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A National Lynching Memorial opened to the public Thursday in Montgomery, Alabama. Also called the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, the new memorial is the nation's first memorial dedicated to the legacy of enslaved back people, people terrorized by lynching, and African-Americans humiliated by racial segregation and Jim Crow. 

'It's going to be painful and exciting'

Most lynchings happened in Georgia, Mississippi, and Alabama, in the deep south. So it was a shock in 1920 when the headline "Duluth Mob Lynches Three Negroes" ran in papers from the Duluth News Tribune to the New York Times. But the story quickly faded from the news, and most people in Duluth were happy to forget the murders. Two generations of Minnesotans grew up knowing little, or nothing, about it. 

About fifteen years ago, Duluth regained its memory of the 1920 lynchings, and created a memorial in downtown Duluth. Minnesota Public Radio's Stephanie Hemphill and Chris Julin produced a documentary in 2001, called "Postcard from a Lynching."

 received a Peabody Award this week.
 
In 22 episodes, 74 Seconds tells the story of the first police shooting to go to trial in the state of Minnesota.

In July 2016, officer Jeronimo Yanez shot Philando Castile during a traffic stop in a Twin Cities suburb. The world watched the aftermath, live on Facebook. Yanez was charged in Castile's death. Jurors found him not guilty on all charges June 16, 2017.
 
The 74 Seconds podcast was produced in August, 2017. An update on the  number of people shot and killed by police in all of 2017 was 987, according to the Washington Post. 

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Two pieces of award-winning MPR journalism, including a documentary about the 1920 lynching in Duluth and the "74 Seconds" podcast.

Documentary: Postcard from a lynching

74 Seconds: What happens now?

Metal castings of images of Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson and Isaac McGhie.

Two MPR specials: 'Postcard from a Lynching' documentary and '74 Seconds' podcast

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