Lynching is a massacre that took place in the United States without trial against black people. Lynching was usually accompanied by torture, abuse and mockery of the victim, that in most cases resulted in death. According to the most common version, the term "Lynching”, which entered into the use in the 18th century, associated with the name of the American racist Colonel Lynch. During American War of Independence Lynch commanded a battalion of riflemen in Virginia, where the law courts most like didn’t work. Lynch himself created a court, that was dealing mostly with criminals and political opponents using very brutal methods. In October 1782 was held a special law, which recognized the illegal actions of Lynch, but his activities were not condemned.
After all this actions the entire system of lynching became known as “Lynch Law” that has become an instrument of class violence reactionaries against the most active member of the union, black people, anti-imperialistic ad communistic movement in the United States. Lynching was the most widely circulated in the end of 19th century and in 30s of 20th century. According to the American author F. Neck from 1882 to 1951 in the United States of America there wee officially established 4730 cases of lynching, and 3657 of them were the lynching of black people. The federal law and some of the states didn't cover criminal responsibility. (Frank Shay, Judge Lynch, NY, 1969). From the 20th century lynching acquired classical character and often acted as direct killing of black people. Mostly when the lynching took place the victims were hung or they were burned to death by whites and typically this procedure took place in front of a huge crowd of people to show their power, a lot of people took some parts of body of those poor people that were murdered and kept them as souvenirs in order to remember this interesting and amazing event. Lynching took place in different states thorough all the America. In Texas Organized terror started during the Reconstruction and was called Ku Klux Klan. Black people were humiliated by everybody, but if only this, they were murdered; I cannot even imagine how evil people can be. To murder another human being just for his skin color. This is so un-human and it is very sad even to talk about it. However, this event actually took place in the history, and we cannot just be quite about it. To my mind everybody should know how awful people have behaved and that people should never be this way again anymore. After Reconstruction lynching and lynch law was a little bit declined but then it was increased very soon once again.
Lynching of young blacks. This famous photo was taken in 1930, Black men over whom was committed the lynching, accused of raping a white woman and the murder of her fiancé. A huge crowd of spectators of about 10,000 people came to watch this event. The crowd took them by force from the county jail.
Painting of lynching was captured in the photo, confirming the superiority of the white people, two tortured bodies and ridiculous happy excitement of the crowd, which couldn’t hide the horror of this picture.
When lynching a victim, at first usually victim was beaten by the crowd, and then followed by the public execution by hanging, after that sometimes they even abused of a dead body. Quite often, after the execution of the participants made collective lynching photos to remember. Then this photos were published as a postcard, so people could share with loved ones, saying, for example, mom, I am the third to the left.
The most famous lynching occurred in 1919 over the African-American Will Brown in the city Omaha, Nebraska. Brown was accused of raping a 19 -year-old white girl. Local newspapers raised a protest about the permanent campaign attacks of blacks on white women. At the end of September 28th, 1919 an angry mob of 4,000 white Americans stormed the city court, the accused was pulled out, and then he was hung up. After that the dead body was sho from hundreds of revolvers and rifles. Then the body was removed, tied to a car and dragged through the streets. And then the body was thrown on the ground, doused with fuel and burned. And after doing of these affairs the crowd took pictures.
There were a lot of other cases of lynching black people. Black people were trying to fight back. They didn’t want to be murdered and they tried to do their best in order to survive. They were trying to resist lynching as much as they could. A lot of people were protesting against lynching, some public educations fought against lynch law. There were a lot of organizations that were trying to organize some support in order to make the anti-lynching law go through and make it pass. Among them we can indicate an organization that was called The National Association for Advancement of Colored People or NAACP. Also the Republican Party in 1920 said that it would help to make this law pass. A lot of great leaders were given speeches in order to help and support anti-lynching laws, but unfortunately it was unsuccessful. Not only politicians but also a lot of different clubs showed their interest in anti-lynching politics. African American women’s club was trying to raise funds in order to prevent lynching, they were writing different petitions, and they were holding different anti-lynching campaigns, demonstrations and even plays. Some bills that were introduced to the Congress pass through but to the great sadness none of them were approved.
African Americans were trying to resist all the unexpected attacked that took place against them. But most likely, it didn’t have any luck. Even people in the court were scared about lynching. When the black prisoner was found guilty and was sentenced for the death penalty, the court workers were scared that the prisoner
Another way was used on order to fight back against lynching was articles printed in the local newspapers and magazines. For example Chicago Tribune printed the statistics of lynching.
