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Documentary filmed in Waco to feature lynching of Jesse Washington

A New York film maker is working on a documentary that will feature one of the darkest moments in Waco history.

WACO, Texas - A New York filmmaker is working on a documentary that will feature one of the darkest moments in Waco history.

Film crews were seen throughout Waco and McLennan County interviewing city officials and descendants of 16-year-old Jesse Washington who was lynched at city hall in 1916.

Rhonda Haynes is directing "Let The Eagle Scream," which is a documentary that examines lynching in America.

Washington was accused of raping and killing a Robinson woman named Lucy Fryer. He was taken from the McLennan County courthouse and was beaten, stabbed, and hung. About 15,000 people watched as his body was burned and castrated. After hearing the story, Haynes and her crew came to Waco to interview Washington’s family who still lives in the area.

"This is for these last two generations,” Haynes said. “To let them know what has not been talked about and what has not been addressed. We as Americans are all a part of that lynching era whether we are the victims or the perpetrators.”

Jo Welter is a member of the Community Race Relations Coalition. She was a part of the documentary and says the images of Washington’s lynching were seen around the world and prompted the NAACP to investigate.

"The newspaper here covered it a little bit, but newspapers across the country picked up on it and it became nationwide as what they called it the barbaric event in Waco, Texas," she said.

Welter said the Community Race Relations Coalition was approved for a historical marker to be placed at city hall where the lynching happened.

"It’s to shed light on the lynching of Jesse Washington, the lynching culture that was here, and also touch on the relationship between Washington’s lynching and the NAACP,” she said.

Welter said the goal is to have the historical marker at city hall sometime next summer. Haynes says the film will be completed in 2019.

If you would like to donate to the project, click here.

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