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A Fourteen Point
Indictment of Lynching
Today the crime of lynching stands condemned
before the bar of public opinion. the Wagner-Van Nuys
Anti-Lynching bill now before congress would make the local
community responsible for the prevention of lynching and for the
apprehension and punishment of those who participate. this bill
should be passed at this session provided public opinion is
sufficiently outspoken and insistent.
Without attempting to present the entire case
against this national evil, we venture to enumerate the more
outstanding legal and moral violations that may be charged
against it.
1st -- It is a grave offense against civilized society.
2nd -- Lynching is a denial of fundamental human rights and a
violation of constitutional guarantees.
3rd -- For more than a century lynching has served to
humiliate and disgrace America before the civilized nations of
the world.
4th -- Every lynching is an open and flagrant defiance of the
orderly processes of the law and lawful authority.
5th -- Every lynching is an open and flagrant defiance of the
orderly processes of the law and lawful authority.
6th -- In the absence of an adequate anti-lynching law this
crime is defended and sanctioned in many communities as a
tradition which perpetuate racial and class inferiority.
7th -- It is frequently mentioned as a threat to curb
legitimate and lawful protests against manifest injustices.
8th -- It perpetuates interracial suspicion, antagonism, and
hatred in a land dedicated to the democratic cooperation of all
for the common ground.
9th -- Although its principal victim is the Negro it is a
threat against the peace and security of other minority groups.
10th -- The example of unpunished lynchings has produced mob
outrages by other lawless bands, such as the K.K.K. and the
Black Legion.
11th -- Every lynching employs the violent technique of the
revolutionist and is the ally and forerunner of the violence of
the revolutionist and the Communist.
12th -- Today lynching enjoys the invidious distinction of
being the one remnant of barbarism in American civilization.
13th -- The continuance of lynching-with-impunity has been
responsible for mob outrages of every character. Lynching has
been contagious and frequently epidemic in character.
14th -- Lynching is the enemy of Christianity and of American
ideals.
There is every reason why Catholic
organizations throughout the land should petition Congress to
pass the Wagner-Van Nuys Bill so that the power and authority of
the Federal Government may be employed to end this evil
institution and remove a disgraceful blot from our national
escutcheon.
Lynching must be nationally repudiated. Lynching must go!
Source:
The Interracial Review *
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