Mack Charles Parker was an African American born in 1936. He grew up in Poplarville, Mississippi, and at age 36 was murdered by a mob because he was accused of raping a white woman. Accusing black men of crimes, even when innocent, was common in the south at this time and many innocent men were punished by death for the deeds of white men.
             Mack Parker was arrested for raping and kidnapping Mrs. June Walters from Petal, Mississippi. Mrs. Walters claimed that she and her husband were driving through Lumberton, MS when their vehicle broke down. Mr. Walters went to get some help while June stayed in the vehicle. She stated that while her husband was gone, Mack Parker kidnapped her and her four year-old daughter at gunpoint and took them to Black Creek Ford Road where he proceeded to rape her. At the time of the rape, she was pregnant.
             Mrs. Walters went to the police but did not identify her alleged attacker by name, nor did she give a very detailed description of him - she only mentioned his race and approximate age. After hours of searching, Lumberton police were told by a local Baptist minister that Parker committed the crime.
             With that, Parker was arrested February 24. He was beaten by the sheriff and his deputies and then taken to jail. On April 13, Mack Charles Parker was made to appear before Pearl River County Grand Jury on one count of rape and two counts of kidnapping. A few days later Parker was brought back to Pearl River County so he could appear before Judge Sebe Dale, where he pled not guilty to all charges. Judge Dale set the trial date for April 27, and Parker was returned to his cell at the Pearl River County Courthouse.
             Two days before Mr. Parker was scheduled to return to court, he was dragged from his cell forcefully by a group of eight to ten men. A quote in "Black Like Me" by John Howard Griffin states that they "went up to his cell -the bastards- and grabbed his feet and dragged him down the stair...