On June 15, 1920, three black men were lynched in Duluth, Minnesota, in the northern United States. They were accused – without evidence – of raping a white woman. It will take a hundred years for justice to pardon an African American convicted of this crime which he has always denied.
Max Mason, who died in 1942, became the first man on Friday June 12 to receive posthumous pardon in the state of Minnesota. A symbol at a time when massive demonstrations are crossing the United States to denounce the racism which still undermines large sections of society.
Max Mason's request for a pardon had been filed long before a white state police officer asphyxiated George Floyd with his knee on May 25 in Minneapolis, triggering a wave of anger across the country.
"The past few weeks have shown us that we need better justice in Minnesota. The grace of Max Mason is a step, very late, in this direction ”said State Attorney General Keith Ellison.
Sentenced to thirty years in prison
On June 14, 1920, Irene Tusken, and a friend went to see a circus performance in Duluth. The next day, the latter assured his father that they had been attacked by members of the troop after the performance and that his partner had been raped.
The police immediately arrested several black employees, including Max Mason, and paraded them before the couple, who did not recognize them. A doctor had examined the young woman, without finding any trace of sexual violence, according to court documents.
Max Mason was then allowed to leave and continued on his way with the traveling circus. However, the police arrested and detained other suspects.
During the night, a group broke into the police station and grabbed three men, dragging them through the streets of Duluth before hanging them in front of thousands of people. Bob Dylan's hometown, who dedicated the song Desolation Row to this crime, has since apologized and erected a memorial in 2003 to the victims.
If he escaped death, Max Mason found himself struggling with justice who, going back, had him arrested and then sentenced him to thirty years in prison, in particular because he and Irene Tusken both suffered from gonorrhea, a common venereal disease.
He probably wouldn't have been sentenced "If he had been white", local lawyer Mason Forbes, quoted in the pardon request, said at the time.
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