Lennon Lacy was a student attending West Bladen High School, in
Bladenboro, North Carolina
Bladenboro is a town in Bladen County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 1,750.
History
Establishment and early years
Development around Bladenboro, a farming community also known in its earliest day ...
. On August 29, 2014, at age 17, he was found dead, hanging from the frame of a swing set in the center of a mobile home community.
The death was initially declared a suicide by North Carolina's Chief Medical Examiner, but Lacy's family believed that he had been
lynched
Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged transgressor, punish a convicted transgressor, or intimidate people. It can also be an ex ...
.
Lacy, who was black, had been dating a white woman, who also believed Lacy had been murdered, and who claimed neighbors had warned her that their interracial relationship was "not right".
In December 2014, the FBI announced it would investigate.
In June 2016, the conclusion of the FBI investigation was announced, having found "no evidence to pursue federal criminal civil rights charges".
Documentary
The death of Lacy is the central event in a documentary on lynching in America, ''Always in Season'', shown at the
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
in January, 2019, where it won the
special jury award for moral urgency. Ed Pilkington wrote in ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' that the film "is both a homage to Lennon Lacy and a critique of America’s rotten racial core, weaving the two together through an exploration of blurred memory, denial, obfuscation, betrayal and loss."
See also
*
List of unsolved deaths
This list of unsolved deaths includes well-known cases where:
* The cause of death could not be officially determined.
* The person's identity could not be established after they were found dead.
* The cause is known, but the manner of death (homi ...
References
External links
Trailer for ''Always in Season''*
Democracy Now
''Democracy Now!'' is an hour-long American TV, radio, and Internet news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman (who also acts as the show's executive producer), Juan González, and Nermeen Shaikh. The show, which airs live each weekday at ...
br>
documentary on ''Always in Season''FBI Vault ''released documents''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lacy, Death of Lennon
August 2014 events in the United States
Deaths by hanging
Deaths by person in North Carolina
People from Bladen County, North Carolina
2014 in North Carolina
Racially motivated violence against African Americans