Thousands gathered in Paris, Texas, for the 1893 lynching of Henry Smith. Click on photo for details.
Ida B. Wells-Barnett, a black woman born in 1862, made her career as an anti-lynching crusader. Her words are equally valid today, especially as we are seeing, as the campaigns wind up, an increase in racist rhetoric and attacks.
From Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases, by Ida B. Wells-Barnett, 1892.
The mob spirit has grown with the increasing intelligence of the Afro-American. It has left the out-of-the-way places where ignorance prevails, has thrown off the mask and with this new cry stalks in broad daylight in large cities, the centers of civilization, and is encouraged by the "leading citizens" and the press.As reported by Xeni "Hussein" Jardin II, at BoingBoing.net,
Brandon McClelland, 24, was dragged to death beneath a truck driven by two white men in Paris, Texas last month. McClelland was black. The site of his death is about 200 miles from the location where James Byrd was murdered in a similar manner ten years ago.This happened September 16, 2008. Charles Ryan Crostley, 27, and Shannon Keith Finley, 27, have been arrested.
Vote for Barack Obama. We need a change. We need it now.
- BoingBoing.net | Black man dragged to death 200 miles from site of Byrd murder 10 years ago.
- CBS11TV.com | Possible Hate Crime Dragging In Sulphur Springs
- Dallas South | Howard Witt/Chicago Tribune with more on death of Brandon McClelland in Paris Texas
1 comment:
You know, I love how the pundit class likes to pretend that racism isn't an issue any more, and that incidents like these are just isolated nutters.
My wife is Chinese, and she's got some Vietnamese friends, and we've all gotten crappier service in out of the way places we've traveled together as a group because of it. Granted, it's anecdotal, but I find it hard to believe we're eight years into the new millenium and there's still such a huge fear of the other.
It's also difficult to imagine when you're living in a place like Los Angeles where most of the people you know and work with are not like that.
Thanks for the post, as always.
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