"Having a historical perspective is imperative in times like these. The same individuals that were chanting “SEND HER BACK” a few days ago would have been chanting “STRING HIM UP” 70 years ago"-James W.Smith
In the report, Lynching in America: Confronting the Legacy of Racial Terror, EJI documented more than 4400 lynchings of black people in the United States between 1877 and 1950. EJI identified 800 more lynchings than had previously been recognized.
Racial terror lynchings ...were violent and public acts of torture that traumatized Black people throughout the country and were largely tolerated by state and federal officials. Lynchings in the American South were not isolated hate crimes committed by rogue vigilantes. Lynching was targeted racial violence at the core of a systematic campaign of terror perpetuated in furtherance of an unjust social order. These lynchings were terrorism.
The lynching era left thousands dead; it significantly marginalized Black people in the country's political, economic, and social systems; and it fueled a massive migration of black refugees out of the South. In addition, lynching - and other forms of racial terrorism - inflicted deep traumatic and psychological wounds on survivors, witnesses, family members, and the entire African American community.
The National Memorial for Peace and Justice
417 Caroline Street
Montgomery, Alabama 36104
contact_us@eji.org
417 Caroline Street
Montgomery, Alabama 36104
contact_us@eji.org
