Lynching
Strange Fruit: An Overview of Lynching in America
“The practice of lynching in the United States is a phenomenon that scholars from all backgrounds- history, psychology, sociology, and economics- continue to analyze. (pg. 89) ” Lynching to me was a way for white’s to get back at blacks in a horrifying manner. Many whites believed that lynching was simply a necessary reaction to criminal behavior on the part of blacks. “Lynching played a key role in affirming the place of poor whites within the strata of southern society” (pg. 91). The lynching mobs consisted of twelve or more whites that took matters into their own hands to torture an African American person brutally or even worse, murder them.
Lynching started to take place after World War II. In most cases lynching effected black African Americans. They were kidnapped and lynched for reasons whites thought were not socially acceptable. Whites looked at lynching as immediately justice for themselves. Personally, if blacks were taken to court they would still be penalized because the jury was likely to be an all-white jury in most cases. “In rare cases lynches were brought to trial, all white juries, time after time, they failed to find the guilty” (pg. 96). Less than one percent of lynches were convicted for their crimes. Failure to find lynchers guilty showed an injustice to the black community. “Lynching of a black person was an act of community solidarity and white supremacy” (pg. 92). Blacks could not retaliate and defend themselves because they were still quite powerless. If they were to act on an event of lynching they would become a victim to the lynching mob. In May of 1918 in South Georgia, Mary Turner tried to seek justice for her husband. The statements that Mrs. Turner made about her husband and his death caused her to be victimized by the mob. They kidnapped Mrs. Turner, drowned her with gasoline; not satisfied enough with what they had done, they cut her fetus out and demolished it with the boot
“The practice of lynching in the United States is a phenomenon that scholars from all backgrounds- history, psychology, sociology, and economics- continue to analyze. (pg. 89) ” Lynching to me was a way for white’s to get back at blacks in a horrifying manner. Many whites believed that lynching was simply a necessary reaction to criminal behavior on the part of blacks. “Lynching played a key role in affirming the place of poor whites within the strata of southern society” (pg. 91). The lynching mobs consisted of twelve or more whites that took matters into their own hands to torture an African American person brutally or even worse, murder them.
Lynching started to take place after World War II. In most cases lynching effected black African Americans. They were kidnapped and lynched for reasons whites thought were not socially acceptable. Whites looked at lynching as immediately justice for themselves. Personally, if blacks were taken to court they would still be penalized because the jury was likely to be an all-white jury in most cases. “In rare cases lynches were brought to trial, all white juries, time after time, they failed to find the guilty” (pg. 96). Less than one percent of lynches were convicted for their crimes. Failure to find lynchers guilty showed an injustice to the black community. “Lynching of a black person was an act of community solidarity and white supremacy” (pg. 92). Blacks could not retaliate and defend themselves because they were still quite powerless. If they were to act on an event of lynching they would become a victim to the lynching mob. In May of 1918 in South Georgia, Mary Turner tried to seek justice for her husband. The statements that Mrs. Turner made about her husband and his death caused her to be victimized by the mob. They kidnapped Mrs. Turner, drowned her with gasoline; not satisfied enough with what they had done, they cut her fetus out and demolished it with the boot