Joe Pullen

Joe Pullen or Joe Pullum ( 1883 – December 15, 1923) was an African-American sharecropper who was lynched by a posse of local white citizens near Drew, Mississippi on December 15, 1923.

While the circumstances that precipitated the violence were typical for that place and time, Pullen's case was unusual in that he managed to kill at least two members of the posse and wound several others before ultimately perishing himself. As such, Pullen became a folk hero to the local black population and was championed by the Universal Negro Improvement Association.

Background Reports of lynchings in the American South had been on the rise since the end of World War I, which may have reflected an increase in the number of incidents.