Michael W. WatersBecome a fanAward-Winning
Author of Freestyle: Reflections on Faith, Family, Justice, and Pop
Culture; Founding Pastor of Joy Tabernacle A.M.E. Church in Dallas,
Texas
The animus for Time Magazine's "song of the 20th century" was
a photograph of a Southern lynching. A Southern lynching would often
draw an entire region of spectators together for a day of socializing.
Small children were even present in the crowd, lifted high upon shoulder
for an uninterrupted view of the day's fatal proceedings. It was a
strange, albeit frequent Southern spectacle, one that claimed many Black
lives.
Given the frequency of this horrid practice, and the
abundance of lynching photographs in circulation, many that doubled as
postcards, it is unclear why one particular photograph troubled, then
inspired Abel Meeropol, a New York English teacher and poet. Yet, it
did. Unable to free his mind of this troubling image over several days,
Meeropol sought consolation through his pen. As ink dried upon its
canvas, its residuum formed words that have haunted generations, words
etched into our collective memory as lyric by the incomparable Billie
Holiday: "Southern trees bear a strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,
Black body swinging in the Southern breeze,
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees."
Now seventy-six years removed its initial recording, there is still cause to sing this sorrowful song.
On
August 29, 2014, another Black body was added to the crowded annals of
those swung by Southern breeze. In a cruel twist of irony, the body of
seventeen year-old Lennon Lacy was not found swinging upon a Southern
tree, but upon a Southern swing set - a fact only beginning the
strangeness surrounding his death. Authorities in Bladenboro, North
Carolina, abruptly ruled Lennon's death a suicide, declaring that he was
depressed, and closed the case in five days.
Still, many questions remain.
Why did authorities fail to place bags over Lennon's hands to prevent contamination and preserve DNA from a possible struggle?
Why didn't authorities take any pictures at the scene of Lennon's death?
Why were the shoes found on Lennon's feet not the same shoes that he departed from home wearing?
Why were the shoes found on Lennon's feet a size and a half smaller than his foot size?
Why
were those same shoes removed from the body bag between the time his
corpse was placed in the body bag and the time the body arrived at the
medical examiner's office?
Strange.
Very strange.
Strange,
still, is an independent examiner's conclusion that declaring Lennon's
death a suicide is virtually impossible given Lennon's height, weight,
and the items found at the scene.
The circumstances surrounding
Lennon's death, however, begin to lose some of its strangeness when the
fact that he was in an interracial relationship with a white woman in an
area still ripe with racial tension, and where the Ku Klux Klan has an
active presence, is brought to the fore. History has taught us time and
time again that when authorities move too quickly to close a case, a
cover-up is afoot. With so many questions surrounding Lennon's death,
the move to close his case remains startlingly strange, and it is cause
for great concern. Thankfully, the FBI is now investigating the case.
Strange, still, is how justice for so many Black lives remains so fleeting.
Strange, still, is how swiftly certain tragedies that befall Black lives are swept under the rug.
Strange,
still, is the spectacle of a Southern lynching upon a swing set, a
symbol of youthful euphoria now rendered the site of a Black youth's
strangulation. Of Meeropol and Holiday's "Strange Fruit," the late jazz
writer Leonard Feather penned that it was "the first significant protest
in words and music, the first unmuted cry against racism." The very
nature of a lynching is to render the victim forever mute --
asphyxiating in suspended space -- the violent snapping of the neck.
While Lennon Lacy is forever muted, we who love justice must become for
him as Meeropol and Holiday: an unmuted cry.
We must continue to pen Lennon's story.
We must continue to sing Lennon's song.
We must continue to seek answers to strange circumstances.
We must continue to seek justice for another Black life, a life, strangely, still, gone too soon. This
post is part of the "28 Black Lives That Matter" series produced by The
Huffington Post for Black History Month. Each day in February, this
series will shine a spotlight on one African-American individual who
made headlines in 2014 -- mostly in circumstances we all wished had not
taken place. This series will pay tribute to these individuals and
address the underlying circumstances that led to their unfortunate
outcomes. To follow the conversation on Twitter, view #28BlackLives --
and to see all the posts as part of our Black History Month coverage,
read here.
By Lamont Lilly
November 4, 2014 “The nineteenth century lynch mob cuts off ears, toes and fingers,
strips off flesh and distributes portions of the body as souvenirs among
the crowd.” —Ida B. Wells,“Lynch Law in America.” Jan. 1900, pp. 15-24
Lennon Lacy
Lennon Lacy did not hang himself; he was lynched! He did not commit
suicide; he was murdered! Capturing the correct language is so critical
in this case, which is probably why mainstream media have refused to
cover it. The correct language reflects a history the U.S. would rather
not share, while “lynching” is a word most Black folk would rather
forget. The harsh reality is that Lennon Lacy, a 17-year-old Black kid
from North Carolina was lynched just two months ago. What happened?
