Analyzing The Same Issue : American Lynching

“The kidnapping and savage lynching of 14-year-old Emmett Till” (Chandler) is a title in the news that would surely catch your attention. Racism has played a major role in American history. It still plays in society today, but not in as much of a big case. Having somebody kill a boy because will cause a lot of fighting between the whites and the blacks. In the end, somebody is going to come out on top. But that takes a lot of sacrifice. That all ties into this, the death of a boy that caused major support to the civil rights of African Americans. The death of Emmett Till has a lasting effect on the Jim Crow opposition, court trials, and the failure of racism in American culture today.

In the late 19th century, lynchings were commonplace occurrences, especially in Southern states. The lynchings were publicized in newspaper ads and were so accepted that postcards showing pictures of the event were sold as souvenirs. Apologists claimed that the lynchings took place to punish criminals for their crimes and to protect white women from black aggressors. To counter the claims that resulted in these “punishments,” many activists, including Ida B. Wells, wrote speeches depicting the harsh and racist reality of lynchings. In 1909, Wells gave a speech at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s first annual conference in Atlanta, Georgia, in which she condemns lynchings and their public acceptance. By offering

2. One of the texts most focused on educating readers about race and the challenges it presents to American culture is Ida B. Wells’ “Lynch Law in All its Phases.” As discussed in previous reading responses, Wells’ speech is made up primarily of evidence due to the limitations placed on women of colors’ speech but even more so due to her “deep-seated conviction that the country at large does not know the extent to which lynch law prevails in parts of the Republic” (189). In this way, Wells endeavours to educate the US both about lynching and about the repercussions of allowing lynch law to prevail. That is, Wells forces audiences to acknowledge the fact that lynching, and thus white supremacy and racism, actively threaten the moral pillars that the United States is built on.

Recently, an L.A. Times article (dated 2/13/00) reviewed a new book entitled "Without Sanctuary", a collection of photographs from lynchings throughout America. During the course of the article, the author, Benjamin Schwarz, outlined some very interesting and disturbing facts related to this gruesome act of violence: Between 1882 and 1930, more than 3,000 people were lynched in the U.S., with approximately 80% of them taking place in the South. Though most people think only African Americans were victims of lynchings, during those years, about 25% were white. Data indicates that mobs in the West lynched 447 whites and 38 blacks; in the Midwest there were 181 white victims and 79 black; and in the South, people lynched 291

During the nineteenth century, lynching was brought to America by British Isles and after the Civil War white Americans lynching African American increased. Causing and bringing fear into their world. In the Southern United States, lynching became a method used by the whites to terrorize the Blacks and to remain in control with white supremacy. The hatred and fear that was installed into the white people’s head had caused them to turn to the lynch law. The term lynching means to be put to death by hanging by a mob action without legal sanction. So many white people were supportive of lynching because it was a sign of power that the white people had. “Lynching of the black people was used frequently by white people, their is no specific detail of how many times they had done it, but lynching of black people has lasted from 1882 to 1968. Lynching also is in fact a inhuman combination of racism and sadism which was used to support the south’s caste system,’’(Gandhi).

Barnett was a critical social liberties pioneer. She recorded various lynchings in the U.S and was a major piece of the counter lynching development inside the NAACP. Recollected for the most part for his initiative in the NAACP, and one of the fundamental movers of the Harlem Renaissance. No great outcome can originate from any examination which declines to consider the certainties. A conclusion that depends on an assumption rather than the best proof is unworthy of a moment's thought. The lynching record, as it is assembled from everyday by unprejudiced, solid, and mindful open diaries, ought to be the premise of each examination which looks to find the reason and recommend the solution for lynching. The reasons of lynchers and the credible supplications of their theological rationalists ought to be considered in the light of the record, which they constantly distort or disregard. The part of women in the public eye had taken a gigantic jump forward In 1920 when all the women were given the privilege to vote. The parts of American Women in the 1920s differed impressively between the 'New Woman', the Traditionalists and the more established

Lynching is a form of corporal punishment intended to intimidate a racial or ethnic group most commonly a minority. This became extremely common in the southern regions of the United States during the 18th century as a way to reinforce Jim Crow Laws. These laws consisted of five different pillars centered on the political, personal, economic, legal and social oppression of African Americans. Lynching most commonly occurred when African Americans were accused of not following the social norms set by Jim Crow laws such demanding equal rights or having inappropriate interracial relations. In more radical cases lynching was used as a way to persecute blacks for heinous crimes they were often wrongly accused of committing. Such was the case with

