African-American's: Enslavement, Racial Violence & Civil Rights

After reading through the posted articles and websites for this weeks reading, it was shocking to read about lynching or racial segregation during the 18th and 19th century, which isn't too long ago. While some of the passages were a slave narrative, and others were abolitionists like Angelina Grimke or a civil rights leader like Ida B Wells, all have some things at least one common characteristic: discrimination against African-American, mainly because of their "skin color" and rose from the birth of slavery between the 15th-16th Century.

While much of these first few readings was not really "new" information as most of it is learned through out general schooling. What was very interesting to me was the more recent occurrences of forms of lynching. Although lynching is a felony, it seems that in some towns or places where there is still racial tension and a form of segregation, hate crime occur.

While reading the article about Brandon McClelland in 2008, was shocking as it was one of the more recent incidents. By reading the article and developing my own opinion on the article I feel as though there was some type of racial tension even though the article states,"they were friends".

I was also shocked to hear that a defense attorney in Texas had previously let Mr. Finley "off" by believing his story.

The article states:

"In 2003, Lamar County D.A. Gary Young served as Mr. Finley’s court-appointed defense attorney when Mr. Finley pleaded guilty to manslaughter for shooting a friend to death.
The victim in the Finley manslaughter case was White and Mr. Finely told police he was sitting in a truck with his friend when two Black men tried to rob them. Mr. Finley said he fired at the robbers but accidentally shot his friend. An autopsy determined the victim suffered three gunshot wounds to the head, but the district attorney at the time accepted Mr. Finley’s story that the shooting was an accident. He was offered a plea bargain on a reduced manslaughter charge and eventually served a little over a year of a four-year prison sentence. The alleged robbers were never found."

This quote from the article sound like the story given, wasn't the complete truth. it seems as though the killer, Mr Finley,  got off "free" with barely a "slap on the wrist".

It seems as though the views of these people in these parts where its still racially divided have swayed decisions when it come to"hate crimes" and it doesn't seem like there is a fair neutral way for African Americas to get equal justice to the "whites" in those areas.