Ida B. Wells-Barnett describes in detail how the American society has accepted the criminal practice of lynching suspected criminals or individuals who pose a threat to white dominance. The “Lynch Law in America” speech details the slow but sure growth of the tension between whites and other colored peoples in the society. She identifies that the criminal offense is a clear indicator of the acceptability of death as ultimate punishment for an individual believed to be far from redemption. The American law was created by intelligent persons who had studied the ideal society and developed measures of ensuring the proper behavior of its members. It became apparent that the criminals found within the society would have to pay the price by hanging as they disrupted the quest for usurping the lands owned by the Indians. Ida shows that this evidence of punishing even the simplest crime with death would become acceptable to the rest of society.
Wells-Barnett popularly recognized the bias in criminal prosecution. In this case, cases between defenses and plaintiffs who are both white justice is usually served. However, when the plaintiff is a member of the minority racial groups, it is less likely to occur. The latter shows the adversities that colored people have had to endure and suffer under a crime that has been accepted in the society. The decision my Mamie Till to demand an open casket funeral ceremony was a great motivation to further highlight the problem in the society. The lynch law had continued in the community since Ida Wells first mentioned its occurrence. The mutilated body of the young teenage boy who was murdered by known two adult white males was a reminder to all minorities of the need to demand civil rights from the federal government. The open casket funeral motivated activists like Rosa Parks to stand her ground when she sat in the bus and refused to give her seat to a white person.
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