Ida B. Wells wrote this document as a result of the lynchings of Thomas Moss, Calvin McDowell, and Henry Stewart, and this case was significant to Miss Wells because she personally knew the victims. These colored men owned and operated a successful grocery store in an area that had a competing grocery store owned by a white man. Due to the economic tension between the two stores, a white band caused a stir and had over one hundred black men dragged into jail on suspicion. Moss, McDowell, and Stewart were charged of raping white women. Because of these accusations, these black men were lynched. This prompted Wells to look further and investigate these so-called accusations. Who was the intended audience? In the late 1800s, Wells documented these lynchings, yet she published this for her audience in 1970, regardless of the dangerous effects that this task could do to a colored woman in the 70s. During the Civil War, whites in the north thought that they were bettering the lives of slaves by destroying the institution of slavery because it was un-Christian. The northern whites were in denial about the lynchings. The rate of violence increased significantly after the Civil War, so instead, Wells …show more content…
Wells witnessed this during Jim Crow South, and she went through and tracked all of these rape accusations in the South, and the only time when an accusation came forward was when there was competition and a lynching. Lynchings were used for white men to show control over black men due to economic tension. Ku Klux Klan offenses happened only during economic downturns. These rape cases were very common among the south, yet rape was being used as an excuse for white men to show control over white women. What the white men think that they can do for themselves, white women cannot do. This is the center of all the violence. Everyone during that time knew that rape and lynchings were scapegoats for white men to show dominance over everyone else— blacks and white
Southern Horrors Lynch Law in All Its Phases Book Review Da B. Wells-Barnett has written the book under review. The book has been divided into six chapters that cover the various themes that author intended to fulfill. The book is mainly about the Afro-Americans and how they were treated within the American society in the late 1800s. The first chapter of the book is “the offense” band this is the chapter that explains the issues that have been able to make the Afro-American community to be treated in a bad way by the whites in the United States in the late 1800s.
She gives a hint that the whites were able to do whatever they wanted to the blacks during the time. She even goes on to talk about the brutal killing of her mother in a rape situation by three white men. She also talks about the difference in white and black education. White people would have better
The surrounding area at the time was ruled by whites which in return brought prejudice. Not only in society were these challenges present, but they were also existent
The books Violence in the West and The Triangle Fire cultivate around three events: the Johnson County War, the Ludlow Massacre, and the Triangle Fire. The names of these events gives way to how the public interpreted them; the Johnson County War implies that both sides engaged in fighting and stood a chance, the Ludlow Massacre implies strong violence against a defenseless group, and the Triangle Fire, nicknamed the “Gotham Holocaust” by the Chicago Sunday Tribune, implies a group that did not stand a chance against a strong force of nature. Why was the Johnson County War viewed as an equal sided fight, while the Ludlow Massacre and Triangle Fire viewed as national tragedies that needed remedying? The latter two events largely dealt with the
One being that its author had little credibility during her time. Walker is also a female, but she wrote during a time where African American writers were more common. Meeropol had no problems with credibility, being an educated, white male. Being an African America female gave Wells less credibility when it came to publishing works, let alone publishing editorials that criticized and exposed white Americans. Not only was she not granted credibility, but she was punished for her works decrying lynching, specifically those of African American shopkeepers by their white competitors, by angry whites destroying her business and forcing her to flee to the North (Rogers).
The Telegraph condemned lynchings on the grounds that they defamed the state’s reputation in the eyes of the nation. Anderson and his staff were not like other reformers of the era who held greater trust in the Federal Government. The Telegraph wanted to see its citizens, without outside interference, make changes to better their own community. It opposed the orgy of lynching, but did so on pragmatic grounds rather than for moralistic or humanitarian reasons. Perhaps Anderson’s convictions were pure.
