what we mean by modern day lynching.
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i realized that when the murder of Ahmaud Arbery was immediately called a modern day lynching, i had no questions.
that is because i am familiar with the use of violence and legislation throughout the history of America to curtail and control the rights of Black bodies in public and private space.
realizing that this isn’t necessarily common knowledge and so some might balk at the idea of this being a lynching,
i.e. “that’s a little dramatic, he wasn’t hung from a tree by a white mob in hoods,”
i wrote something to try to explain how the discomfort of White America in the face of free blackness has often been supported/protected through legislation.
and how the ability to engage in senseless violence against a Black body deemed a threat, under the guise of the protection of a public, and these actions being seen as justifiable is as American as our constitution. the link is in my bio.
my hope is that this context shows to those in doubt that this violence is systemic and far-reaching and it is specifically targeting Black America. our continuous denial of the systemic nature of this violence is leading to more and more Black lives lost with no accountability.
continuing to doubt this is contributing to the violence.
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