Dr. Alwin Spence
On Wednesday, April 12, I lost power in the house because of the ice storm. It was restored on Saturday, April 15, in the afternoon.
By this time, I had used all the firewood to keep the house warm.
On Sunday April 16, I visited a church in a rural community.
As I drove along the church street, I noticed a large pile of firewood and wondered if it was for sale. On my way back from church, I saw someone in the garage of the house where I had seen the wood. I drove into the driveway and asked the man if the firewood was for sale. He informed me that the wood was for his personal use. I explained to him that I had used up all the firewood I had because of the power outage and feared another one. He politely directed me to a gas station where I may find some. I apologized for my intrusion and left.
You may be wondering why I am telling you all this? Since 16-year-old Ralph Yarl, who is Black, was shot once in the head and
in the shoulder by an 84-year-old white man, and without exchanging a word with the youth, I have been shivering in my boots.
Was I lucky to have received a decent human reception for driving on this man’s property, being a Black person? I cannot comprehend what white Andrew Lester was thinking when he pulled the trigger twice, one shot to the head, to kill.
It was not by accident that one bullet went to Ralph’s head. The intention was, shoot-to-kill.
The two front entrance doors were locked. The glass door was not shattered by the boy who had only gone there by mistake
to pick-up his siblings. He had the correct number of the house but the wrong street.
Can you also understand what might have been going through Ralph’s mind when he did not see his siblings running to greet him? He never had the chance to say why he was at that address. He could have explained without a door being opened.
No! It seems that all Mr. Lester wanted to know was that a Black person is on his property, and it is within the law for him to defend himself and his property even without a threat. So, he felt justified: being threatened by harmless Blackness.
It is undoubtedly a racial crime. Ralph was shot by Mr. Lester because Ralph is Black, no ifs or buts.
What bothers me, a serious crime such as this, ‘attempted murder’, the accused turned himself in, spent less than three hours in custody and was sent home to his warm bed while Ralph fought for his life in the hospital.
It would seem that the case had been tried already and the verdict reached. I would not be surprised if Mr. Lester was told to go home and do not lose any sleep on this matter.
“You were afraid, someone had intruded on your private property, you shot him, you defended yourself and your property. Case closed. You stood your ground and this is the law.”
By the way, how many white men were convicted for lynching Blacks? Very few. Why? The justice system was itself racist so justice for
Blacks was not on its agenda.
The result of this treatment saw a weekly lynching of an African American from 1880–1950. Lynching was a means to manage and subdue Afro-Americans. Many of these killings were not recorded or discovered.
The shooting of Ralph is not an isolated event. White America is well armed and well protected. A country, a person, arm because
they feels threatened. The country has an army to protect its citizens but white Americans are armed to protect themselves.
Is this threat from Black people? Yes, and it’s why it is so difficult to change the gun laws and control the killings of so many innocent people.
These guns continue to keep Black people in their place. Sad to say that a large percentage of white Americans are afraid to lose their perceived supremacy, while Blacks as a group is shaking off their perceived inferiority. Let me make it clear. Some white
people are worried about their status because Blacks have moved away from that inferior mold in which they
were put.
Holding on to past power is not an option, even with the guns. In their minds, Blacks were never inferior, even though they were forced to behave accordingly.
It’s possible that the superior behavior whites exhibit is a direct outcome of an inferior feeling.
Who worked in the cane fields every day? Who worked on the cotton plantations? Who dug the trenches and cleared the forests and build the roads, factories and cities? All this and still survived, If the playing field was level white people might come up short, therefore the gun is a good substitute for the lynching.
In 1910 about 90% of Blacks lived in the southern states but over the next 60 years about six million moved North and West and even into Canada, seeking a better life.
They were also running away from lynching and the Jim Crow laws. But most important it was the beginning of a new set of thinking, a psychological call and effort to establish what they have always been, ‘ A Somebody ‘.
This is the root of the threat, hence the need to own a gun.
The Black Renaissance, as it was called, and which is still going on is an affront to many.
Between 1920-1930 the economy of the United States almost doubled. But alongside this growth was a sharp growth in membership of the Klu Klux Klan, which became acceptable and respectable. They are still burning crosses on the lawns of Blacks or their supporters.
For many Blacks, they have had a taste of freedom, and there is no turning back.
For America to move ahead and settle its racial divide, it has to de-programme and then reprogramme to keep pace with the new, confident rising Blacks. It is not to replace white people, or to carry out revenge. It is to live and let live.
