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| Graph in Michael V. Uschan. Lynching and Murder in the Deep South. Detroit. Lucent Books. 2007. p.29 |
You can’t think of racism and violence in the south without thinking of the Ku Klux Klan or KKK. The KKK was started in Tennessee. The purpose of the KKK was basically just to cause harm to the black community and any member of the white community that supported or tried to help them. The members of the KKK would wear hoods to cover their faces when they would commit these crimes. The fact that the members of the KKK were disguised in their outfits and they usually committed their crimes at night made it hard to bring any charges against the Klansmen. They were able to commit many violent crimes without being prosecuted or having any form of punishment. Members weren’t only people of the lower class, but business people and church goers were involved with the Klan.
When the North won the Civil War the government abolished slavery. The owners of the former slaves were reluctant to let their slaves go. Some Southern states passed laws, such as the Black Codes, in order to give restrictions to African-Americans. The Black Codes made it impossible for blacks to vote, own property and it limited the jobs that they were able to get. In response to that Congress passed more amendments. The Fourteenth Amendment was passed to grant citizenship to African Americans and protection under the law and the Fifteenth Amendment guaranteed blacks the right to vote”. Despite Congress trying to help African-Americans to start a new life that would have equal rights to Caucasian men, the efforts didn’t work. Members of the KKK and other racist groups rebelled against the laws and took matters into their own hands.
When blacks tried to implement the new laws they would be punished. Their homes would get burnt down; they would be beat, and whipped. Often these atrocities would happen in the middle of the night. The offenders would resort to whipping as a reminder that whites were still the ones in power although they were no longer slaves. Black veterans that had fought in the war weren’t safe either, some were killed even in their uniforms. The abuse wasn’t just limited to the black people themselves; if someone, even a white man, tried to help them he got the same treatment. Blacks would be arrested for minor indiscretions, like disrespecting white men, but if a white man murdered a black man it went unnoticed and he was never punished for his crime. It was acceptable to treat blacks however you wanted to, no matter how appalling the incident was. Most southerners acted like there was nothing wrong with killing African Americans. It was no big deal to them, it was just a common part of their lives.
Racists were able to keep their hatred going not only because of fellow racists, but it was taught to their children. Southerners would let their children watch the horrific acts such as lynching. The fact that these young children had learned hate through seeing such severe acts of violence is extremely disturbing. One would think that parents wouldn’t want to subject their kids to something of this magnitude, but it helped shape their identity into being racists. They didn’t have a chance to make up their own minds on if racism was right or wrong because they were brought up being shown that killing African Americans was acceptable and even normal. Black children were also affected by this, but not in the same way. They saw the violence from a different point of view. Generally, when they saw the criminal acts it was happening to their loved ones. People had no issues murdering a man or torturing him in front of his family.
African American women were victims of sexual assault crimes. Women were raped so that white men could show black men that they had power over everything. In some circumstances the women would even be lynched or murdered, usually along with their husbands.
Black people not only had to deal with physical abuse, but emotional abuse as well. They were often insulted and called names. The media portrayed them as a menace to society. The worst myth portrayed by film was that black men would rape white women if given the chance. This myth was the cause behind many of the lynching.
Blacks were left to fend for themselves and deal with what was going on. They had to be respectful toward the whites who were so mercilessly ruthless against them. They had to respect the restrictions on where they could go and even where they could sit on buses.
The government wasn’t a help during these times. They ignored the problems of the South, acted as if there was nothing illegal going on there. It took some highly courageous people to bring what was happening to the forefront and make changes happen. Some people campaigned to end lynching in America. There was a conference that lasted two days in New York in 1909, during that conference the NAACP was founded. The NAACP, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, was able to give exposure to the violence in the South.
The violence and racism continued for years into the Civil Rights Era. In 1954 there was a famous case Brown vs. Board of Education. This outcome of this case stated “separate but equal” public accommodation for blacks and whites was not a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. It had been years since blacks were freed from slavery and even given the right to vote, but they still wanted them separated from the whites. If separation is needed then are you really equal? The white members of the population still weren’t comfortable with being in close proximity to the black population after all the years of them being supposedly free. They still seemed to somehow feel that they were a better class of human beings and they deserved better establishments then African Americans. In 1955 there were similar cases of segregation and the ruling in Brown vs. Board of Education got reversed. Since then there has been progression and devastation to the Civil Rights Movement. There is no segregation now, violent crimes, based on race and gender, are no longer tolerated as they once were.
The book Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café is a fictional novel by Fannie Flagg it takes place in Alabama throughout several years. Although it is not a book based on true events it does give you different accounts of how African Americans were being treated during this time. The time frame in this book that the following events occurred in it range from 1930 to 1955. Idgie and Ruth own the Whistle Stop Café in the book and they make the bold decision to sell to blacks outside their back door, however they don’t let them come in the restaurant and eat. Their decision to do this is very brave because it makes several members of the town irate. The town sheriff, Grady Kilgore, has a talk with Idgie about this because he wants her to stop selling to them. Grady tells her that it's not right and she shouldn't be doing it. Idgie responds with an attitude. You find out later on in the book that the KKK had already been outside the Café years earlier trying to scare them since one of the members had seen them selling out the back door to African Americans. Grady went outside to find out who they were. That particular group of the KKK was from Georgia and left after Grady talked to them because “Georgia boys were mean, they were not stupid enough to ever fool around with the Klan in Alabama and were smart enough to leave in a hurry and stay gone” (Flagg 206). In 1955 the book has Idgie on trial with Big George, who was black, they were both being charged with killing the same white man. She gave Big George an alibi because she knew that she was more likely to get off then he was because of his race. Another incident that occurred in the book in 1949 had a young black girl, Clarissa, with a light complexion and green eyes going to a store downtown to buy perfume. Clarissa knew she could pass for a white person so she rode the “main white elevator” (Flagg 293). When the salesclerk went to wrap the scent she had chosen her Uncle Artis, who was undeniably a black man, came up to ask if she was his niece. Clarissa pretended to not hear him. The saleswoman saw Artis put his hand on his niece’s arm and she went back to where they were standing and immediately yelled at Artis to get away from Clarissa. The saleswoman had an extreme reaction, but that is how it was back then. Clarissa never did correct her; she let security throw her Uncle Artis in the alley. Fried Green Tomatoes doesn’t show the severe racism that went on, but it did address it throughout the entirety of the book.
Identity during this time would be hard to deal with as an African American; people hated you just because of the color of your skin. They had no real basis for their hate just the fact that you were black was enough. African Americans lost everything in some cases. It wasn’t a case of trying to hide your identity because there is no way to hide your skin tone. You had to deal with it because most of the time there would be no help for anyone. There were people that were willing to help, but they put themselves in danger by doing so. They risked everything because by helping out a black person meant that you could lose your house, your loved ones, even your life. The law enforcement officials weren’t safe from hate groups such as the Ku Klux Klan. They would attack you no matter what and they had the numbers and the strength to do it.
The KKK’s identity was one of pure hate. They would take the smallest things and blow them out of proportion just to kill a black person, they didn’t care. They thought the less black people in the world, the better off it would be. They stereotyped African-Americans into horrific people. They created myths so that others would get behind their killings and it worked. It’s disturbing to think that the United States went through a time like this with so much violence that was caused by ignorance. To know that some people still think the way that the KKK does is unsettling. Even now the South isn’t free from racism, but they don’t have the open violence that once existed there.
