Dec. 14, 2014
Legalized Lynchings is on the Rise
By E. Faye Williams
(TriceEdneyWire.com) - I've never been one to forcefully insert my opinions into the minds or mouths of others, but I think the events of the past several weeks require a more forceful approach to getting certain ideas into the public domain for discussion and action.
It’s been made abundantly clear that Black life holds little value in America’s so-called post-racial environment. Though our system of jurisprudence was made available to the cases of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, the exercise of those rights came to less than satisfactory results. Irregular prosecutorial practices led to no indictment. The consequence of those practices led to legalized lynching.
12 year old Tamir Rice was killed on a public playground by a trigger-happy policeman. Instead of the reasoned response to a threat the officers initially described, Tamir was murdered in callous haste without warning.
Brown, Garner and Rice join an increasing list of Black people who’ve been relegated to a long list of examples of historical racial animus. The recurrence of this type of event is an ever present reminder that Black people are an expendable element in America.
If local prosecutors, law enforcement personnel and grand juries fail to provide for our guaranteed protections, one obvious question that arises from this series of events is "Who will provide the protections we have come to expect under the law?"
Considering the latest civil and voting rights decisions of the Supreme Court, it is doubtful that we can hope for relief from the highest court. It seems that the only legal institution available to serve as an advocate for us is the Office of the Attorney General.
This brings us to the key part of my discussion:
Q: Who will succeed Eric Holder as the Attorney General?
A: The decision is still "up in the air." The answer will be determined by the vote of a more conservative Senate that will have to confirm any designee submitted by President Obama. If our community is to be protected, Mr. Holder's replacement must be an individual of character and substance who’s more interested in the rights of all citizens rather than political propriety.
Q: Will we be able to muster the political will and proactive response to force the conservative majority to respect our will and interests as they deliberate on their confirmation decision?
A: We must stand up for the confirmation of a designee who’ll protect our interests, too, and flex our power as a constant presence in the landscape of every political movement that concerns our community. Current demonstrations to prevent police brutality clearly illustrate the political will necessary to convince those not aligned with the interests of our community that it’s better to make a concession in their selection than to risk confrontation.
President Obama nominated Loretta Lynch to become General Holder's replacement. In her nomination, he praised her professionalism and stated that "She doesn't look to make headlines. She looks to make a difference."
Her record clearly indicates she’s a champion for equal protection under the law. She’s a staunch advocate for the protection of voting rights.
Our ability to protect our community is dependent upon how aggressively we fight for those positioned to protect us. Loretta Lynch is the right person who’ll, in part, determine our future for the next two years.
If you think the struggle does not continue against lynching Black people, I refer you to Senate Resolution 39 in the Congressional Record, Volume 151, Issue 77 on June 13, 2005 regarding our nation’s record on lynching and how many things have not changed. I’ll address this subject in greater detail in a future article—but we must continue to march and protest in all the non-violent ways we can to stop police brutality and other injustices.
(E. Faye Williams, President of the National Congress of Black Women. www.nationalcongressbw.org)