How a racist killing inspired one of Dylan's best songs

A new bootleg series contains two early recordings of 'The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll'.

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In the spring of 1963, a 21-year-old Bob Dylan was on the train reading a copy of Broadside, the left-wing mimeographed publication known for nurturing a number of important folk musicians. Often included in the magazine were photocopied articles from other newspapers, so alongside coverage of an early Dylan song, “Train-a-Travelin’”, was a report in the Baltimore Afro-American by Roy H Wood, with the headline: “Rich Brute Slays N**** Mother of 10.”

On a Friday night in February, William Zantzinger, the 24-year-old owner of a 630-acre tobacco farm, arrived drunk at a charity ball attended by members of high society in Baltimore, Maryland. Hattie Carroll, a 53-year-old single mother to nine children, was among the Black staff members serving the guests. According to reports, Zantzinger — who hit two other Black employees that night - yelled at Carroll using racist slurs, accusing her of not serving him fast enough, and struck her on the head and shoulders with a toy cane. While the blows did not leave a mark, Carroll died the next day at Baltimore’s Mercy Hospital from a stroke brought on by the stress of the attack.

There was outrage among the Black community. As reported in the Smithsonian’s Folklife Magazine, Carroll was a deacon of the Gillis Memorial Church in west Baltimore, as well as a member of the choir and its flower committee. She was well-regarded as a peaceful woman who loved and cared for her children.