U.S. lynchings and racism more than a nuisance

It’s more than a knot in a rope so when Hamilton Township officials discovered a noose inside a Steinert High School bathroom, an investigation launched.

The December 2019 incident attracted almost no media coverage as the symbol of hate and terror takes a backseat to the N-word, swastikas and Confederate flags.

District officials said they planned to review surveillance cameras and to speak with people who might have information. Next, a statement.

“The Hamilton Township School District takes all bias issues very seriously and we will not rest until this incident has been fully investigated and all appropriate actions necessary are taken to address this situation, including identifying those responsible and holding them accountable,” said superintendent Scott Rocco.

“There is no place for any type of bias incident in our schools.”

Not certain if Rocco, other school officials or law enforcement rested or experienced many sleepless nights worrying about that noose.

That noose, similar to one found in the stall of black NASCAR driver, Bubba Wallace, thought to be a victim of a noose left in his stall although an FBI investigation determined the ligature had been placed last year, holds a historical identification for intimidation.

The NAACP estimates that more than 4,700 people were lynched in the U.S. between 1882 and 1968. Approximately 74 percent of those strung up were blacks.

Author Philip Dray details a horrific U.S. connection to lynching in At the Hands of Persons Unknown: The Lynching of Black America.

The title references how municipalities and towns dealt with recording death by lynchings. Those hanging from the end of many ropes were given death certificates that “persons unknown” caused their demise.

Death by hanging included other social indiscretions including body mutilation, castration, body burning and other assaults.

Occasionally, hangings occurred after victims suffered incredible tortures. Some hangings were advertised weeks before which allowed families to prepare for a Sunday afternoon picnic. Some lynchings provided slave bone necklaces and other trinkets for sale made after bodies were boiled in oil.

The KKK employed nooses to strike fear into blacks who had gained freedom after slavery ended.

Nooses send a message, a watch your step warning and while Superintendent Rocco promised action and struck a serious tone about an investigation, not another news article followed the original published item.

Personally, love nooses, especially when they appear in suburban, predominantly Caucasian schools. Nooses represent opportunities for discussions about U.S. racial history, a chance to tighten up loose inaccuracies about this nation.

In fact, a noose found in an urban, predominantly African American school, allows a similar foray. If more African American and Latino students knew about their proud history and what their ancestors endured, survived and sacrificed, education could serve as a major attraction.

While finding and dealing with the Steinert High noose culprit ranked as important, school officials could have changed lesson plans for instructions about equality, prejudice, bigotry and race. Instead, another missed opportunity occurred as failure to discuss race allows young minds to underdevelop.

One would hope that a noose found in any school set in motion a mechanism that embraced minority students, assuring that their emotional needs were addressed.

In 2014, a Steinert High Caucasian senior student attracted attention by driving his pickup to school with a Confederate flag attached.

Of course, the student caused fury as he gained support for his right to freedom of speech. The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey dispatched a letter of support to ensure the student did not suffer retribution for his confederacy display.

Hamilton Twp. Superintendent James Parla said “We are very well aware of the constitutional rights of our students, regardless of how unpopular and as divisive certain ideas may be.

“It is our intention that this recent event be used as a ‘teachable moment,’ so that our students may benefit from gaining a deeper understanding of this matter.”

A fantastic opportunity exists for U.S. residents who seek real truth about our nation’s bloody, violent, racist and anti-Semitic past and present. Let’s talk about everything during this fertile time for positive change.

Running from our history will solve nothing and kicking this can down the road seems irresponsible.

Honesty will hurt for a while and shame may shadow others but the truth will set us free.