Lynching is defined as “the public killing of an individual who has not received any due process”.[i] Last night, as the governor of Mississippi decided to execute Marcellus Williams despite new evidence of his likely innocence and the victim’s family pleading for a stay of execution, it’s clear that what we have just witnessed is a lynching.
I think in this moment it’s important to remember that less than 100 years ago white Americans would gather in crowds to watch as Black Americans were lynched-either by being hung from trees or brutally beaten to death. People attended these events socially, like going to the theater or a live show.
To me, the significance of this cannot be understated. It speaks to the intense dehumanization and desensitization that must occur for any human being to be able to not just bear witness, but exuberantly cheer on, the death of another. These processes are the same as those used in the military. You must “other” those you are fighting against, otherwise soldiers will incur psychological wounds from committing harm.
And while we might not be joyfully watching on, and many of us outraged at the injustice, even the justice system itself was powerless to stop it. When even our legal system is powerless to uphold the law, it’s clear that the time has come to check our systems and their abuses of power… to reckon with the Anti-Blackness that plagues our country.
It’s not lost on me that Marcellus’ life was taken in the state of Mississippi, where there are the highest number of recorded lynchings[ii]. The same state where the innocent 14-year-old Emmitt Till, lynched for allegedly flirting with a white woman, lost his life. The same state where his killers later bragged about their crime after being acquitted by an all-white jury.[iii] I hope the parallels to Emmitt Till don’t stop there. The injustice of what happened to Emmitt stimulated the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. I am praying we can catalyze what just took place to spark our collective action now.
For those of us in white bodies, we must stay tuned in and refuse to be desensitized to the violence on display. Like a frog in a pot of water where the heat is slowly being turned up to boiling, the injustices happening here put us all at risk.
For those with melanated skin, I won’t tell you what you need to do in this moment, or ever. I will say that my heart is with you as you navigate the relentless injustice and brutality that America serves to you and your communities daily. And that I hope that one day it will be a better place for you and your children to live.
For all of us, we may not hold positions of power, but collectively we have power. Those ruling with oppression, abuse, power and control, just don’t want us to realize how much.
[i] History of lynching in America. NAACP. (2022, February 11). https://naacp.org/find-resources/history-explained/history-lynching-america
[ii] ibid
[iii] ibid