WATCH | The evil history of lynching and why President Trump’s tweet was disrespectful
OPINION: "I believe that Donald Trump saying the word lynching in this context and this moment largely needs to be addressed as a social issue for the entire nation." - Antonio Moore
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Antonio Moore’s new video series on theGrio discusses economics, politics, and weal in a way that encourages us to see news of the day in a whole new way.
In this episode, Antonio Moore breaks down the history of lynching, discusses Donald Trump’s recent wild claim comparing the impeachment inquiry to lynching, and why it was disrespectful to Black America.
Tuesday morning, Trump took to Twitter and tweeted: “So someday, if a Democrat becomes President and the Republicans win the House, even by a tiny margin, they can impeach the President, without due process or fairness or any legal rights. All Republicans must remember what they are witnessing here – a lynching. But we will WIN!”
So some day, if a Democrat becomes President and the Republicans win the House, even by a tiny margin, they can impeach the President, without due process or fairness or any legal rights. All Republicans must remember what they are witnessing here – a lynching. But we will WIN!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 22, 2019
Moore expresses that given the history of this nation, particularly as it relates to African-Americans, it was not only disrespectful, but it actually is a disrespect to everything that America is.
The Evil History of Lynching
“Lynching is the practice of murder by a group of people, by extrajudicial acts,” explains Moore. “Lynchings in the United States rose in number after the American Civil War in the 19th century, following the emancipation of slaves.”
“The purpose was to enforce White supremacy and intimidate Blacks through racial terrorism. According to Ida B. Wells and Tuskegee University, most lynching victims were accused of murder or attempted murder. Rape or attempted rape was the second most common accusation. Such accusations were often the pretext for lynching Blacks who violated Jim Crow etiquette or engaged in economic competition with Whites.”
“To now have Donald Trump use this word, given the words history here in America just disrespect that’s gone too far and we need to just acknowledge that,” says Moore.
Moore reveals that according to Tuskegee Institute, 4,743 people were lynched between 1882 and 1968 in the United States, including 3,446 African-Americans and 1200 Whites. According to the Equal Justice Initiative, more than 73 percent of lynchings in the post-civil war period occurred in the southern states. 4,000 African-Americans were lynched between 1877 and 1950 in the South.
“They were spectacles. The stereotype of the lynching is the hanging because hangings are what crowds of people saw and are easy to photograph. Some hangings were professionally photographed and sold as postcards, which were popular souvenirs in some parts of the US.”
 “This gives context to the cultural embedded news of lynching Black people, particularly all throughout the south, and how it was used as its powerful tool to actually entrench our hard racism that came out of slavery and into Jim Crow,” concludes Moore.
“I believe that Donald Trump saying the word lynching in this context and this moment largely needs to be addressed as a social issue for the entire nation. But in particular, I believe that the Black Caucus, the NAACP, the Urban League, all of these different groups should speak out as well. I believe this was inappropriate.
Watch the full video above and check out more videos from Antonio Moore on theGrio’s YouTube channel.
Commentary submissions in our Opinion section reflect the thoughts and views of writers, and are independent from theGrio newsroom. Pitches for editorials can be submitted to [email protected].
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