Difference between revisions of "The Church and the Lynching"

From WikiMarion
Jump to: navigation, search
Line 1: Line 1:
 
==Overview==
 
==Overview==
 
The early 20th century was still a time in the United States of racial unrest. On a small scale, the Marion lynching remains as a pivotal point in the city's history. It was only a drop in the bucket of this nation's racial hate crimes, but it exemplifies the common theme of those events through several factors which would influence the culture to react in the event. One relationship that presented itself was the connection between the Marion lynching and the Christian Church.   
 
The early 20th century was still a time in the United States of racial unrest. On a small scale, the Marion lynching remains as a pivotal point in the city's history. It was only a drop in the bucket of this nation's racial hate crimes, but it exemplifies the common theme of those events through several factors which would influence the culture to react in the event. One relationship that presented itself was the connection between the Marion lynching and the Christian Church.   
 +
  
 
==The [[Marion Lynching]]==  
 
==The [[Marion Lynching]]==  
 
[[Image:ThomasShippAbramSmith.jpg|thumb|Marion Lynching]]  
 
[[Image:ThomasShippAbramSmith.jpg|thumb|Marion Lynching]]  
August 7, 1930. In Marion, Indiana a mob lynched two colored boys, Thomas Shipp, 18, and Abram Smith, 19, who were to be trialed for the murder the night before of Claude Deeter, 23, and the alleged rape of his companion, Mary Ball, 19. After getting word of the stick up, murder, and assault, an angry mob stormed the [[Old Grant County Jail]], and took the boys out one at a time, brutally beating and lynching them both. The mob was in the process of lynching a third boy, the two’s younger accomplace, James Cameron, who had left them right before the incident, yet somehow he would be released, alive. The two lynched bodies were photographed above those left from the mob, and hung by the [[Grant County Courthouse]] as an example to other African-Americans. No one from the mob was ever convicted for their crime.
+
August 7, 1930. In Marion, Indiana a mob lynched two colored boys, Thomas Shipp, 18, and Abram Smith, 19, who were to be trialed for the murder the night before of Claude Deeter, 23, and the alleged rape of his companion, Mary Ball, 19. After getting word of the stick up, murder, and assault, an angry mob stormed the [[Old Grant County Jail]], and took the boys out one at a time, brutally beating and lynching them both. The mob was in the process of lynching a third boy, the two’s younger accomplace, James Cameron, who had left them right before the incident, yet somehow he would be released, alive. The two lynched bodies were photographed above those left from the mob, and hung by the [[Grant County Courthouse]] as an example to other African-Americans. No one from the mob was ever convicted for their crime. For many years after, this tragedy would haunt the city of Marion, staining it as the town of the last confirmed racial lynching in the northern United States.
  
 
"You can not help but ask yourself the question, ‘Where were the white Christians when they were hanging those two black boys?’” said Rev. Mike Henson, pastor of Bethel Worship Center, to the members of the Grant County Ethnic Diversity Task Force on Tuesday, October 7, 2003. “I ask myself that question. Where were they?”  
 
"You can not help but ask yourself the question, ‘Where were the white Christians when they were hanging those two black boys?’” said Rev. Mike Henson, pastor of Bethel Worship Center, to the members of the Grant County Ethnic Diversity Task Force on Tuesday, October 7, 2003. “I ask myself that question. Where were they?”  
 
+
The “white Christians” were likely in the crowd. Possibly at home, either unaware or unattatched from the scene of the crime, but evidence indicates that many church-goers had taken a part in the Marion Lynching. The sheer number of how many people were witnessed to be in the mob, and the percent of the community that claimed Christian faith, makes a case that white Christians were in the crowd. Along with that, several racist, socialist groups funneled into the Church, such as the famed Klu Klux Klan, which was a self-proclaimed Protestant organization. This was beneficial for the Klan, because the “white supremacy” dogma was popularly supported through the idea of it being a God-given right. Note, however, that the beliefs held by the Klan were not held by the Church as a whole. (See Conclusion).  
The “white Christians” were likely in the crowd. Possibly at home, either unaware or unattatched from the scene of the crime, but evidence indicates that many church-goers had taken a part in the Marion Lynching. The sheer number of how many people were witnessed to be in the mob, and the percent of the community claiming Christian faith, makes a case that white Christians were in the crowd. Along with that, several racist, socialist groups funneled into the Church, such as the famed Klu Klux Klan, which was a self-proclaimed Protestant organization. This was beneficial for the Klan, because the “white supremacy” dogma was popularly supported through the idea of it being a God-given right. Note, however, that the beliefs held by the Klan were not held by the Church as a whole. (See [[Conclusion]]).  
 
