The Nooses At Work Sites Show We Are Still A Racist Nation

 

Progress has been made toward racial equality in the United States. But make no mistake, we are still a racist nation. This is shown by the prevalence of Confederate flags being flown across the nation (even in states that had nothing to do with the Confederacy). And a more ominous symbol is also popping up far too often -- nooses at work sites. 

In the past few years, racists have been bold. And having one of their own in the White House (Trump) made them even bolder. It is time for the majority of decent Americans to squash this troubling trend. I don't know if we can completely eliminate racism, but we can make it so shameful that the racists are afraid to make their sick beliefs public.

The following is much of an article on this problem by Keisha N. Blain at MSNBC.com:

In May, workers building a new Amazon facility in the town of Windsor, Connecticut, came across a noose on the property. It was the eighth noose they encountered since construction on the facility began in late 2020. The repeated occurrences forced Amazon to delay construction on several occasions and incited a great deal of tension among local residents. Close to 40 percent of the 28,733 residents in Windsor are Black, and about 9 percent of residents are Hispanic or Latino. . . .

Despite the addition of new security cameras and a $100,000 offer from the company for any tips leading to an arrest, law enforcement officials have been unable to determine the source of the hateful symbols. As the FBI now works with the Windsor Police Department to locate the culprits, many residents and activists in Windsor are demanding Amazon and local officials take these developments seriously. . . .

Since 2015, Black workers in various states — including Iowa, New Jersey, North Carolina and Maryland — have reported finding more than 50 nooses at construction sites, according to an analysis by The Washington Post.

The continued appearance of nooses in these workplaces — and in other private and public spaces — reveals much about the prevalence of racism in American life and culture. In many ways, the noose is the quintessential, if deeply troubling, American symbol. Its persistence in American life and culture today attests to the fact that white supremacist ideas have always been mainstream.

Nooses, which are associated with acts of lynching in the United States, are one of the prevailing symbols of hate, violence and white supremacy. Since the end of the Civil War, white supremacists have relied on nooses as a means of terrorizing Black people. While it is difficult to pinpoint exactly when the noose transitioned to being primarily viewed as the instrument of racial terror preferred by white supremacists, one thing is certain: Its popularity among hate groups coincided with Black Americans’ quest for expanded political rights and opportunities.

Much like the Confederate battle flag, which gained increasing popularity as Black Americans worked to improve their socioeconomic conditions, nooses have become a key weapon for those who resist racial equality. It is no wonder that members of the Ku Klux Klan frequently utilized the symbol during the 20th century as part of its nationwide campaign of racial terrorism. These symbols of hate send a powerful message to Black people and other marginalized groups, one of exclusion and racial subjugation — and impending violence.

According to Kidada E. Williams, associate professor of history at Wayne State University and the author of “They Left Great Marks on Me,” “The hangman’s noose is the most potent artifact of the history of lynching and other forms of racist violence in the U.S.”

“When racists hang them in public places,” Williams told me, adding, “they are communicating their belief in Black people’s disposability and invoking a history of its reality.”

The frequency of lynchings in the United States during the 19th and 20th centuries underscores why nooses extend far beyond mere symbols. While the victims of lynching varied, Black Americans represented the majority of those targeted by white assailants. According to researchers at the Equal Justice Initiative, an estimated 4,084 Black Americans were lynched from the period of 1877 to 1950. These violent acts primarily took place in the Southern region of the United States — states such as Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi. However, they were by no means isolated to the South.