Will Black was born around 1897 in Greene County, North Carolina. He was the son of Joseph and Sarah (or Sallie) Black.

Black was accused of sexually assaulting a six year old girl in Snow Hill (Greene County) on May 31, 1916. State authorities successfully intervened to prevent Black's lynching by removing him to the state prison in Raleigh, but a mob formed nonetheless and murdered Black's father, Joseph Black (1862-1916), abducting him from the jail in Kinston and shooting him dead in the early morning hours of April 5. Joseph Black left behind a widow—Sarah Black—who, shortly after her husband's death, gave birth to twins.

Will Black's trial lasted only a few hours, resulting in a guilty verdict and a sentencing of death. National guard troops escorted Black into, and back out of, Snow Hill for the trial, which occurred on June 27. He was executed by electric chair in Raleigh on July 21, 1916.