Lynching Past & Present

Fighting the big corporate ATT&T to get Ms. Lucille’s, 86, phone back in operation, despite all the time he took, seems easy compared the struggle to get the landlord to fix her heating system. When I was over at her house working on restoring the phone I noticed she was using her gas stove to heat her house. She told me the heating system was broke and the landlord had promised to fix it. He never did and a week and half later she still has no heat in her house outside leaving the gas stove on. I called the person who manages the houses for landlord many times, she has called more times and another friend has called. Someone did come to look at it but said a new part was needed the person did not have but that person never returned.

She is careful about complaining to the landlord since at her age and condition it would be difficult to find another landlord to rent to her. She like many seniors wants to keep her independence and having her own place is part of it.

While making home visits I noticed that the housing conditions of the poor have drastically dropped. People are poorer more than ever and the housing stock has dropped in quality. I blame bed bugs and greedy landlords for the deteriorating situation but it is really many other factors, including all of us and the racism in American we cannot face.

I am now listening to an audio book, historical fiction novel, about the lynchings of African Americans in the South during the beginning of 20th century. It is horrible and would not be tolerated in our times. But today, under the ‘new Jim Crow’, “the rate of police killings of black Americans is nearly the same as the rate of lynchings in the early decades of the 20th century.”. Naturally the lynching of past days and the killing by police of today are very different. However, the lynchings of 100 years ago and modern day policemen killings of African-Americans are often for no good reasons and are very seldom prosecuted.

The racism of lynching was mostly in the South while police killings of blacks is all over the USA. How can we have gone so far in civil rights in the last 100 years and land up in the same place, African Americans, mostly male, being killed by whites, mostly policeman. Today when we hear about policeman killing persons unarmed African American males like Michael Brown, Dontre Hamilton or the 12 year boys playing with fake gun we say shame and life goes on. The government officials, not even the President, do not call it racism but rather tell us to vote and work hard and the system will change. Racism of old, lynchings, as racism of today, police killings, was not changed in the ballot box but only when people of all racist stood up and said in one clear voice in word and action: “Enough”, we will not take it anymore. I am not talking about violence, although I can understand that response, but am talking about risking our lives, insults, reputations, careers to say stop. If a young black man, with a legal gun, shot and killed a white police officer who he felt was endangering his life, would he be charged and held accountable in the justice system?

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