Resolution Denouncing Waco Lynchings Read

[Judi Lynn]

Resolution Denouncing Waco Lynchings Read

By ANGELA K. BROWN
Associated Press Writer

May 16, 2006, 5:35 AM EDT

WACO, Texas -- On the 90th anniversary of a lynching that became known as the "Waco Horror," nearly 100 people gathered outside the county courthouse for the reading of a community group's resolution denouncing lynchings in the 1800s and early 1900s.
(snip)

On May 15, 1916, a crowd of about 15,000 -- half the town's population -- cheered as a mob dragged a black 17-year-old from the courthouse, cut him with knives and dangled him over a fire. Jesse Washington had been convicted of killing a white woman who had been raped.

It was one of the few lynchings photographed in progress. Newspapers referred to it as the "Waco Horror" after the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's magazine published an article and the rare pictures, now displayed in the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tenn.

Of the more than 4,700 lynchings nationwide in that era, about 500 were in Texas.
(snip/...)

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-waco-lynching,0,3525679.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines

[shain from kane]

1. Don't mess with Texas. n/t

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

5. A delightful anti-litter slogan.

Really.

[rodeodance]

2. `````````````Hatred is a taught behavior,``````````

"By apologizing we are sorry for what happened; it doesn't mean we are guilty of the action itself," said Fuller, who is white. "I'm more concerned with education and how we move forward. Hatred is a taught behavior, and we have a responsibility to teach tolerance instead."

[radio4progressives]

9. It's not just a behavior it is an atttitude and it's alive and well in

America today - it is especially alive in the immigration "debate".

[Poll_Blind]

3. I though they were going to finally denounce the big 1993 lynching.

Yes Clinton was president. But it had very very little to do with Clinton. It was about rogue BATF in Texas and an FBI, out of control. I get alot of heat when I post comments like these but I challenge anyone who disagrees to rent and watch Waco: Rules of Engagement. It will likely be the most thorough documentary you have ever seen, on any subject.

PB

[cosmik debris]

4. The Waco paper has a message board

dedicated soley to this issue. If you want to read some of the racist redneck comments or post some comment of your own, here is the link http://www.wacotrib.com/comm/content/community/forums/waco_coalition_forum.html

[Up2Late]

6. NPR did a story about this on Saturday, the "Waco Horror" is right.

Here's a link to the story. This was an incredibly brutal ans savage killing, so be warned if you listen, it's difficult to sugar coat this one. They have pictures too that are very reminiscent of the pictures of the 4 American contractors who were burnt, dragged through the streets and hung on a bridge in Iraq. Don't click the pictures if you have a weak stomach:

Waco Recalls a 90-Year-Old 'Horror'

Listen to this story...
by Wade Goodwyn

All Things Considered, May 13, 2006 · On Monday, a small interracial organization will meet on the steps of the Waco Texas courthouse to read a resolution condemning and apologizing for the lynching of 17-year-old Jesse Washington.

Washington’s lynching 90 years ago was so astonishingly brutal that the incident became known nationally as the "Waco Horror."

The Waco Interracial Coalition is forcing Waco to confront some of its painful history and there are many in this city of 200,000 who have no interest in apologizing for something that happened 90 years ago.

"It's a very ugly part of history," says Ray Meadows, a Waco county commissioner. "I regret that it happened, but as far as me coming out to apologize…I didn't have anything to do with it."

(more at link)

<http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5401868>

[Up2Late]

7. I hate to say it again, but this AP article left out most of the gruesome

...details. What they left out, I'm adding in parentheses below:

"On May 15, 1916, a crowd of about 15,000 -- half the town's population -- cheered as a mob (stripped off his cloths, beat, stabbed and then) dragged a black 17-year-old (through town after grabbing him) from the courthouse, cut him (cut off his fingers and lower appendages) with knives and dangled him (into and) over a fire (until he was dead). Jesse Washington (a Mentally Retarded man) had been convicted of killing a white woman who had been raped (after a coerced confession)."

[The Straight Story]

8. KICK (nt)