Lynching
By Temperance

Lynching is basically a mob hanging a person, burning them, or shooting them. Lynching, now, is a felony in the United States, fortunately. Lynching was basically an act to punish someone that allegedly participated in a criminal offense. The KKK was part of those lynchings at times. Most of the lynchings in the U.S. were targeted against African-Americans, but they weren’t ALWAYS targeted against African-Americans. Sometimes it was used as a means for control of the African-Americans.

Fortunately though, that’s all changed. But, we’re not talking about NOW. We’re talking about THEN. Anyway, let’s get back to the topic at hand. Between 1882 and 1968, nearly 3,500 African-Americans were lynched in the United States alone. That mostly happened from 1882 to 1920. Lynchings were usually performed by mobs or vigilantes. Mob violence was basically a form of proving that whites were supposedly better than blacks. Members of the mob who lynched the victim would often take photographs of the lynching.