Lynching postcard

A lynching postcard is a postcard showing a photo of a lynching. Lynchings are extrajudicial killings. often driven by racial hatred. Lynchings in the United States were "violent public acts that white people used to terrorize and control Black people in the 19th and 20th centuries." Photos of these lynchings were commonly sold as souvenirs, and they became very popular throughout the United States.

 Typical postcard 
In a typical lynching postcard, the victim is displayed prominently at the center of the shot. Lynchings were often "public spectacles attended by the white community in celebration of white supremacy." As a result, most lynching postcards show groups of smiling spectators (often including children). These spectators rarely have facial expressions suggesting remorse, guilt, shame, or regret.

Lynching postcards were so common that In 1908, the United States government forbade the United States Postal Service from distributing them.

 Background 
Lynchings were most common between the 1880s and the 1940s. They grew in popularity after the end of the Civil War, when black people began to gain more rights and political influence. This was a threat to white supremacy. 

Lynch mobs (groups of ordinary people) would torture and murder someone they accused of committing a crime or breaking a social rule. The victim was never given the chance to defend themselves in court.

 Purposes 
Lynchings were meant to maintain white supremacy and terrorize black people into complying with segregation. They were a form of racial terrorism. Lynching postcards celebrated these acts of terror and made it possible for photos of lynchings to spread throughout the country.

White racists used lynchings to intimidate black people and prevent them from exercising their rights. For example, they lynched black people who tried to vote. Fearing that they too would be lynched, many other black people decided not to vote. Lynch mobs also targeted civil rights workers, regardless of race. Lynching postcards celebrated these acts of terrorism.

 References 

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Category:Lynching