More Noose "Pranks"
Why do I keep talking about nooses? Well, it was only a few years ago that the EEOC had at least 20 noose-related complaints filed by workers. This represented a disproportionately high number of complaints and was higher than in previous years.
In fact, during remarks to the 91st Annual Convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in Baltimore (2000), then EEOC Chairwoman Ida L. Castro, said, "Since the late 1990s, EEOC has witnessed a disturbing national trend of increased racial harassment cases involving hangman's nooses in the workplace. Such instances of egregious discrimination have resulted in the Commission conducting more investigations and filing more lawsuits. These cases are not confined to a particular geographic area or region of the country. Rather, they are occurring from coast to coast and border to border…it is sad to note the increase in recent years of the same type of behavior which compelled our nation to act 36 years ago. I hope that employers will once again focus on these important issues and assist EEOC in stemming the growth of harassment and retaliation charges and seek new ways to prevent discrimination. Employers who fail to do so are on notice that EEOC will combat egregious discrimination wherever it rears its ugly head."
On that note, let’s get back to nooses. While this incident didn't happen in the workplace, it involved White youths—White youths, who may grow up to be the supervisors or coworkers of Black employees…
The day after last week’s protest, in Jena, Louisiana, two White teenage boys decided to pull a “prank” by tying two nooses to the back of a pickup truck and driving by Blacks to see if they would “get angry.”
The latest Louisiana noose incident occurred in Alexandria, Louisiana. Alexandria isn’t far from Jena, which is why some protesters parked their buses at a lot in Alexandria and then made their way to the main rally and protest over in Jena.
The two White teens decided to try to incite the Black protesters to riot, after the rally over in Jena. So, they drove back and forth near where the buses were parked. They were intent that the Blacks in the vicinity see the nooses.
Well, the nooses were spotted and a police car was flagged down. The teens were arrested on the scene. One teen was 16 years old and the other was 18 years old. The incident is being reviewed as a hate crime. The older teen admitted that he and his friend wanted to see what would happen and wanted to see if the Black protesters would get angry. Possible charges include attempting to incite a riot. Almost forgot, an unloaded rifle was found in the truck. Brass knuckles were also found. The oldest White teen said that he and his family were members of the KKK.
I’ll tell you…it amazes me that people continue to pretend that so much has changed in American society and that no or very little racism or discrimination exists in any aspect of contemporary American life. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The racial attitudes of the 60’s and preceding years, that warranted the establishment of the Civil Rights Act, are the same racial attitudes that many Americans hold today. The only thing that is sometimes startling about these old school racial attitudes is how brazen some Whites are in continuing to reveal their real feelings about Blacks—even in a society that often preaches to the world that it is fair, progressive and accepting. While Blacks aren’t usually asked to give up their seats on buses to Whites, there is still some segment of American society that fondly remembers that time period and that still views Blacks with great disdain.
And, it seems from the actions of teens in Jena and Alexandria, Louisiana, that nooses are fondly remembered in many American households.
Racism is not supposed to be a family value!
To see a photo of the pickup truck and nooses, check out the photo in this CNN article at:http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/09/21/car.nooses/index.html
In fact, during remarks to the 91st Annual Convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in Baltimore (2000), then EEOC Chairwoman Ida L. Castro, said, "Since the late 1990s, EEOC has witnessed a disturbing national trend of increased racial harassment cases involving hangman's nooses in the workplace. Such instances of egregious discrimination have resulted in the Commission conducting more investigations and filing more lawsuits. These cases are not confined to a particular geographic area or region of the country. Rather, they are occurring from coast to coast and border to border…it is sad to note the increase in recent years of the same type of behavior which compelled our nation to act 36 years ago. I hope that employers will once again focus on these important issues and assist EEOC in stemming the growth of harassment and retaliation charges and seek new ways to prevent discrimination. Employers who fail to do so are on notice that EEOC will combat egregious discrimination wherever it rears its ugly head."
On that note, let’s get back to nooses. While this incident didn't happen in the workplace, it involved White youths—White youths, who may grow up to be the supervisors or coworkers of Black employees…
The day after last week’s protest, in Jena, Louisiana, two White teenage boys decided to pull a “prank” by tying two nooses to the back of a pickup truck and driving by Blacks to see if they would “get angry.”
The latest Louisiana noose incident occurred in Alexandria, Louisiana. Alexandria isn’t far from Jena, which is why some protesters parked their buses at a lot in Alexandria and then made their way to the main rally and protest over in Jena.
The two White teens decided to try to incite the Black protesters to riot, after the rally over in Jena. So, they drove back and forth near where the buses were parked. They were intent that the Blacks in the vicinity see the nooses.
Well, the nooses were spotted and a police car was flagged down. The teens were arrested on the scene. One teen was 16 years old and the other was 18 years old. The incident is being reviewed as a hate crime. The older teen admitted that he and his friend wanted to see what would happen and wanted to see if the Black protesters would get angry. Possible charges include attempting to incite a riot. Almost forgot, an unloaded rifle was found in the truck. Brass knuckles were also found. The oldest White teen said that he and his family were members of the KKK.
I’ll tell you…it amazes me that people continue to pretend that so much has changed in American society and that no or very little racism or discrimination exists in any aspect of contemporary American life. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The racial attitudes of the 60’s and preceding years, that warranted the establishment of the Civil Rights Act, are the same racial attitudes that many Americans hold today. The only thing that is sometimes startling about these old school racial attitudes is how brazen some Whites are in continuing to reveal their real feelings about Blacks—even in a society that often preaches to the world that it is fair, progressive and accepting. While Blacks aren’t usually asked to give up their seats on buses to Whites, there is still some segment of American society that fondly remembers that time period and that still views Blacks with great disdain.
And, it seems from the actions of teens in Jena and Alexandria, Louisiana, that nooses are fondly remembered in many American households.
Racism is not supposed to be a family value!
To see a photo of the pickup truck and nooses, check out the photo in this CNN article at:http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/09/21/car.nooses/index.html
posted by S. Mary Wills at 7:59 AM
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