BLACK HISTORYLynching

Definition.

It is a way of punishing a person by death with out legal authority normally hanging is usually an act of bigotry. Bigotry- when a group ( normally white) feel like they are more superior that a minority group. The process of lynching is normally performed by hanging but burning at the stake and shooting are also quite popular Lynching is most popular in times of social and economic tension Lynching is most popular with the klu Klux Klan in southern America. Lynching was at its peak after the American civil war which ended in 1865 Nearly 3,500 black Americans were lynched in the US between 1882 and 1920Today lynching in the US is illegal .US law states "Any act of violence inflicted by a mob upon the body of another person which results in the death of the person,"

Emmett TillAugust 28th 1955 he was a 14 year old African American boy who was lynched in Mississippi. He flirted with a white woman who was married to a owner of a small grocery store named Roy. Roy and his half brother J.W Millam transported Till to a barn where they beat him and gouged his eyes out and then shot him in the head and disposed the body in a river. His body was then returned to his mother who held a open casket funeral to show the world the brutality of the murder. Tens of thousands of people attended the funeral and the images of his body were published in black magazines and news papers rallying popular black support and white sympathy. As support heightened for black people the support heightened for the killers as well in a magazine interview the brothers admitted to killing him but weren't out away because they were defended by double jeopardy which means that they cant be trailed for the same conviction because they are brothers

This act began and motivated the African American civil rights movement.

Information

Lynching started in 1882 then became illegal in the 1960. Many groups wanted lynching to become illegal and seven presidents between 1890 and 1952 petitioned Congress to pass a federal law but no law was passed due to democratic voting block. Because of this 6.5 million black Americans left the US to escape the risk of lynching

Strange Fruit

Lyrics such as, “Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze”, “The bulging eyes, the twisted mouth” and “The sudden smell of burning flesh”-relates to the lynching of black people-more specifically the “bulging eyes, the twisted mouth” closely relates to the death of Emmett Till.

The song was first written as a poem and exposed American racism, the songs was performed as a protest song in New York and opened awareness to white Americans.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4ZyuULy9zs

Lynching

As a kind of warning to any other black people living in the south of America the KLU KLUX KLAN would then take photos of the dead and turn them into postcard and they would be soled for 2 dimes each. And also the more postcards you purchased there were added bonuses were also given to you so you could get money of things you purchased

Case study Jess Washington was a 17 year old boy living in the south of America he had severe learning difficulties he went to work on a farm. One day the farmers wife cornered Jess a day later her body was found dead in the kitchen. The police arrested Jess and after a 3 hour court hearing the judge found him guilty. A man then should up in the court room and said ‘get that n**** out of here’ they then tied around the neck with a chain and tied him to the top of the tree 12,000 people watched him be tortured he tried to climb up the tree so the crowd cut of his finger individually so all he could do was slap the chain he was tied to he was then continuously dipped in and out of the fire until he died.