Popular images are of an angry white mob stringing a black man up to a tree is which would only be half of the story. Lynching is an act of terror meant to spread fear among blacks, with also a broad social purpose of maintaining white supremacy in the economic, social, and political spheres. Although the practice of lynching had existed since before slavery, it was gaining momentum, when black towns sprang up across the South and the African American community began to make political and economic inroads by registering to vote, establishing businesses and running for public office. Many whites, landowners, and poor whites felt they were threatened by the rise in black communities. Foremost on their minds was a fear of sex between the races. Some whites embraced the idea that black men were sexual predators and wanted integration in order to be with white women. Lynching’s were frequently committed with notorious public displays. Like executions by guillotine in medieval times, lynching’s were often advertised in newspapers and drew large crowds of white families. Southern white men saw themselves as protectors of their way of life and their white women. Lynching’s were covered in local newspapers with headlines spelling out the horrific details. Photos of victims, with exultant white observers posed next to them, were taken for distribution in
Popular images are of an angry white mob stringing a black man up to a tree is which would only be half of the story. Lynching is an act of terror meant to spread fear among blacks, with also a broad social purpose of maintaining white supremacy in the economic, social, and political spheres. Although the practice of lynching had existed since before slavery, it was gaining momentum, when black towns sprang up across the South and the African American community began to make political and economic inroads by registering to vote, establishing businesses and running for public office. Many whites, landowners, and poor whites felt they were threatened by the rise in black communities. Foremost on their minds was a fear of sex between the races. Some whites embraced the idea that black men were sexual predators and wanted integration in order to be with white women. Lynching’s were frequently committed with notorious public displays. Like executions by guillotine in medieval times, lynching’s were often advertised in newspapers and drew large crowds of white families. Southern white men saw themselves as protectors of their way of life and their white women. Lynching’s were covered in local newspapers with headlines spelling out the horrific details. Photos of victims, with exultant white observers posed next to them, were taken for distribution in