Nine-tenths of all lynchings during the 1890s to the 1940s in the United States occurred in the South. Lynching had been declining, but in 1930, there was a sudden rise in lynchings. In 1930, there were 21 reported lynchings, and 20 of the victims were African Americans. On November 1, 1930, twenty-six "prominent Southern women" assembled in Atlanta in order to discuss the problems of the increase in lynchings, causes, and possible ways women could help eradicate the problem. One of the many excuses used to conduct lynchings was that it was done in the name of "protecting" white women. ASWPL founder
Jessie Daniel Ames pointed out that the alleged rapes of white women by black men, "the supposed rationale for a lynching, seldom occurred and that the true motive for lynching was in racial hatred." In addition, Ames felt that white women were exploited in this narrative "in order to obscure the economic greed and sexual transgressions of white men." On that day in November, about twelve women signed a public statement against lynching. In May 1940, the ASWPL celebrated 12 months without a lynching. The year before, there had been only three. Ames was a strong
state's rights advocate and felt that anti-lynching efforts were better handled at the state level. Instead of the bill, they urged support of continued education, cooperation of both law enforcement and media to prevent lynchings and increased membership. In 1942, judging that the purposes of the ASWPL had been achieved, Ames wound the association up. In 1979,
Jacquelyn Dowd Hall, the director of the
Southern Oral History Program at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, wrote a book,
Revolt Against Chivalry, about the activism of Ames and the work of the ASWPL. == Strategy ==