WHAT IS LYNCHING?

A brief history of vigilante ‘justice’ used to terrorise Black Americans

Lynching is a term commonly associated with racism against Black Americans, but what did it actually entail? A lynching is when a violent mob apprehends and executes an individual under the pretext of some kind of extrajudicial justice. Such events often involved physical abuse, torture and public humiliation before the murder of the victim. Examples of such activities span the globe throughout history.

While people of any race or background could be the victim of lynching, in America they are most commonly associated with white mobs attacking Black Americans. The statistics bear this out, with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) stating that between 1882 and 1968 4,743 recorded lynchings took place, of which 3,446 (about 72 percent) targeted Black victims.

Lynchings were used as cover to victimise and terrorise Black Americans: it was claimed the victim had committed a crime or social trespass of some description, which in turn became the pretext for attacking the individual and murdering them. The most well-known image of such a lynching involved the victim being hung from a tree, but it could also involve mutilation, decapitation or being burned alive. There are even examples of photos from lynchings being sold as souvenirs.