by Neph Lesperance, CSPL’s Digital Outreach Projects Coordinator
*TRIGGER WARNING FOR BLACK READERS* - LYNCHING STORY DESCRIBED IN SOME DETAIL BELOW
Here’s a question I’ve had to reflect on a lot lately…. “Why am I so vocal about race and politics?” Today, I am going to use this post to explore this question a bit…
July 2013. George Zimmerman was found not guilty for the murder of Trayvon Martin. I was floored. Like many others who shared my race and age, I had some experiences of microaggressions and racism. But the murder of a 17-year-old boy because of “suspicion,” threw me into something that no amount of experience or “talks” could prepare me for. To make matters worse, more deaths…
MICHAEL BROWN.
LAQUAN MCDONALD.
TAMIR RICE.
FREDDIE GRAY.
SANDRA BLAND.
ALTON STERLING.
PHILANDO CASTILE.
(These are the names that I knew about)
My heart was broken. I found myself in a place where I was searching for answers, and I wanted to be comforted. Nothing in the world could console me…
Instead, I reluctantly went to the only thing I felt I had left: the Protestant church. I was met with apathy. In other cases, silence. Then, enter Colin Kaepernick and the shooting of the five Dallas officers in 2016. Suddenly, the mainstream evangelical church (including the one I was attending) had plenty to say, and no one acknowledged the problem of police brutality, especially since that would involve giving value to black bodies.
Once again, I WAS FLOORED…
With time, God used my hurt and anger to draw me back to Him. Later, he met me at a winter conference and challenged me to play a role in fighting for/rebuilding my community. At the time, I did not know fully what this goal would entail, but little by little, I found that demanding justice (and accountability) would require me to have a better understanding of US history and politics. Additionally, learning forced me to realize that real change would require me to speak up and lean into some discomfort (and sometimes conflict).
Now, after reading my story, some of you may be wondering, “What does this have to do with me? Why should I care of people choose to be vocal about race and politics?”
As a graduate student, I made the decision to read The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James Cone. In his book, he describes the following story:
“When a mob in Valdosta, Georgia, in 1918 failed to find Sidney Johnson, accused of murdering his boss, Hampton Smith, they decided to lynch another black man, Haynes Turner, who was known to dislike Smith. Turner’s wife, Mary, who was eight months pregnant, protested vehemently and vowed to seek justice for her husband’s lynching. The sheriff, in turn, arrested her and then gave her up to the mob. In the presence of a crowd that included women and children, Mary Turner was stripped, hung upside down by the ankles, soaked with gasoline, and roasted to death. In the midst of this torment, a white man opened her swollen belly with a hunting knife, and her infant fell to the ground and was stomped to death” (Cone, p. 120).
The moment I finished reading this passage, my first response was confusion. I was in such disbelief that human beings would do something this vile that I had to reread the story. My confusion quickly turned into RAGE. I could not believe that a sheriff would willingly play a role in such a despicable, demonic act of violence. My other thoughts included but were not limited to the following:
“How did that speak to the narrative of being pro-life?”
“Where were all the ‘well-meaning’ or liberal white people we often hear so much about?
“How did this scenario affirm the theological beliefs of right to life or Imago Dei?” (It didn’t).
“WTF DID I JUST READ?”
To be honest, I still can’t believe that story even after my fifth or sixth time reading it….
Regardless, I believe that it is important to share these types of historical accounts if we want others to really understand the need to talk about politics and race. I know that it can be tempting to dismiss Mary’s story because of when it happened, but if we stop and reflect for a moment, 1918 was only about 100 years ago. This means that the children who were exposed to these (and many other) horrific acts of violence not only gave birth to the Pre-Boomer/Boomer generations, but they also passed on their less than favorable views on black life and suffering. In other words, their 1918 attitudes mirror the lack of empathy, maliciousness, and systematic oppression that still contributes to black death in this modern day. To make matters worse, many of these later generations still refuse to address or talk it.