Also I would like to tell you more about a wonderful journalist Ida B. Wells-Barbett. She was not only a great support but also a woman who was fighting against lynching and was fighting for the human rights of black people. She was a journalist and advocate and also speaker. So many good characters in one person, that is amazing. She was a leader and a defender of the democracy. Ida was born in 1862 in the city that is called Holly Springs, Mississippi, and she was only sixty-nine when she died in Chicago Firstly, she started to fight against lynching for the human right in Memphis. She was against gender and racial justice. This woman did a very good job and deserves to be known world wise. A lot of people took her advice and followed her. Ida wrote a lot of pamphlets describing lynching. She did a lot of reports and analyzed a lot of works. In her pamphlets she was criticizing racism and also she was criticizing lynching in general. In order for other people to follow her lead she had to prove to others African Americans that were lynched deserve to get the sympathy from other people and from citizens of the United States of America. Ida described lynching as a huge conflict over the integrity, over the human dignity, over the human tights. She wrote a lot of pamphlets in different periods of time and the ones that were written before the 1900 combined some analysis, good journalism and a power of the used language for people to notice its critical effect. In 1892 three of her firnds were lynched. Thomas Moss, Calvin McDowell and Henry Stewart. These three men were owners of People’s Grocery Company, and their small grocery had taken away customers from competing white business. A group of angry white men thought they would “eliminate” the competition so they attacked People’s grocery, but the owners fought back, shooting one of the attackers[Lee. D .Baker]. that is the great example how people were lynched, with actually no big reason. Because the have shot one of the attackers the owners were arrested. But the lynch mob didn’t stop there. They broke into the prison and dragged them out of there, moved them out of town and murdered all three of them. After this accident Ida write her “The Free Speech”. These all the great examples how black people were fighting against lynching. However that didn’t help much. Lynching still took place in the United States and a lot of people were murdered killed. Here are some examples of murdering.
This case can serve as a great example of lynching; it is terrible and scary. In May 1916, a trial was held with the seventeen years old black Jesse Washington, who killed a white woman. At the trial, he confessed to the murder and he was sentenced for hanging. After that, many of those who were present at the trial jumped over the fence, grabbed convicted and began beating him with sticks, shovels and bricks. He was stripped and beaten right in front of the authorities of the city of Waco (Texas). The fire was prepared and he was burned in front of 15,000 people. Some of the "spectators" cut fingers and toes as a souvenir. The remains were placed in the teen bag, which is then hung on a pillar under the approving cheers of the crowd. Lynching was usually associated with activities of the Ku Klux Klan. Indeed, over the years, members of this organization were killed blacks with impunity of perpetrators of crimes or innocent.
On twenty-third of January, in1906 in Chattanooga (Tennessee) white woman was raped. Police arrested Johnson Ed. Johnson was five weeks in custody. All this time, police feared lynching suspect. On the sixth February 1906 a trial was held over Johnson. He was found guilty and sentenced to death. The execution was scheduled for March 20. March 19 the court allowed the appeal. That same night, the crowd broke into the city jail. Johnson was subjected to merciless beatings. Then he was hung up on the bridge, and his body was shot many times. The U.S. Supreme Court first in the history had the case about lynching. People that were in charge of this were found and sentenced to just 60 days in jail. Ida Wells was conducted a study and published the results of lynching in the local newspapers. The results were as follows: from 728 blacks executed crowd, nearly 70 percent were killed for minor offenses. In 1889 she wrote a letter to President William McKinley to intervene in the federal government to solve lynching in the south. In 1909 was formed NAACP. The organization launched a campaign against lynching.
As a result we can see that there were a lot of efforts of black people fighting against lynching. A lot of articles were printed and a lot of letter were sent to the court, also a lot a lot of meetings were held. To sum up I would like to say that they tried to do all the possible to fight against lynching. But unfortunately it didn't result in a good way. Still there were a lot of lynching and murders for nothing. This is a very sad part in our history that I am not proud of at all. However I am very happy about the country and about the world we are living in right now. I don't say it is perfect but we are going step by step to enter in the better future.
Work cited
- Baker Leed D. “Ida B. Wells-Barnett and Her Passion for Justice” web [http://people.duke.edu/~ldbaker/classes/AAIH/caaih/ibwells/ibwbkgrd.html]
- Frank Shay, “Judge Lynch”, NY, 1969.
- McMurry, Linda “ To Keep the Waters Troubled: The Life of Ida B. Wells(New YOurk Oxford University Press, 1998), p384, n 33.
- Wright, G.C. (1990). Racial violence in Kentucky, 1865-1940: Lynchings, mob rule, and "legal lynchings." Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press.
- Wells-Barnett, Ida: Postscript by W.E.B. Du Bois “Crisis”(June 1931): 207.
