'I Didn't Want To Be A Hashtag,' Says Black Man Who Feared Being Lynched In Indiana
"I hear a woman in the crowd yell out, 'Don't kill him.' And in that second, I realize that she's talking about me," Vauhxx Booker tells NPR.
A Black man's report of an assault by white men in an Indiana state park has triggered an FBI investigation. Vauhxx Booker, an activist and member of the Monroe County Human Rights Commission, says the men beat him and threatened him with a noose. The incident was partly recorded on video by witnesses – whom Booker credits with saving him.
"The reason why I'm here today is simply because these folks, they didn't just stop and watch and film my execution," he tells NPR's Mary Louise Kelly,. "They became involved. They became active participants. They put themselves in danger when they stepped forward for me."
