A gentleman by the name of James Cameron passed away recently, and I am willing to bet that most African Americans have no idea who he was. Mr. Cameron was over ninety years old when he died, and he was the founder of the "Black Holocaust Museum in Milwaukee. But that's not why I am talking about him in this post. You see, Mr. Cameron was one of the very few people to survive a lynching. That now infamous picture of his two friends hanging from a tree in Marion Indiana should have included him. But someone among the mob of barbarians shouted to let him go, and miraculously, they did just that. Thankfully, he lived to tell his story over and over again. And it's people like Mr. Cameron, -through his accounts, and his work to create the museum- that has always helped to remind us of what a horrible country this used to be, and what a horrible country it can become, if we are not vigilant. The following are just reminders of some of those negroes who were not as fortunate as Mr. Cameron:
SAM HOSE-Lynched, 4/23/1899, Newman, GA.
Mr. Hose killed his employer over wages. He was hanged, burned, and skinned; his genitals mutilated by a lynch mob. Some of his body parts
were taken by onlookers.
WILLIAM BROWN-Lynched, 09/1919, Omaha, NE.
Mr. Brown was dragged from the Douglas County jail
by a lynch mob. He was shot, hanged, his body dragged through the streets,
and burned. Pieces of the rope that was used to lynch him were
sold as souvenirs for 10 cents a piece.
THOMAS SHIPP & ABRAHAM SMITH-Lynched, 08/07/1930, Marion, IN.
These were Mr. Cameron's companions on that faithful night.
They were accused of killing a white man and raping a white
woman.Of course they never received a trial, and none of the alleged perpetrators were prosecuted.
RUBIN STACY-Lynched, 07/19/1935, Fort Lauradale, FL.
Taken by a white mob from deputies near Miami.
This homeless tenant farmer's crime was scaring a white woman
in her home when he went to knock on her door. Out of work and hungry, he was simply trying to get something to eat.
LINT SHAW-Lynched, 1936, Royston, GA.
MICHAEL DONALD-Lynched, 03/21/1981, Mobile, AL.
He was lynched by three white men who went looking for a black man to kill-any
black man- after anotherblack man was acquitted by a predominantly black jury of killing a white police officer.
"I do forgive you. From the day I found out who you all was, I asked God to take care of you all, and he has"
~Marge Donald~(Mother of Michael Donald) to her son's killers.
Good for you Ms. Donald, I am glad you have the capacity to forgive and call on your God for strength. The field-negro, on the other hand, is not so forgiving, and not so willing to forget.
That's where the anger comes from, and that's what drives me to keep reminding
my fellow Americans -especially black folks- what unchecked power is capable of doing to people.
Those were just a few of the thousands of my people lynched at the hands of white mobs.
No trials, no due process, no dignity in their death. -I am sure family pets had better burials back then. Just remember when the flag wavers tell you how great of a country this is, and how lucky you are to be living in the "greatest country on God's green earth". When blinded by hatred, what some of these God fearing people did to their fellow human beings, and how many of their fellow citizens turned away.
Thanks Mr. Cameron!
18 comments:
Yo Field great post, I myself will be posting some articles about lynching, focusing on lynching as american state, and federal govermental allowed terroism. Reason bieng because all of the laws that permitted lynching such as all white juries, and not allowing black people to vote where illegal according to the united states constitution. Also the Naacp tried to get a federal anti-lynching legislation passed, but congress wouldnt do even though they knew that illegal killing of black folk was going on. I believe this alone seals our case for reperations. Mark
It never fails to amaze me of our capacity as a people to forgive. It's not rational.... it comes from a spiritual depth. I have always believed the we are primarily a spiritual and righteous people. Some see this as weakness or even simple-mindedness. But in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."
Like you FN, I don't know if I could have that capacity, that strength to turn the other cheek in circumstances like these or pray for God to forgive those who would terrorize, degrade, dehumanize and murder me, my family or people.... but I do know this: It takes that supernatural faith which can ONLY come from the grace of God. I am striving to get there. "Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do."
Blessings.
Thanks Mark, I am looking forward to your post. Therer is an interesting political history to lynching as well, and I am glad more people are starting to focus on it.
asgbagna; you my brother seem to be a very spiritual person-I can tell from your posts and from what I see on your site. Fortunately, there are more like you than there are like me-reckless and angry :) among us black folks to keep things in perpective.
But pray for me.
Peace!
