Ida B. Wells-Barnett: Exposing The Reality of Lynch Law in America - Essay Sample

The document “Lynch Law in America” was written by Ida B Well-Barnett in 1900. Being born a slave in Mississippi, she had all the experiences of the slave life as a child of a slave and as a slave herself. Her experiences in the slavery eras give her an upper hand in giving a first account of the epidemics of lynching in the united states and the rape of white women by the black men which was the only excuse given before the black men were lynched under the guise of the custom. On the other hand, Jacob Riis wrote the story, “How the Other Half Lives” in 1890 to expose the poor living conditions of the colored people. Jacob triggered the first significant New York legislation intending to draw attention to the poor condition in the tenement housing.

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The story is related to the chapter we did by exposing the antecedents and consequences of poor policies especially the slave and housing policies. Lack of laws saw the slave’s experiences and the poor people in the tenement houses experiences a lot of inequalities. The plight of the slaves just before secession in the south when the south was expected to return to industrialization and diversified agriculture. It is explained especially the miscarriage of laws when the culprit was a negro. The story is also relevant because the author explores the lives of the slave such as the delivery of the slaver prisoner to the mob to lynch.

The articles relate to each other because they both examine the role of the rule of law on the lives of the slaves how laws were made to favor the whites as opposed to the colored especially the negros. Just like the negroes had no rights, the other half living in the tenement housing had no right or power to push for better living conditions, better housing with adequate windows, lighting, and repair. The two documents expose the inequality between 1980 and 1900. There were both policy failure and legal failure during those times and the people who suffered were the low socioeconomic status member of the society which is predominantly made up of the minority groups in America.

The question I have after reading the two documents is about the role of the government in taking care of its citizens. The government must protect the citizens from all problems including poverty, injustices, and other social ills. From the two documents, the negroes have suffered far too much, for too long from the commission of their crimes against the whites especially the white women, therefore, what are the reparations.

References

Riis,, J. (2020). How the Other Half Lives (1890) | The American Yawp Reader. Retrieved 26 May 2020, from https://www.americanyawp.com/reader/18-industrial-america/jacob-riis-how-the-other-half-lives-1890/

Wells, I. (2020). (1900) Ida B. Wells, “Lynch Law in America”. Retrieved 26 May 2020, from https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/1900-ida-b-wells-lynch-law-america/