Ida. B wells can be considered to be among the greatest African-American civil rights activists because of her stand on the lynching of people of color in the South. She was also affected by the ‘primitive’ behavior of white men at the time as her newspaper’s office was destroyed because of the opinion it raised. One of the examples Wells gives of whites lynching blacks was of Ebenezer Fowler who was the richest black man in his town. He was accused of having a romantic relationship with a white woman because of the romantic letter he sent her. At the time, the white men were allowed to seduce any woman but if a black man tried to have a romantic relationship with a white woman it was declared

Recently, an L.A. Times article (dated 2/13/00) reviewed a new book entitled "Without Sanctuary", a collection of photographs from lynchings throughout America. During the course of the article, the author, Benjamin Schwarz, outlined some very interesting and disturbing facts related to this gruesome act of violence: Between 1882 and 1930, more than 3,000 people were lynched in the U.S., with approximately 80% of them taking place in the South. Though most people think only African Americans were victims of lynchings, during those years, about 25% were white. Data indicates that mobs in the West lynched 447 whites and 38 blacks; in the Midwest there were 181 white victims and 79 black; and in the South, people lynched 291 whites and 2,462

Through all of our readings this past weeks, some of the recurring themes were oppression and lynching. Both themes went hand in hand as lynching, as mentioned by Bosworth and Flavin, had been “a response to the perceived erosion of white male domination” (Bosworth and Flavin, pg. 77). As well, they mentioned that such act first surfaced through slavery although, as we were able to read in “The Lynching of Personas of Mexican Origin or Descent in the United States, 1848 To 1928,”lynching of minorities overall became a highly practiced act by the White race. Inequality, will be continuously seen in history and in all of our readings as one race tends to enforce dominance over others and create policies or acts that will barricade the rest from

Angela Sims’ Lynched: The Power of Memory in a Culture of Terror, seeks to give a voice to the silenced African American people who lived during a period in which lynching was a widespread phenomena. It seems that her central purpose is to examine the relationship between lynching and the interconnected ideas of race, gender, class, and other social categories that shape a person’s self-understanding. Yet, though she provides an analysis of these memories, she simultaneously preserves these memories of aging African American people. This seems to be a central focus of her book. For instance, she states, “if lynching narrative… provide another aspect about a shared existence in this country, the time to preserve these conversations is now” (Sims 67). Thus, preserving these memories is one of her central goals. Moreover, she aims to define and show the embodiment of what is good. Sims considers the African Americans who

Losing power can take a toll on the mentality of men. American history proves this theory frequently over time. It’s most prominent during the time of reconstruction in the form of lynching. Lynching is termed as a killing organized and performed by a group or mob of people. Some justify it as different from murder and get away from it. That is complete ideocracy. Lynching is just a subcategory or another form of murder but not a different crime in itself in my opinion. It was a combination of sadism and racism that white used to subjugate African Americans because they were afraid to be equal.

This document connects to my storyline by giving an example of a lynching, it gives graphic details and makes you feel like you're actually in the moment. It also provides two sides of the story which is essential for someone to make an opinion about lynching. It gives the story of what the black person did and it shows why the white person did what he did. It can teach us what the white community in Mississippi thought about lynching at the time. It was either one of two options: 1) Either they approved of the lynching or else 2) The community didn’t disapprove enough to risk giving their "enemies" the satisfaction of a conviction.

The book Southern Horrors and Other Writings, The Anti- Lynching Campaign of Ida B. Wells, 1892-1900 focuses on the lynching of the African Americans. In the book, the author describes about the particular reasons why the white citizens chose to lynch the African Americans, which the main reason that they claimed was about raping of the white women. The white citizens believed that the sexual assault to the white women was a crime and the dishonor to their men, and the African Americans men should be punished for that; however, the situation would be different if the raped happened to the African American women. Although the white community saw raped as a serious crime, the reasons that the victims did not receive proper treatment compared to the white women were: the level of their worthiness, the history of black women and white men’s relationship, and the lack of protection from laws.

Imagine racism taking over the world, with overwhelming thoughts about how you might be the next victim. Quarrels about whether the best skin is black or white, but always resulting that white is right. Hope would evaporate from an evanescent cloud and Faith became instinct as it was replaced by agony. Everywhere you turned around for help, all you saw were the bodies of those neglected and lynched. Abel Meeropol published the poem Strange Fruit in 1937, after seeing a drastic picture of lynching that traumatized him ever since then. As a result, the poem became a memory to all those who died and is momentous to our history.