Historian to present book on 1947 Willie Earle lynching in Pawleys Island

Author Dr. William B. Gravely will return to his home state on Saturday, Oct. 10, to discuss his book about Willie Earle, the victim of South Carolina’s last recorded lynching.

The public discussion will begin at 12:30 p.m. at the Waccamaw Library, located at 41 Saint Paul Place. Sponsored by the Friends of the Waccamaw Library, the event is free and open to the public. 

Gravely, a Pickens County native and professor emeritus at the University of Denver, wrote “They Stole Him Out of Jail: Willie Earle, South Carolina’s Last Lynching Victim,” published in 2019 by the University of South Carolina Press. The book explores the background and aftermath of Earle’s 1947 racially motivated murder in upstate South Carolina.

Drawing on archival documents and extensive interviews, Gravely chronicles the lynching and subsequent trial, an event that drew international attention. His work examines key figures involved in the case, including Earle, Solicitor Robert Ashmore, Gov. Strom Thurmond, and writer Rebecca West, whose coverage in “Opera in Greenville” brought national focus to the trial despite containing factual errors.

Gravely’s research and interview recordings are preserved online with the University of South Carolina Libraries and were featured in the 2022 SCETV documentary “Remembering Willie Earle.”

For more information, contact Dr. Daniel Cross Turner at 843-545-3363 or [email protected](opens in new tab).