In 1861, Harriet Jacobs publishes the first full-length slave narrative written by a woman under the pseudonym Linda Brent. In her autobiography, titled Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet shines a light on the sexual harassment women endured under the system of slavery, however, with the Civil War in its midst the book didn’t get the attention it deserved until it was later recovered and widely published during 1987. Harriet takes the cultural narrative of the time period, men are superior and a woman's place is in the home, and effectively crafts her own story while dismantling these views (James 1-2). Simultaneously, Harriet grapples with telling the story of Dr. Flint’s, Harriet’s master, sexual pursuit of her and abiding by
The Emancipation Proclamation was legislation signed in 1890’s, declaring that slavery had come to end. However, African-Americans were still unfairly treated within society. By the 1930s, the amount of lynching’s decreased in Southern America, but many of the same methods og racism led to a number of "legal lynchings” (Jacobson, 1992). These were judicial dealings missing the key aspects of fairness and justice. Following the Civil War, Southern communities used lynching as a way to maintain the strict segregation between whites and African-American’s.
The topic I will be discussing about is Ida B . Wells & the campaign against lynching . First we have to know what lynching or lynch means .According to legal dictionary lynching is defined as , the concept of taking the law into one 's own hands to punish a criminal almost certainly predates recorded history. Lynching (or " lynch law " ) is usually associated in the United States . With punishment directed toward blacks , which made up a highly disproportionate number of its victims .The
In “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl”, by Harriet Jacobs, the story takes place in a small southern town. The setting revolves around the life experiences from Harriet herself from when she was 6, she doesn’t know whether she was a slave or not until her mother finally dies; her masters were Dr. Flint and his wife Mrs. Flint. Harriet from there begins to narrate her story and journey as she gets older, how she experienced the horrors of slavery as well as the abuse and uncomfortable harassment from Dr. Flint (attempting to rape, touch and hurt poor Harriet). Throughout the book it is very clear that there truly exist an unfair relationship between African Americans and Whites, with both sides regarding one as the oppressors and being the
Through the events of history, blacks and whites were lynched, but blacks were primarily victims of lynching. On page 606, ‘Calling Nooses What They Are – Terrorism’ George Curry makes a history reference, stating: “Statistics compiled by the NAACP in 1921, the 3,224 lynching’s in the U.S between 1889 – 1918, 2,522 were of black people.” This shows that a small percentile of white men, were lynched compared to black men. This is a prime example, of a hate crime, which was directed towards black people, based on hatred and racism.
They were lynched by association whether they had anything to do with the crime or not. Sometimes they were already dead from being beaten or burned and still got hung for everyone to see, and other times they were already hung and dead and the white men would pretty much empty their guns into the lifeless soul and leave the body there for everyone to see. The lynchings had gotten to the point where it was
In Ida B. Wells’ works Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases and A Red Record, Ida B. Wells argues against the lynching of African Americans of the time. Wells’ uses many strategies and techniques to make her arguments as convincing as possible throughout her works. She also uses clear language and well-structured sentences to make it clear what she is arguing. Ida B. Wells makes sure to use statistics and offers rebuttals to the opposing side’s point of view to strengthen her argument. Wells presents these arguments by isolating and clearly stating the problem, giving descriptive and specific examples, using statistics, and offering rebuttals.
The excerpt I chose to reflect on is called “An End to the Neglect of the Problems of the Negro Woman!” by Claudia Jones (1949). Jones express the concerns that women of color in her time suffer from the neglect and degradation they receive throughout their lives. During this time, the reason many African American women go through the struggles in their community originated from the notion that the “bourgeoisie is fearful of the militancy of the Negro woman” (108). In my opinion, they have every right to be afraid of African American women. As Jones stated nicely "once Negro women undertake action, the militancy of the whole Negro people, and thus of the anti-imperialist coalition, is greatly enhanced" (108).
When people read the novel, they may think that the way that they portray African Americans is not true whatsoever. It makes it look like African Americans are animals and their only motif is to cause harm to others in order for them to feel superior and feel okay about themselves. For example, when Bigger is trying to put Mary in the furnace he does not feel guilty whatsoever, but in fact feels good about it and feels a rush of adrenaline rushing through his body. Also, when Bigger eventually kills Bessie so that she wouldn’t tell the police, he feels this type of adrenaline again in which makes him feel good about himself and does not feel guilty about it. This is not true, in which not all African Americans are is trying to cause harm to others just because so they could feel good about themselves, or get their self esteem up.