withoutsanctuary.org

[Howard2015]

While I was always taught about lynchings and discrimination, the pain and cruelty present in these pictures is ineffable. In the wake of this hate, I find myself stupefied and dismayed. I've always known racism to be hateful, but from seeing these pictures...reading these stories...I've gained a personal connection to its victims that forces me to acknowledge reality. The most surprising aspect of the pictures is the mob fanfare surrounding the lynchings. Children were hoisted to see, food was eaten and men puffed out their chests as if they'd just hunted some prize game. It's sickening. I personally use the historical significance gleaned from my viewing to measure the progress of equality. Where once a black man could be hung for entering a white man's house, we now have a black man IN the white house. These pictures, and the struggle that would follow are constant reminders for me to value my freedom...it has been, after all, paid for.[/b][/i]