against white supremacy, ultimately leading to his brutal lynching in 1870 by the White Brotherhood, a faction of the Ku Klux Klan.
Wyatt Outlaw was reportedly of mixed racial heritage, noted in historical records as the son of a white slave owner, Chesley F. Faucett. Conflicting sources debate whether Outlaw was born a slave or a free person of color. Some accounts suggest that he lived on the tobacco farm of Nancy Outlaw in Jordan Creek, located northeast of Graham. His early life remains somewhat obscured, but he is believed to have enlisted as “Wright Outlaw” in the 2nd Regiment U.S. Colored Cavalry in 1863, serving in various engagements during the Civil War before being mustered out in February 1866.
After the war, Outlaw emerged as a significant community leader and a dedicated advocate for African American rights in Alamance County. By 1866, he co-founded the Loyal Republican League, a political organization aimed at promoting the rights of freedmen. His commitment to civic engagement was further exemplified in 1868 when he played a vital role in establishing the first African Methodist Episcopal Church in Alamance County.
Outlaw’s activism eventually led to his appointment by Governor William Woods Holden to the Graham Town Council, making him one of three African Americans to serve as constables in the town. His involvement in politics and his leadership within the community made him a target for white supremacist groups, particularly the White Brotherhood and the Constitutional Union Guard, both local affiliates of the Ku Klux Klan.
Outlaw’s tenure as a constable was marked by significant tension with white residents who opposed the idea of being policed by an all-Black constabulary. In 1869, this tension erupted when a group of white residents organized a nighttime Klan-style ride through the streets of Graham, seeking to intimidate the African American constables. Outlaw and his fellow constables bravely confronted the riders, opening fire in self-defense; fortunately, no injuries were reported.
This bold act of resistance likely fueled the rage of local Klan sympathizers, setting the stage for the violent retribution that would follow.
On the night of February 26, 1870, a group of masked men, believed to be part of the White Brotherhood, descended on Graham. They forcibly took Outlaw from his home and lynched him from an elm tree in the courthouse square—now Sesquicentennial Park. A note was left on Outlaw’s body, warning, “Beware, ye guilty, both Black and white.” One witness to the crime, a black man, was later found dead in a pond near the town. This local man had claimed to know who was responsible for the lynching, but he was soon discovered dead in a nearby pond.
The lynching of Wyatt Outlaw sent shockwaves through the African American community and prompted a response from the state government. Following Outlaw’s death and the assassination of white Republican State Senator John W. Stephens, Governor Holden declared martial law in Alamance and Caswell Counties. This led to the Kirk-Holden War of 1870, a confrontation between the state government and the Ku Klux Klan that resulted in the detention and indictment of 49 men for Klan-related activity; however, all were ultimately acquitted and released by late August.
Holden’s campaign against the Klan was poorly received across the state, and the General Assembly subsequently filed articles of impeachment against him in December, ultimately removing him from office in March 1871. Holden was the first governor in U.S. history to be removed in this manner.
In 1873, Guilford County Superior Court Judge Albion Tourgee pushed to reopen the investigation into Wyatt Outlaw’s murder. That year, the Grand Jury of Alamance County issued felony indictments against 63 Klansmen, including 18 murder charges related to Outlaw’s lynching. However, the Democratic-controlled state legislature repealed the laws under which most of these indictments were filed, resulting in the charges being dropped. No one was ever prosecuted for Outlaw’s murder.