  
 
===KKK Influence===
 
===KKK Influence===
There is no evidence to conclude that the Klu Klux Klan had any direct involvement in the Marion Lynching,  especially with the Klan’s decline in the late 20s, however, individuals who had been members of the KKK  were certainly present. [[Police and the Lynching]] Sheriff Campbell, the man in charge at the Marion Jail when it was stormed by the lynching mob, was rumored to be a Klan member. The KKK membership was very secretive, so no sufficient amount of evidence has proved this accusation, but it is known that he had gotten word of the possible lynching mob in advance and had refused to send for any reinforcements even with the opportunity to do so. Also, the only thing Sheriff Campbell and the officers did to prevent the mob from reaching the inmates, was throwing cans of tear gas out into the crowd. The cans were quickly thrown back, and the mob entered, meeting little resistance. If nothing else, it is enough that the Klu Klux Klan’s discriminatory beliefs were well spread. Those beliefs, which had shaped a society of black inferiority long before even the formation of the KKK, had been deeply embedded into the minds of thousands of Christians, and those beliefs were what triggered the crowd guilty of the lynching.
+
There is no evidence to conclude that the Klu Klux Klan had any direct involvement in the Marion Lynching,  especially with the Klan’s decline in the late 20s, however, individuals who had been members of the KKK  were certainly present. As explained in [[Police and the Lynching]], Sheriff Campbell, the man in charge at the Marion Jail when it was stormed by the lynching mob, was rumored to be a Klan member. The KKK membership was very secretive, so no sufficient amount of evidence has proved this accusation, but it is known that he had gotten word of the possible lynching mob in advance and had refused to send for any reinforcements even with the opportunity to do so. Also, the only thing Sheriff Campbell and the officers did to prevent the mob from reaching the inmates, was throwing cans of tear gas out into the crowd. The cans were quickly thrown back, and the mob entered, meeting little or no resistance. So Sheriff Campbell's membership in the Klan would fit with his known actions. Regardless, it is sufficient that the Klu Klux Klan’s discriminatory beliefs were well spread. Those beliefs, which had shaped a society of black inferiority long before even the formation of the KKK, had been deeply embedded into the minds of thousands of Christians, and those beliefs were what triggered the crowd guilty of the lynching.
  
For many years after, this tragedy would haunt the city of Marion, staining it as the town of the last confirmed racial lynching in the northern United States.
 
  
 
==The Day of Reconciliation==
 
==The Day of Reconciliation==
 
 
73 years later, twenty area pastors gathered on September 12, 2003 at Indiana Wesleyan University. The ten black, and ten white clergymen came together to shape a “day of reconciliation” to make public atonement for the 1930 Lynching. The main goal of the event was to allow the community to rise above its ugly past by giving the people from both sides the opportunity to acknowledge wrongs and forgive. (Group hopes residents can grow…)
 
73 years later, twenty area pastors gathered on September 12, 2003 at Indiana Wesleyan University. The ten black, and ten white clergymen came together to shape a “day of reconciliation” to make public atonement for the 1930 Lynching. The main goal of the event was to allow the community to rise above its ugly past by giving the people from both sides the opportunity to acknowledge wrongs and forgive. (Group hopes residents can grow…)
  
             
 
 
===Protesting The Plaque===
 
===Protesting The Plaque===
 
      
 
      
 
      
 
      
 
==Conclusion==
 
==Conclusion==
 
 
By comparing Marion’s history in 1930 and 2003, it may seem that the Church changed sides on the issue of racial equality. This is not really the case. It is fair to say that many members of certain racist groups at the time of the lynching professed to be Christians, but they were still a minority in the whole Church. Most Americans at that time were under a Christian denomination, but the variety of followers often had very little else in common in their beliefs. Even in the dark hayday of groups like the KKK, there were just as many organizations in support of equality within the Church. So to characterize the views of the entire Church by views of a minority would be stereotypic. The racist views were not held simply by Christians, but the entire society of the time, and they affected every group. Yes, people of the Church did play a part in the Marion Lynching, just as they did in most every other dark event in America’s history. The facts should not be ignored or used against any group, but rather they should be used for good. Just as the 2003 reconciliation service wished to do, the events in the past should be repented for, forgiven, then used to propel this country toward improvement, by remaining as a warning of what traps we need to avoid falling into in the future.
 
By comparing Marion’s history in 1930 and 2003, it may seem that the Church changed sides on the issue of racial equality. This is not really the case. It is fair to say that many members of certain racist groups at the time of the lynching professed to be Christians, but they were still a minority in the whole Church. Most Americans at that time were under a Christian denomination, but the variety of followers often had very little else in common in their beliefs. Even in the dark hayday of groups like the KKK, there were just as many organizations in support of equality within the Church. So to characterize the views of the entire Church by views of a minority would be stereotypic. The racist views were not held simply by Christians, but the entire society of the time, and they affected every group. Yes, people of the Church did play a part in the Marion Lynching, just as they did in most every other dark event in America’s history. The facts should not be ignored or used against any group, but rather they should be used for good. Just as the 2003 reconciliation service wished to do, the events in the past should be repented for, forgiven, then used to propel this country toward improvement, by remaining as a warning of what traps we need to avoid falling into in the future.

