Teen Lynching Victim Gets Historic Marker In Alexandria, Unveiling Event Planned

ALEXANDRIA, VA — The second of two lynching victims documented in Alexandria's history will receive a historic marker.

The City of Alexandria will remember Benjamin Thomas, 16, in a remembrance event at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 8. Thomas was lynched by a white mob two years after a similar lynching of Black teen Joseph McCoy.

Thomas was killed on Aug. 8, 1899 in the area of King and Fairfax Streets after being held in the former city jail in the 400 block of N. St. Asaph Street. According to city records, a mob of white Alexandria residents broke into the city jail to capture Thomas, who was accused of assaulting a white girl. The mob then put a rope around his neck, dragged Thomas a half mile and lynched him.

When Thomas was arrested, Black leaders in Alexandria warned city leaders and police that a lynching could happen, similar to the lynching of McCoy two years before on April 23, 1897. Black residents tried to protect Thomas by standing guard at the jail, but police arrested them before they were tried, fined and put in a chain gang.

Thomas and McCoy, two Black teens, are Alexandria's two documented lynching victims. The Alexandria Community Remembrance Project organizes events to remember the lynching victims as part of a citywide initiative to educate Alexandrians about the city's history of racial terror and hate crimes.

A historic marker was previously unveiled for McCoy at Cameron and Lee Streets, where he was lynched. Now, Thomas is receiving a historic marker at King and Fairfax Streets.

At the Aug. 8 remembrance event, the historic marker detailing the lynching of Thomas will be revealed at 6 p.m. A sidewalk procession will follow at 6:30 p.m. from St. Asaph Street to King Street and then to the corner of S. Fairfax and King Street, which is the route the mob took when they lynched Thomas. Lastly, a wreath laying will be held in the 300 block of King Street (at Fairfax Street). A bus will be available for those who need a ride to the event locations.

Ahead of the remembrance event, City Hall and the lamp post at King and S. Fairfax Street will be illuminated in purple to mourn Thomas. The George Washington Masonic Memorial will also be lit up in remembrance of Thomas.