Deadly Amusements – Grace Elizabeth Hale
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According to the essay Deadly Amusements Grace Elizabeth Hale tells us how terrible people from South dealt with the exslaves, using the form of lynching. It became like a habit or entertainment , when people (white Southerners) from the whole area gathered together to see the show. Also those events were published in the newspapers and were given into publicity, in another words there were public tortures . Public tortures emerged around 1890 and continued until 1930s , mainly in the small cities of the South. The lynchers were the form of criminal punishment . But how the ordinary people, even families can participate in such acts, as a spectator?
The first spectacle lynching of a southern black Henry Smith happened in Texas , it named as the founding event. After his death the practice of lynching became more popular and powerful. I think after the first lynching it become more dehumanization process, because people gathered together form different towns, it even became more organized , the mob drove cars, visitors arrived on special excursion trains, those events were held on radio stations that announced upcoming event. But the most terrifing thing is when a lynched mans skin or part of the body was turned into a souvenir or even a leather bag. The reason of this public torture was to provide support to the white supremacy by the murder .
Another lynching happened in Geogia , in 1899, it was a Sam Hose, who was accused in killing of white farmer , harming his children and raping his wife. Even though Hose told that he did not commit raping ,nobody believed him.This torture was announced in advance and most of the publicity were very excited to watch person be killed slowly by burning . This is showing how cruel were the white southerners and their power, and their control among black people.