withoutsanctuary.org

[gipeterson]

At first I found it amazing how many of the photos showed children at the lynchings, my perception was always that of a bunch of white men performing and witnessing these atrocities. I am sure that it makes sense to bring children to the lynchings in order to desensitize them to the violence and to reinforce that the black people hanging from the trees or charred beyond recognition are not people but something less than human which can be slaughtered for entertainment without repercussion. By bringing their children, the southern whites are also building a legacy, and perpetuating and reinforcing the racist views for years to come. The violence not only kept the black people living in fear, it also put fear into the hearts of white people who might disagree with these racist views and practices.