James Cameron

On the night of August 7, 1930 in Marion, Indiana, two African-American teenagers - 19-year old Abraham "Abe" Smith and 18 year old Thomas "Tommy" Shipp - who were in the Grant County jail after being charged with robbery, rape, and murder were taken from the jail at the hands of a howling mob and lynched. Also in the jail was sixteen year old James Cameron, who was friends with Smith and Shipp. Cameron narrowly escaped the fate of his two friends when someone in the crowd proclaimed that he was innocent. Proclaiming his innocence, Cameron was convicted of assault and sentenced to four years in prison. After his release, he moved to Milwaukee, working as a truck driver, day laborer,and factory worker before publishing his account of the events of August 7, 1930. In 1988, he founded the America's Black Hololcaust Museum in Milwaukee; this is a non-profit museum designed to preserve the history of lynching in the United States as well as telling the story of African Americans' struggle for equality. In 1993, Cameron received a full pardon from Indiana Governor Birch Bayh concerning his assault conviction.