The History Of Lynching

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After hearing of the gruesome death of two of her close friends, infamous activist, and writer, Ida. B. Wells, said, “This opened my eyes to what lynching really was: an excuse to get rid of Negros who were acquiring wealth and property, and thus keep the race sterilized and keep the niggers down (The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow, 37:25)”. Wells is commenting on the way her friends were murder, which is known as lynching. Lynching is, “a form of execution by mobs who operated outside the rule of law (Lecture 4B, 1:01)….an effective method of terrorizing black folk into submission (Lecture 4B, 4:46) As you are well aware, lynching has become a very popular means of execution throughout this nation. Between the years 1882 and 1927,4,951 people were lynched in the United States (Lecture 4B, 4:50). The federal government should put an end to the practice of lynching because it is a brutal way to kill, is based on stereotypes, denies the victim his or her right to a fair trial, punishes both the innocent and the guilty, and enforces white supremacy. …show more content…

Lynching was considered a form of amusement for some. In 1893, people gathered from all over to Paris Texas, in order to view the lynching of a mentally challenged black man. This man was accused of killing a white girl. 10,000 people watched him be tortured to death. Hot flames were thrown onto his body, his eyes were burned out and hot pokers were forced down his throat. After this, he was eventually set on fire (Lecture 4B, 5:30). People took pleasure in watching this man be tortured to death. The mob that committed this act could have simply shot the victim in order to get revenge. But instead, they decided to drag out his suffering as long as possible. Killing in this manner is inhuman and

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