Mob Rule in New Orleans Robert Charles and His Fight to Death, the Story of His Life, Burning Human Beings Alive, Other Lynching Statistics

"Mob Rule in New Orleans" by Ida B. Wells-Barnett is a stark chronicle from the late 1800s that exposes the horrific lynching of Robert Charles and the subsequent wave of ruthless mob violence unleashed upon New Orleans' Black community. The book methodically pieces together reports and firsthand accounts to reveal the deep-seated injustice and cruelty suffered by African Americans, highlighting the chilling apathy of a society that permitted such horrors to unfold. It starts by outlining the initial clash between Robert Charles and law enforcement—an encounter triggered by unwarranted police aggression—and how Charles, acting in self-defense, became a hunted man. What follows is a disturbing look at the unrestrained racial violence incited by authorities, painting a grim picture of how one man's act of resistance turned into a city-wide nightmare of persecution and tragedy.