FN
FN... in no way do I consider you "reckless"... and there is nothing wrong with focused "anger" which stems from the injustices that we see... past and present. Believe it or not, I have a lot of "Malcolm" within me... and I consider that a good thing. I enjoy and am inspired by your passion. Like you, I too am daily trying to be the best person I can be... hoping to be a source of enlightenment and not darkness. So let's pray for each other.
Blessings.
Yo Fn I dont think you are reckless, I think I kinda understand where you are comming from. Although I dont believe in calling people names because I believe it gives black people an all to convientent excuse to start calling each other and other people names. This is something we are very good at, but it dont get us no where. But where you totally redeem yourself is when you allow dissenting oppionion without being rude to them. God bless you. Mark
and never forgive
06 23 06
Hey Field Negro:
I am damnear speechless. Just as we have that <><><><> flash thing on our blogs for 911, we need to have one for those atrocities so that the blogging community can be reminded. My God. I recall hearing a story about how an Uncle of mine got lynched in DeQuincy, LA about eighty years back. My Grandpa Butch was a boy, so the grown folks didn't allow him to hear the details, but his DEATH was an atrocity as were all other victims of lynchings. Sometimes I fear that we are returning to those days but it may not be with Black people, it may be other ethnic groups that are being targetted and harassed. You are right, Mr. Cameron was a great man. I am touched, angry, saddened yet empowered after reading this. It makes me really think about how far we have come and how we have opportunities and the due process (at least in principle) that our ancestors wished they had. Yet we still need to move...Have a good weekend:)
06 23 06
Regarding the comments above, it seems as though both the pacifist and the directed anger perspectives are needed to affect change. The media showed the world the protests in the South, but the boycotts affected economies and I think those were catalysts for change. In that sense I do agree with Malcolm X; By ANY MEANS necessary!
You know what tnb alerts... I have decided that this is my last response to you. As I stated earlier, I could give you a TWB for every so called TNB that you come up with thatis far worse than yours. But I won't, because I am pretty sure I made my point. The Miami Seven had a thought maybe in their minds. Your boy, Timothy McVeigh, on the other hand, completed his sick act, and killed women and children in the process.
I won't ban you from this site, because unlike you, I am not afraid to take comments. Besides, I like when you expose your ignorance, so that people of color know what they are dealing with out there.
Have a nice evening, and say a prayer with your kids for me. -Hopefully you don't have any-
FN
the miami 7 or however many it is just a lot of hype that the bush crime family has invented and seized upon for the moment in order to further scare people of all races. now the bush crime family in their insidiousness have begun to portray your average everyday ordinary black people as potential terrorists. more reason to fear a black person. also FN this could play into your possible lynching assertions. (in that it could happen again etc)
Yo Field good way to putthe Nazi in his place. Mark
Yo Field do you ever have any problems posting photos on blogspot because I am and this shit is driving me crazy.Mark
Mark, hit me on my email:
fnblg@yahoo.com
I will tell you the best way around that problem.
Peace!
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I'm not American or Black,but could I suggest you try googling "who brought the slaves to america".As a White guy,I'm sick of getting the blame for slavery heaped onto my race.In the days of the transatlantic slave trade,we whites just didn't have the international contacts needed to carry out such a trade.But one group - with white skins - did.& as far back as the reign of the emperor Charlemagne that group were given the exclusive right to trade in slaves for his empire.Go figure,as you americans say.Oh,& that same group also founded the N.A.A.C.P. & now make sure that through their control of your media,every possible slight against Black people is magnified to an outrage.(P.S.Dare you to publish this comment).
http://outlawjimmy.com/2014/12/08/an-olympic-tale/
and everyone one who was ever lynched black or white, yes white criminals were lynched to and in greater numbers then blacks, got what they deserved. Blacks love to try and create all these things that were committed against them based on skin color when in fact its the savage way they act that draws the hatred. look at modern blacks, violence, drugs, disease, perversion and ignorance is their legacy. They are the planets failure race and all good people need is a chance to instill the fear back into them so they will try to act human again. sadly violence has to be used against lower level animals to keep them in line. No matter how much the govt protects and makes excuses for them, no matter how much the media lies and twists the truth to put a positive light on them and no matter how much hollywood trys to brainwash people into thinking they are so great, plenty of us know the truth and are just waiting for the right time for some much needed population control. When that moment comes they will regret all this payback to the white man nonsense that they have bought into. They will then take their rightful place in history become a fart in a windstorm.
Bolches y tibios yarboclos
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