Lynching Victim Burned Alive By White Mob Finally Laid To Rest 114 Years Later In Coatesville

By Jillian Pikora From Daily Voice

More than a century after he was dragged from a hospital bed and burned alive by a white mob, Zachariah Walker was finally given a proper burial in Coatesville on Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, community leaders announced.

The 114th anniversary of Walker’s killing marked a historic moment for Chester County, as residents, faith leaders, and activists gathered for his long-overdue funeral and a community forum on overcoming hatred and violence.

Walker, a Black steelworker, was accused in 1911 of killing Edgar Rice, a white steel company security guard and former borough policeman. Instead of receiving a trial, Walker was taken from the Coatesville Hospital by a mob of thousands, chained to his bed frame, and burned to death. He was thrown back into the fire three times as spectators — some leaving church services to attend — looked on. No one was ever convicted.

On Wednesday, a multi-denominational service at the Church of Christ Cemetery in Ercildoun began with an act of reconciliation — a small group from the Coatesville NAACP, the Ministerium, and the Together Endowment laid flowers at Rice’s grave before returning to bury soil from the lynch site containing Walker’s remains. Bells rang from several churches during both moments.

A funeral procession then paused at the Pennsylvania historical marker noting the lynching before continuing to Gateway Church in Parkesburg for a free community luncheon and forum. There, local students, descendants of Walker, and historians reflected on the meaning of the burial and the broader legacy of lynching in America.

Shadell Quinones, president of the Coatesville Area NAACP, called the day “a monumentally overdue recognition” not only for Walker, but for “the over 4,000 African Americans murdered by lynching.” Earl Johnson of the Coatesville NAACP said the burial “finally lifted the shadow of injustice that loomed over the city.”

The forum also acknowledged the 1938 attempted lynching in Coatesville, when Black residents armed themselves to prevent a repeat of 1911’s violence — an act credited with sparking the formation of the Coatesville NAACP.

The commemoration, part of the Third Annual Senator Andy Dinniman Community Gathering, carried the words of poet Maya Angelou: “History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.” Organizers stressed the importance of confronting the past, especially ahead of the United States’ 250th anniversary in 2026.