I've been reading some material by Ida B. Wells, the nineteenth-century feminist and black activist. Specifically, I'm interested in her work on Southern lynching. Writing in 1892, she suggests a number of general solutions to this horrific problem, but on a specific level, she sees one thing that makes a difference:
Although much in our society has improved since then, much remains the same. We still have firearms for that protection which the law cannot give. And we still know that cringing and begging leads only to more cringing and begging. This is true regardless of race or identity.
(Italic font is in original. I've added bold font for emphasis.)
Of the many inhuman outrages of this present year, the only case where the proposed lynching did not occur, was where the men armed themselves in Jacksonville, Fla., and Paducah, Ky, and prevented it. The only times an Afro-American who was assaulted got away has been when he had a gun and used it in self-defense.
The lesson this teaches and which every Afro-American should ponder well, is that a Winchester rifle should have a place of honor in every black home, and it should be used for that protection which the law refuses to give. When the white man who is always the aggressor knows he runs as great risk of biting the dust every time his Afro-American victim does, he will have greater respect for Afro-American life. The more the Afro-American yields and cringes and begs, the more he has to do so, the more he is insulted, outraged and lynched.
The lesson this teaches and which every Afro-American should ponder well, is that a Winchester rifle should have a place of honor in every black home, and it should be used for that protection which the law refuses to give. When the white man who is always the aggressor knows he runs as great risk of biting the dust every time his Afro-American victim does, he will have greater respect for Afro-American life. The more the Afro-American yields and cringes and begs, the more he has to do so, the more he is insulted, outraged and lynched.
Although much in our society has improved since then, much remains the same. We still have firearms for that protection which the law cannot give. And we still know that cringing and begging leads only to more cringing and begging. This is true regardless of race or identity.
(Italic font is in original. I've added bold font for emphasis.)