Biography
Ben Irby was a Black farm hand from Dallas County, Alabama. Authorities arrested him in August 1931 for possessing International Labor Defense literature, charged him with criminal anarchy, and held him in Selma. After an International Labor Defense attorney challenged the prosecution, authorities dropped the case and freed Irby before November 30. The surviving reports do not give the exact arrest or release day.
The March 14, 1932 Daily Worker’s retrospective account describes Irby as a Black farmhand jailed for possessing International Labor Defense leaflets and says the sheriff denied holding him. This is retained as a contemporary report of uncertainty and official denial; it does not override separately established 1931 case dismissal/release or establish a new 1932 arrest, continued custody, disappearance death or lynching. Source: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/dailyworker/1932/v09-n062-NY-mar-14-1932-DW-LOC.pdf#page=4
