Alabama Political Reporter shines a light on the myth of the scary black man

 

Lynching in America

Alabama Political Reporter, 10/10/2022

Later, pieces of the man would be sold. His knuckles. His fingers. His burned hunks of flesh. 

This was not a scene from a horror movie. It was real life. It was the South in 1899 – where public lynchings were very much a reality for Black men and women. In this case, the man’s name was Sam Hose. He had been wrongfully accused of rape and child abuse. But his real crime was being a “scary” Black man in a mostly white country. A country that was still very much struggling with the aftermath of slavery. 

A country in which white politicians had learned well that painting Black men as “animals,” “beasts,” “savages” and “criminals” could be effective political campaign tools.  [emphasis added]

All part of the myth of the Scary Black Man. 

A myth that has been way too politically expedient to die.

Here is what the GOP is doing in Wisconsin today:  purposefully darkening Mandela Barnes' skin.

Here is a group that should scare the shit out of Wisconsin voters.