Catcher, located four miles southeast of Van Buren in Crawford County, was historically a cotton-producing area with a larger African American population than white, dating back to slavery times.
In the early 20th century, it was home to about 35 to 40 Black families, many of whom owned land and were integral to the community. The racial dynamics were tense, reflecting broader Southern attitudes toward race and land ownership.
On December 28, 1923, Effie Latimer, a 25-year-old white woman, was found unconscious in her home, having been shot in the back with a shotgun and clubbed over the head.
Newspaper reports the following day claimed she was also raped, though this detail is contested in modern research. Before dying, Latimer regained consciousness long enough to name William "Son" Bettis, a local Black farmer, as her shooter, mentioning two other unidentified men. This accusation set off a chain of events leading to the race riot.
The murder of Effie Latimer quickly ignited racial hatred. That evening, newly elected Sheriff Albert D. Maxey arrested Bettis, who denied the charges and was moved to Van Buren jail for safety.
The next day, two more African Americans, Charles Spurgeon Rucks (age 26) and John Henry Clay (age 14), were arrested. Rucks was reportedly "questioned" by Deputy Sheriff W. A. Bushmaier Jr. in the woods, with claims of a confession, though case files suggest no such confession occurred.
By December 29, a mob of over 500 white citizens surrounded the jail, demanding the prisoners be handed over for lynching. Although the mob was prevented from lynching, their anger turned to the broader Black community in Catcher.
Reports indicate white residents threatened Black families, smashed tombstones in the Black cemetery, and even dug up and burned remains, creating an atmosphere of terror.
The primary victims of the legal aftermath were Bettis, Rucks, and Clay.
Bettis, born September 3, 1887, and Rucks, born in 1893, were tried separately on January 4-5, 1924, under Act 258 of 1909, a law intended to prevent lynching by expediting trials to mollify mobs, often resulting in death penalties.
The strongest evidence against them was a detailed statement from Clay, who was mentally slow and unable to read or write, raising questions about its reliability. Both were convicted and sentenced to death, executed by electrocution on February 15, 1924. Records indicate the were buried in a common grave on the prison grounds.
John Henry Clay, a 14-year-old at the time, was also convicted and given a life sentence, reflecting the severity of the judicial response even to minors. He died in prison at the Cummins prison camp in Lincoln County.
Effie Latimer, the victim, was interred in the Gill Cemetery in Van Buren.
Modern research, such as that by Dr. Michael Anthony at the University of Arkansas, suggests these convictions may have been wrongful, with theories pointing to Latimer's husband as a more likely suspect, given he had left home days earlier, taking half the provisions.
Additionally, 11 other African Americans were charged with night riding, a term for organized intimidation, but their convictions were later overturned by the Arkansas Supreme Court in October 1924, ruling the state failed to sustain the charges.
Effie Latimer, the victim, was buried in Gill Cemetery in Van Buren.
The immediate aftermath saw the forced exodus of Catcher's Black community. Threatened with violence, all Black families, numbering at least 40, fled, many walking across the Arkansas River bridge to Fort Smith, settling in areas like Midland Heights.
The Van Buren Press-Argus reported on January 18, 1924, that Catcher had become "strictly a white settlement," effectively turning it into a sundown town, where African Americans were excluded after dark.
This displacement had profound economic and social impacts. Many Black families lost land and possessions, disrupting generational wealth.
Oral histories collected by Moira Bryant in 2010, while a student at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, highlight the trauma, with families forced to leave with only what they could carry, facing rain and uncertainty.
The creation of a sundown town meant Catcher's Black community was erased, with the town falling off historical maps. Today, Catcher Road is one of the few visible traces, symbolizing the lost community. The event's legacy includes lost opportunities for economic advancement, with research noting the impact on generational wealth and community cohesion.
In recent years, efforts have emerged to remember and educate about the Catcher Race Riot. A significant initiative is the 2023 documentary "Catcher: Breaking the Code of Silence", produced by the Fort Smith International Film Festival and Sol Studios.
Research by scholars like Dr. Michael Anthony, with his 2023 PhD dissertation "Otherwise, You Will Have to Suffer the Consequences: The Racial Cleansing of Catcher, Arkansas" , has also contributed to understanding, highlighting the wrongful convictions and racial cleansing aspects.