Revision as of 20:27, 25 May 2011

Overview

The early 20th century was still a time in the United States of racial unrest. On a small scale, the Marion lynching remains as a pivotal point in the city's history. It was only a drop in the bucket of this nation's racial hate crimes, but it exemplifies the common theme of those events through several factors which would influence the culture to react in the event. One relationship that presented itself was the connection between the Marion lynching and the Christian Church.


The Marion Lynching

Marion Lynching

August 7, 1930. In Marion, Indiana a mob lynched two colored boys, Thomas Shipp, 18, and Abram Smith, 19, who were to be trialed for the murder the night before of Claude Deeter, 23, and the alleged rape of his companion, Mary Ball, 19. After getting word of the stick up, murder, and assault, an angry mob stormed the Old Grant County Jail, and took the boys out one at a time, brutally beating and lynching them both. The mob was in the process of lynching a third boy, the two’s younger accomplace, James Cameron, who had left them right before the incident, yet somehow he would be released, alive. The two lynched bodies were photographed above those left from the mob, and hung by the Grant County Courthouse as an example to other African-Americans. No one from the mob was ever convicted for their crime. For many years after, this tragedy would haunt the city of Marion, staining it as the town of the last confirmed racial lynching in the northern United States.

"You can not help but ask yourself the question, ‘Where were the white Christians when they were hanging those two black boys?’” said Rev. Mike Henson, pastor of Bethel Worship Center, to the members of the Grant County Ethnic Diversity Task Force on Tuesday, October 7, 2003. “I ask myself that question. Where were they?” The “white Christians” were likely in the crowd. Possibly at home, either unaware or unattatched from the scene of the crime, but evidence indicates that many church-goers had taken a part in the Marion Lynching. The sheer number of how many people were witnessed to be in the mob, and the percent of the community that claimed Christian faith, makes a case that white Christians were in the crowd. Along with that, several racist, socialist groups funneled into the Church, such as the famed Klu Klux Klan, which was a self-proclaimed Protestant organization. This was beneficial for the Klan, because the “white supremacy” dogma was popularly supported through the idea of it being a God-given right. Note, however, that the beliefs held by the Klan were not held by the Church as a whole. (See Conclusion).

KKK Influence

There is no evidence to conclude that the Klu Klux Klan had any direct involvement in the Marion Lynching, especially with the Klan’s decline in the late 20s, however, individuals who had been members of the KKK were certainly present. As explained in Police and the Lynching, Sheriff Campbell, the man in charge at the Marion Jail when it was stormed by the lynching mob, was rumored to be a Klan member. The KKK membership was very secretive, so no sufficient amount of evidence has proved this accusation, but it is known that he had gotten word of the possible lynching mob in advance and had refused to send for any reinforcements even with the opportunity to do so. Also, the only thing Sheriff Campbell and the officers did to prevent the mob from reaching the inmates, was throwing cans of tear gas out into the crowd. The cans were quickly thrown back, and the mob entered, meeting little or no resistance. So Sheriff Campbell's membership in the Klan would fit with his known actions. Regardless, it is sufficient that the Klu Klux Klan’s discriminatory beliefs were well spread. Those beliefs, which had shaped a society of black inferiority long before even the formation of the KKK, had been deeply embedded into the minds of thousands of Christians, and those beliefs were what triggered the crowd guilty of the lynching.


The Day of Reconciliation

73 years later, twenty area pastors gathered on September 12, 2003 at Indiana Wesleyan University. The ten black, and ten white clergymen came together to shape a “day of reconciliation” to make public atonement for the 1930 Lynching. The main goal of the event was to allow the community to rise above its ugly past by giving the people from both sides the opportunity to acknowledge wrongs and forgive. (Group hopes residents can grow…)

Protesting The Plaque

Conclusion

By comparing Marion’s history in 1930 and 2003, it may seem that the Church changed sides on the issue of racial equality. This is not really the case. It is fair to say that many members of certain racist groups at the time of the lynching professed to be Christians, but they were still a minority in the whole Church. Most Americans at that time were under a Christian denomination, but the variety of followers often had very little else in common in their beliefs. Even in the dark hayday of groups like the KKK, there were just as many organizations in support of equality within the Church. So to characterize the views of the entire Church by views of a minority would be stereotypic. The racist views were not held simply by Christians, but the entire society of the time, and they affected every group. Yes, people of the Church did play a part in the Marion Lynching, just as they did in most every other dark event in America’s history. The facts should not be ignored or used against any group, but rather they should be used for good. Just as the 2003 reconciliation service wished to do, the events in the past should be repented for, forgiven, then used to propel this country toward improvement, by remaining as a warning of what traps we need to avoid falling into in the future.