LYNCHINGS AND THE KKK (Narration)
FEAT: Vincent Bates
Written by: Barry P. Foley
Copyright @ 3 Aug 2021
In the 1950s, an old Ku Klux Klan leader told a reporter, “ain’t nothing like seeing a negro swinging from a rope to keep them other Negro’s in line.
Lynchings, hangings, .rough justice they called it. It brings visions of the old West, with Cowboy’s catching a horse thief and finding the nearest tree.
Truth didn’t matter when it came to lynching the black man—a simple accusation from a white man or especially a white woman that they’ve been wronged.
The Ku Klux Klan was so proud of their membership of Mayors, Judges, lawyers, sheriffs, deputies, and essential people of the city or towns, they feared not the law.
They cared less of the decency of humanity, meanwhile calling themselves “God Fearing Christians.”
Even to the point of scheduling a lynching, getting the word out, and drawing a crowd, like a Church Revival, minus the tent. Build a bonfire, light up the torches,
Then the Sheriff would have the would-be victim transported by his deputies to somewhere for some made-up reason. Then change into his Klan uniform and then kidnap the said victim somewhere along the way, next stop, the hanging tree
By 1922, over 3400 people were lynched in the U.S. Over 28 people were Publicly Burned by American Mobs (aka the Ku Klux Klan)
Yes, this was America from after the civil war to the 1960’s in the deep south. After all the lynchings, one would think that some responsible and honorable politicians would certainly pass laws.
The Dyer Anti-lynching Bill was first introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1918 to make lynching a federal crime.
Although it eventually passed the House, it was filibustered by Southern Democrats in the Senate. Since 1964, they’re called Republicans
By 1968, nearly 200 anti-lynching bills were introduced in Congress, with 3 of them passing on the Senate, where they failed.
Several more bills have been introduced, last year, the Emmitt Til Anti-lynching Act.
As of Jul 2021, there still is no federal law against lynching. I’ll let you form your own opinion as to why not.
Please contact our Webmaster with questions or comments.
© Copyright 2002-2022 Barry P. Foley. All rights reserved.