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Racism in the Deep South led to the suffering of many Negroes and they led an unjustly life because of it. They were wrongly accused of things, stereotyped and even murdered because of the color of their skin. Mack Charles Parker was one of those people whose life was turned around, destroyed and ultimately ended because of racism. Mack Parker was thrown into prison on charges he didn’t commit and murdered while serving time he didn’t deserve. The Parker Lynch case is an atrocity that will be solemnly remembered always, acting as a heinous reminder of the past in both the black and white community.
Mack Charles Parker was a Negro man that was a victim in more ways than one, on two very horrible accounts. In Mississippi, U.S. on February 24, 1959, Mack Parker was arrested for the raping and kidnapping of a pregnant white woman. This woman was identified as a Mrs. June Walters of Petal, Mississippi. Mack Parker was held at the Hinds County Jail where he endured several polygraph tests before being moved to the Pearl River County Jail on April 13, without a fair trail to which all American citizens deserve a right to have. Sometime amidst 11:30 pm and 12:15 am on April 24 and April 25, Parker was dragged from his cell by force, by somewhere from eight to ten men. A quote in a non fiction novel by John Howard Griffin states that they “grabbed his feet and dragged him down so his head bumped against each stair step” (63-64). Parker was then taken across state lines, beaten and killed by a shot through the heart. Mack Parker’s body was found bound in chains, floating along the Pearl River, ten days after being seized from his cell.
An immense FBI investigation followed the lynching, and two grand juries were called forth to investigate this case. The trial for Mack Charles Parker’s murder was put off for months, for it was not of great importance to James P. Coleman, Mississippi Governor. An editorial review describes the Mack Charles Parker lynch case as “a grim, dramatic, but nearly forgotten episode from the Civil Rights era” (Amazon.com Book Review). This man was sentenced unjustly because of his race, and murdered for the same reason! It was never really proven that Mack Parker actually committed the crimes he was accused of and everyone has definite reason to believe that all this happened because of racial issues. John Howard Griffin says at one point in his novel, “The point that crushes the most was that the FBI had supplied a dossier of evidence identifying the lynchers, and the Pearl River County Grand Jury had decided not to look inside it” (p.49). This reflection of Mr. Griffin’s thoughts is the same lurching, nauseating thoughts and feelings that every Negro and many white folks were experiencing. It was indeed crushing and hard to believe because they had the power to do something about it, and chose not to. The Parker Lynch case will be a tragic piece of our cultural history that will be remembered always because of the unfair and catastrophic events in racism it portrays.
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Janelle
Most of my writing is fact or opinion articles. I dabble in poetry once in a while, but I love to get my opinion out there and the facts of important things!
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