Masterfully done.
Stars: 4/5
Edwin T. Arnold composes a comprehensive review of the April 12, 1899 lynching of Sam Hose in Newnan, Ga. You could probably recount the entire Sam Hose lynching in about 50 pages or less but what distinguishes Arnold's chronicle is that he provides context leading up to and surrounding that fateful day. For example, in January of same year, the Palmetto [Georgia] Massacre where nine Negroes were arrested and subsequently shot by a masked mob had already tightened the vise of racial tension.
Another ominous precedent was the torture and burning of Henry Smith in Paris, Texas 6 years earlier. Arnold recaps the entire event and considers it, "....one of the first spectacle burnings, one that would provide a protocol for Sam Hose's execution..." (Ch. 6 - A Holocaust of Human Flesh)
Finally, the print media and its role is featured prominently throughout the text. It provides insight into the general consensus of the day and how the Sam Hose lynching was viewed by all, nationally and internationally.
W.E.B. DuBois points to the "grisly lynching" of Sam Hose as the event that `pulled him off of his feet' - the impetus to begin his long march against racial injustice. I will contend that after reading `What Virtue...', you will be moved as well.
See all Book Reviews
No comments:
Post a Comment