The Civil War ended 150 years ago — why is lynching symbolism still a thing?

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Today marks the 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War, a time to reflect on the bloodiest war in US history and consider the ways the conflict rages on in the American way of life.

With nearly 700,000 lives lost, thousands of homes destroyed, acres decimated and people displaced on both sides, this war represents a major turning point in race relations in our young nation. Four million African-Americans received their freedom — in exchange for battles of a different kind. When I teach this history, my students here in Texas have mixed reactions because some are descendants of Union veterans and others have family lines that trace back to the Confederacy.

Defeated but not forgotten

-snip-

However, one does not have to look much further than contemporary political issues in Georgia, North Carolina and Texas to see that Civil War symbols of antebellum life offer nostalgia and pride for some Southerners.

Even though the battle is over, the war continues in our courts, on our campuses, and in state and federal government.

News from Georgia, North Carolina and Texas

Two weeks ago in Buford, Georgia, a local woman placed an ad on Craigslist for an antebellum-themed party for her husband’s birthday.

She was looking for “domestic staff to help out in the kitchen” but insisted applicants “must be black.” She also specified an “overweight mammy type” dressed “with a rag on her head,” and “two black guys” comfortable with “wearing an iron collar and very little clothing.”

The woman who placed the ad even included the price: $600 for each “mandingo” and “$40/hour for the domestic staff.”

Last week, in North Carolina, Duke University students found a noose hanging from a tree on the Bryant Center Plaza, the latest in a spate of lynching symbolism terrorizing college campuses.

Within days of the incident and investigation, university officials identified the student responsible for appropriate disciplinary action. University officials are not releasing the student’s name due to “federal privacy laws” and an ongoing investigation to see if others were involved.

It is worth noting that the noose is the instrument of torture that replaced the whip in the aftermath of the Civil War.

-more-

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/04/the-civil-war-ended-150-years-ago-why-is-lynching-symbolism-still-a-thing/

[2naSalit]

1. Because...

'murikin exceptionalism.