America’s History of Lynching Continues Shaping Present-Day Debates Over Race, Power and Identity
In 1782, the Virginia legislator gave William Lynch authority to chase and punish criminals without the benefit of due process. This is one of many theories about the origin of the term “Lynch.” Although the term “Willie Lynch,” and the letter written in 1712, seems to be fake, the idea that lynching and self-hate is real and has been perpetuated by colonialism in the United States. The methods used in the Willie Lynch story were real and spell out some of the horrors of slavery and the methods of control and manipulation. Colonialism in America has a horrible history that introduced self-hate and alcohol to Native Americans, self-hate and drugs to African Americans, and the “whitening” of other groups.
The Violent History of Lynch Law
Before the Civil War Lynch Law was used to murder white abolitionists and other anti-slavery opponents. So-called “carpetbaggers” were lynched and later, after Reconstruction, at least 165 African Americans were lynched in the 1870s. After the release of the racist movie Birth of a Nation, lynching again went on the rise, and was used to prevent blacks from voting and exercising their political rights. There were over 4,000 lynchings in the United States between 1882 and 1968. Lynching dominated in the Cotton Belt states like Texas. Because Texas has an extreme racist past, attacks against Black and Browns are the resurrected goal posts for modern day MAGA bigots.
Mob Violence and Racist Terror
Much of the evidence of lynching has been lost and so one must rely on newspaper accounts to get statistics. Most lynching was the result of mob action for some unresolved crime and a readily available oppressed community to falsely accuse. Racist killers at these lynchings often took pictures and made post cards out of them to send to relatives. Sometimes the bodies of those lynched were burned or boiled and the body parts were given away or sold as tourist items. Little has been done to prosecute any living member at the scene of these racist murders, if any are still alive. This is what the white supremacists of today want to bring back in a slow but sure methodical way.
Related: Massachusetts Accused Of Segregating Schools By Race And Class
Modern-Day Political and Policy Lynching
Today, legal and policy reversal lynching is the preferred method of control. Casting thousands of poor black men in prison for minor drug offences is legal lynching. Ending DEI programs and ending Black History classes is policy lynching. Redistricting of political lines on a map is voting lynching which is aimed at diluting the number of Black representatives in Congress while making some Brown people think they are “White.” If your last name is Rodriguez, Gonzalez, Moreno, Valdez, Diaz, Prado, Medina, Morales, and more, there is no way you are “White.” The “White” designation was erroneously placed on many birth certificates to create a race that could be used against others.
Fear, Race and the MAGA Movement
The MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement, spearheaded by Donald Trump, has a strong relationship with white supremacy. It is the social and political vehicle for bigots and old school white supremacists to organized around hatred by stereotyping people of color. It is fueled by the paranoid belief that “White” will cease to be a majority in this country in just a few years. This “Great Replacement” theory is a far-right racist conspiracy theory that falsely claims that European ideas and “White European and American populations” will be replaced with non-white immigrants and minorities to alter the cultural and political landscape of the United States. Making America great again (MAGA) is the propaganda term used to push fake Christian ideas seeded with racial hatred.
Read Next: SAISD to Offer Free Summer Meals for Children Across San Antonio
