#SayHerName: 100 Years Ago, Mary Turner Was Lynched
***TRIGGER WARNING***snip
What happened next is so horrific and inhumane that I struggled with whether I should even write it. Tears obscure my vision as I write these words, yet, as America tries to ignore the bloody stain of a white supremacy as ubiquitous as it is haunting, we need to bear witness to Mary Turner. We cannot forget what she endured. It is certainly not reveling at the specter of black death to prevent time and the institutional white-washing of history to erase Turner from our collective memory, thereby retroactively saying that her life did not matter. We need to know what happened. But please understand that what comes next is triggering. What you read, you cannot unread; the mental images created, you cannot unsee.
I will add one more excerpt. It is up to you to decde to read it all. It is gruesome, vicious and inhuman and this is a clear part of our past that some just ignore and wish it to be swept under the rug. I am so ashamed.
I find it embarrassing to see so many 'splainin to black people that they should just get over it. These people are their ancestors. So many of them murdered. We have a history of cruelty, ignorance and a white male privilege that after all these years is still on full display. Your choice to read beyond what I have posted. Again I will issue a Trigger Warning.
People in this country like to think themselves as being above this kind of gruesome violence; as if the genocides we witness in other countries could never happen here. We’ve built an entire ethos on the notion of American moral exceptionalism. In fact, recent Congressional hearings about Gina Haspel, the intelligence officer nominated by the 45th president of the United States to be the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, was all about discovering if she would live up to the moral expectations of citizens of this country. What Mary Turner and the subsequent silence about what happened in Georgia in 1918 teaches us is that America, at best, is morally compromised and, at worst, morally bankrupt.
We need to remember Mary Turner. We need to remember her unborn child. Failing to do so, we say retroactively that their lives do not matter.
Today marks 100 years since their murder. We speak their name. We bear witness.
https://verysmartbrothas.theroot.com/sayhername-100-years-ago-mary-turner-was-lynched-1826019454
To see more upset about the word wypipo than we do of our horrific past is frightening. Let a little bit of love touch your soul.
We can just ignore the past, pretend it is not true. We can erase the names, printed in a graphite pencil, that will just leave a blank white page. Is that what you want? Just a blank white page? I do not. How lifeless the world would be without color.
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Last edited Sun May 20, 2018, 11:57 PM - Edit history (1)
You did and do matter. Rest in peace, my sister and sister-child. Your tears were just a temporary relief of the pain, sorrow, and grief brought to you by those who were much less.
It's sort of appropriate that no particular person was brought to justice for their deaths. It would seem that America is quite responsible for setting the environment that made Mary Turner's violent end possible. The phrase, "kill ya dead", came to mind while reading the account. It sank deep into my soul.......and it's just sitting here.
Say their names!
Mary Turner and unborn child.........
Hazel "Hayes" Turner
Walter Scott
Tamir Rice
Tanisha Anderson
Yvette Smith (Bastrop, TX)
Jordan Dunn
Shantel Davis
John Crawford III
Trayvon Martin
Bettie Jones
Sandra Bland.....and too many more........
My heart broke a bit when I read the details.
Thank you spicysista for saying their names.
A side note. I read tonight Tamir's mom Samaria is:
"I actually purchased this commercial building because I wanted to turn this center into a center for children to empower the youth for change, said Samaria Rice.
Rice has a dream: to make the old Slavic News building on St. Clair a go-to-spot for kids after school.
On two stories she envisions music, art, digital training, tutoring and more.
http://www.cleveland19.com/story/38214423/tamir-rices-mom-unveils-plans-to-keep-her-sons-memory-alive
A ray of hope for the children's futures.
And the eternal WASP cover ups (to their shame)
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏 dear Turner
Kick and recommend.
I never knew this and thank you for posting.
Your witness and the witness of others will keep her memory alive.
Americans like to live in the land forgetfulness. But all that does is to enable you to live with a lie. This is part of our history and to deny her justice and then to deny her memory is a further wrong placed on top of the tremendous evil perpetrated on her.
So to Mary, Rest In Peace we won’t forget
We will remember her.