(6/27/98 Baltimore AFRO-American Newspaper)
by Congressman Elijah E. Cummings
We know that we have passed out death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. 1 John 3:14-15.
The struggle continues. The Civil Rights era was saturated with racial violence and hatred. It would appear that history is repeating itself.
The recent lynching of James Byrd in Jasper, Texas should serve as a glaring reminder to us all that the seeds of racial hatred and violence have not been removed from the American terrain.
James Byrd, 49, father of three, was dragged behind a pickup truck, driven by three white men suspected of having white supremacist ties, for nearly three miles. Police found some 75 different body parts along a bloody 2 mile path. His head and right arm were found nearly a mile from the rest of his mangled torso. He was viciously murdered simply because he was of African decent living in a country that has not effectively tackled the issue of race.
Mob violence paired with ignorance cannot be permitted if our system of justice is to retain the respect and the will of the people. Why has the American public not expressed its outrage for what should be considered a terrorist act?
Lynching is mob violence that dates from the early 1820's and has its historical roots in Virginia. William Lynch was a Virginia resident, the author of the Willie Lynch letter, vigilante and notorious slave owner. He exacted punishment for presumed crimes or offenses, usually by death, without due process of law. Hence the term "lynching" was created. Therefore, lynching is not only a vicious assault on a human life. It also attacks the precepts of one of Americans most fundamental institutions, the law.
Traditionally lynching presumed some wrongdoing. The violence associated with it was based on the communities sense of violation and retribution for the crime believed to have been committed. James Byrd, was guilty of no crime. Mr. Byrd's executioners sentenced him to death by beating and dragging. This issue concerns all of America, not just African Americans. What will be our collective course of action?
Focus should be directed to the horrific nature of these crimes as they have become a fearful aspect of reality for many African American families. The Texas murder did not shock many in the African American community. Instead, the response has been outrage and concern that no more of this type of Medieval behavior is permitted to take place anywhere.
The President has established a Commission on Race and the NAACP is an active protector of legal rights as they relate to race. There are dialogues on race being held throughout the country, but what physical security measures are being taken to ensure that all American citizens feel safe. Carter G. Woodson, taught us that when you control a man's thinking you do not have to worry about his actions. When do we as a nation rid ourselves of racist thought so that we may be rid of racist violence? Too long in America false images and stereotypes have been allowed as the accepted norm. These images and stereotypes, left unchallenged, can become permanent associations in our collective conscious.
More must be done to move this nation past such primitive thought processes and senseless acts of violence. African American history cannot be limited to one month out of the year. Curriculums, from kindergarten through college must be modified to be more inclusive. Our schools must teach a history that refutes with facts, the racist ideologies that creep up where ignorance exists.
Many argue that we have achieved a colorblind society and see no need for affirmative action programs. If in 1998, a man can be murdered like James Byrd, then this nation has much growing to do. What would stop a potential employer from simply throwing away the resume of a qualified African American applicant, or falsely telling him or her that they are not qualified for the position?
Racism is an evil and sophisticated phenomenon. It takes place in the mind of the observer and does not allow for diagnosis quite like a bruise or contusion. Because thought processes are invisible until manifested by action, people shrink from the responsibility that we all share in purging our minds and hearts of the racist ideology that we are bombarded with daily. We must make the defeat of racism our collective desire. We must continue to struggle for the day when a persons skin is of no more significance than the color of their eyes . . . the day when the darkness of hatred becomes the light of love.
-The Honorable Elijah E. Cummings represents the 7th Congressional District of Maryland in the United States House of Representatives.