Publicized Murder

Ida B. Wells,


While reading your writing, an article by C. K. Ferreri popped into mind, as it related the lynchings of the past with the police shootings of the present. Aside from their utter violent nature, they share a similarity in that they are both publicized and put on display, for the world to consume and eventually, use to desensitize themselves. Both of the acts; however, maintain their status as a sort of performative punishment committed against a specific group for merely existing.

On another note, the line "it is a remarkable and discouraging fact that the majority of such scoundrels are Negroes who have received educational advancements at the hands of white taxpayers" reflects much of the rhetoric in modern times, which I also found to be interesting. This reinforces the idea that many of the issues from today are simply magnified issues of the past that were never solved/addressed.