It was on Friday, Aug. 29, that 17-year-old high school student
Lennon Lee Lacy was found hanging from a wooden swing set in Bladenboro,
N.C. His lifeless body was left dangling in thin air on a makeshift
rope. His neck was visibly marked with dark abrasions from
asphyxiation. A belt buckle imprint was found just below his right ear.
There were lacerations on his face, arms and chest; bruises on his
chin, cheeks and nose; a series of unexplained scratches on his scrotum;
and an enlarged knot on the right side of his forehead.
The black Air Jordan sneakers Lacy was originally wearing were
removed and replaced with a pair of sneakers no member of his family was
able to recognize. Though Lennon’s feet were a size 12, the white
sneakers placed on his feet at his time of death were a size
ten-and-a-half. Lennon’s mortician, F.W. Newton, described the body as
if he “had been killed in a barroom fight.” (theguardian.com, Oct. 9)
As if Lacy’s lynching was not enough, just a few days after he was
laid to rest, someone (or some group) dug a small hole on top of his
grave. They also destroyed the floral arrangement that friends and
family had placed at his burial marker, tossing the arrangement
alongside the road 40 feet away. While local authorities are suggesting
suicide, the Black community is calling the Lacy case for what it is: a
2014 lynching. Every reason to live
On the evening of Lennon Lacy’s disappearance, his father, Larry
Walton, was the last family member to see him alive. According to
Walton, his son Lennon had every reason to live. His high school
football team was scheduled to play their first game of the season later
that evening. Lennon’s dream was to play in the National Football
League. He was a linebacker whose size, skill and work ethic basically
guaranteed a scholarship to college. His performance in the classroom
was equally stellar.
Local residents have spoken highly of Lennon’s character, manners and
overall demeanor. Lennon was also active in his church youth group,
had no criminal record and no history of mental illness. His only “harm
to society” was dating a white woman who lived nearby. Local residents
were well aware of Lacy and 31-year-old Michelle Brimhall’s “intimate
interactions,” which garnered a heaping of local gossip and disdain.
Some things have not changed down South: the general attitude toward
Black men dating white women just happens to be one of them. Jim Crow and the Southern Confederacy
Bladenboro, N.C., is a small town of 1,746 residents located just
outside of Wilmington, N.C. Nicknamed “Crackertown” by local Black
residents, Bladenboro is 80 percent white and well known for its
ingrained racism within the social order.
For those unfamiliar, Wilmington is the home of the 1898 Race
Massacre, a two-day armed attack on Wilmington’s Black middle class by
white terror mobs. What that moment literally created was Jim Crow
segregation — an oppressive and bloody end to Reconstruction and
post-slavery progress.
Wilmington was also the site of the 1971 frame-up of The Wilmington
10 (who were finally pardoned by N.C. Gov. Beverly Perdue in 2013).
Such history and close proximity means everything.
This history contributes to the political and social climate of the
community. White supremacy was, at one time, the law in North Carolina.
Many would argue it still is. Keep in mind that between 1882 and 1968
there were 86 Black folks lynched in this state — and those are just
the lynchings we know of. Ironically, neighbors of the Lacy family had
just recently been made to remove a sign in their front yard that read
“N——-s Keep Out.” Police botch investigation
Stating that local authorities have failed to conduct a thorough
investigation in this case is an understatement. It has been reported
that Lacy’s fingernails were not properly swabbed for DNA testing. His
hands, body hair and mouth were not examined either. Due to the
presumption of suicide, Lennon’s neighbors, friends and Michelle
Brimhall, have not been questioned.
It is obvious the Bladenboro Police Department has not taken this
matter serious. A 200 pound teenager was found hanging from a swing set
in the middle of a trailer park, and no one knows anything? No one
should be surprised if the local police department was partly involved.
It was not long ago that police officers, sheriff departments and the
Ku Klux Klan worked hand-in-hand to enforce white supremacy,
particularly throughout the South.
Those learning of this case for the first time: tweet, Instagram and
Facebook it. Dig deep and research the history. Tell your friends
around the world how a 17-year-old Black boy was lynched in North
Carolina on Aug. 29, 2014. Tell the world how the U.S. is still racist
and lackadaisical in the pursuit of justice for all. Tell the world how
democracy does not really exist here. In the case of Lennon Lacy, tell
the truth. Lennon Lee Lacy did not hang himself; he was lynched. He
did not commit suicide; he was murdered. “Our country’s national crime is lynching. It represents the
cool, calculating deliberation of intelligent people who openly avow
that there is an “unwritten law” that justifies them in putting human
beings to death without complaint under oath, without trial by jury,
without opportunity to make defense, and without right of appeal.” — Ida B. Wells Lamont Lilly is a contributing editor
with the Triangle Free Press and organizer with Workers World Party in
Durham, N.C. Follow him on Twitter @LamontLilly.
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