So… Today, I invite you to consider your role in modern-day politics.
In solidarity with the black community, babynames.com shared the following list of black lives who were murdered due to racism and police brutality:
Emmett Till - Medgar Evers - Dr Martin Luther King Jr - John Crawford Iii - Michael Brown - Ezell Ford - Dante Parker - Michelle Cusseaux - Laquan McDonald - Tanisha Anderson - Akai Gurley - Tamir Rice - Rumain Brisbon - Jerame Reid - Matthew Ajibade - James N. Powell Jr. - Frank Smart - Natasha Mckenna - Tony Robinson - Anthony Hill - Mya Hall - Phillip White - Eric Harris - Walter Scott - William Chapman Ii - Alexia Christian - Brendon Glenn - Victor Manuel Larosa - Jonathan Sanders - Freddie Carlos Gray Jr. - Joseph Mann - Salvado Ellswood - Sandra Bland - Albert Joseph Davis - Darrius Stewart - Billy Ray Davis - Samuel Dubose - Michael Sabbie - Brian Keith Day - Christian Taylor - Troy Robinson - Asshams Pharoah Manley - Felix Kumi - Keith Harrison Mcleod - Junior Prosper - Lamontez Jones - Paterson Brown - Dominic Hutchinson - Anthony Ashford - Alonzo Smith - Tyree Crawford - India Kager - La’vante Biggs - Michael Lee Marshall - Jamar Clark - Richard Perkins - Phillip Pannell - Nathaniel Harris Pickett - Benni Lee Tignor - Miguel Espinal - Michael Noel - Kevin Matthews - Bettie Jones - Quintonio Legrier - Keith Childress Jr. - Janet Wilson - Randy Nelson - Antronie Scott - Wendell Celestine - David Joseph - Calin Roquemore - Dyzhawn Perkins - Christopher Davis - Marco Loud - Peter Gaines - Torrey Robinson - Darius Robinson - Kevin Hicks - Mary Truxillo - Demarcus Semer - Amadou Diallo - Willie Tillman - Terrill Thomas - Sylville Smith - Alton Sterling - Philando Castile - Terence Crutcher - Paul O’Neal - Alteria Woods - Bobby Russ - Jordan Edwards - Aaron Bailey - Ronell Foster - Stephon Clark - Antwon Rose Ii - Malice Green - Elijah Mcclain - Aiyana Stanley Jones - Botham Jean - Pamela Turner - Dominique Clayton - Sean Bell - Atatiana Jefferson - Jemel Roberson - Ryan Matthew Smith - Derrick Ambrose Jr. - Christopher Whitfield - Victor White Iii - Christopher Mccorvey - Timothy Thomas - Reginald Doucet Jr. - Danroy "Dj" Henry Jr. - Karvas Gamble Jr. - Eric Reason - Korryn Gaines - Rekia Boyd - Kionte Spencer - Darius Tarver - Manuel Ellis - Victor Duffy Jr. - Kobe Dimock-Heisler - Clinton R. Allen - Corey Jones - Tyre King - Eric Garner - Michael Lorenzo Dean - Trayvon Martin - Renisha Mcbride - Oscar Grant Iii - Breonna Taylor - Kalief Browder - Darrien Hunt - William Green - Ahmaud Arbery - Tony Mcdade - Jamel Floyd - George Floyd
As I look over this list, I cannot help but wonder… "Where we’d be today if all who claimed to be 'well-meaning' and church-going spoke up and challenged America's system of racial injustice?"
I like to imagine that the list shared above would have ended way before Emmett Till, but we are here… As we all process the recent deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, Nina Pop, and Breonna Taylor, I beg you to please resist the urge to remain silent or engage in active complicity. Instead, consider taking action by learning US history and getting involved politically.
Without you and your voice, we are just adding names to a list that shouldn’t have been created to begin with.
Sources:
Cone, James H. The Cross and the Lynching Tree. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2019. Kindle Edition.
Name of victims provided by babynames.com