Extraña fruta en Ferguson
They were lynched. They were killed and displayed publicly for the amusement of the lynch mobs and other white folks, and for the further terrorization of black people.
"Ellos fueron linchados. Fueron asesinados y mostrados públicamente para diversión de los linchadores y otros blancos, y para aterrorizar a la gente negra."
Una clave de los disturbios se puede buscar en esta explicaión del morbo racista en torno del asesinato del joven Brown, nada menos que en Saint Louis con una historia terrible a cuestas.
El paralelo con el viejo y emotivo blues magistralmente interpretado por Billie Halliday es estremecedor.
IXX-ago2014.
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Strange Fruit in Ferguson
Mychal Denzel Smith on August 20, 2014 - 11:53 AM ET
http://www.thenation.com/blog/181332/strange-fruit-ferguson
People are moved by a line of police as authorities disperse a protest in Ferguson, Missouri, early Wednesday, August 20, 2014. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
The people of Ferguson, Missouri, have rallied and marched and protested for eleven straight days and nights. They want justice for Michael Brown, the 18-year-old unarmed black boy killed by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson on August 9. They’ve been met with tear gas, assault rifles, rubber bullets, armored police cars, dogs and the National Guard. And they show no signs of letting up.
But why?
I’ve been trying to figure out why so many people have had such a strong reaction to Brown’s killing. Because this isn’t new. His death is tragic, but fairly ordinary in the course of black people’s interactions with the police. We deal with this all the time.
On her MSNBC show this past Saturday, Melissa Harris-Perry demonstrated just how ordinary it is. She read a list of names of unarmed black men killed by police in the last decade alone, and it was chilling, to say the least. “Timothy Stansbury, unarmed. Sean Bell, unarmed. Oscar Grant, unarmed. Aaron Campbell, unarmed. Alonzo Ashley, unarmed. Wendell Allen, unarmed. Jonathan Ferrell, unarmed. Eric Garner, unarmed,” she said, before adding, “From 2006 to 2012, a white police officer killed a black person at least twice a week in this country.”
Twice a week. It’s business as usual for police to kill black people. And those are only a few names—many more black men and women have been killed by police. Many of them were also unarmed. Many were around the same age as Michael Brown. So what makes him special? Why did his death elicit such a strong reaction?
Of course, there are several factors to consider. That he was a young black man and not a young black woman is part of it. Black women/girls are often forgotten as victims in the discussion of police violence. That he was regarded as a “gentle giant” (Brown was 6'4" tall and close to 300 pounds) and a prospective college student are relevant. His image as “harmless” and “respectable” makes him more sympathetic to some people. That a mostly white police force routinely harasses black residents of Ferguson matters. And the fact witnesses say at the time of his shooting Brown had his hands up in the air, surrendering, also matters. It makes the six bullet wounds he suffered appear even more callous.
But for me, the detail that sticks is that Brown’s body was left in the street for at least four hours. Not only did people in the community witness the shooting, they were forced to look at the aftermath. For hours, they had to see Michael Brown’s bullet-ridden, bloody body lie rotting in the street.
It’s not unlike Henry Simmons’s bullet-filled body being hung from in tree in Palm Beach, Florida, in June of 1923. Or that of William Turner, whose body was hung, then cut down, then hung again before being burned in a bonfire in Helena, Arkansas, in November 1921. There was also Jim Roland, shot and killed by a mob in Camillia, Georgia, after having refused to dance for a white man who was pointing a gun at him in February 1921. And also Frank Dodd, shot and hung from a tree “in a negro settlement on the outskirts of DeWitt, Arkansas, in October 1916.” And so many more.*
They were lynched. They were killed and displayed publicly for the amusement of the lynch mobs and other white folks, and for the further terrorization of black people.
Please support our journalism. Get a digital subscription for just $9.50!
The police didn’t hang Michael Brown, but they made a public display of his killing. They left his body lying there for all to see. The psychic toll that exerts on a community calls to mind the eerie words once sung by Billie Holiday: “Southern trees bear strange fruit/ blood on the leaves and blood at the root…/ here is a fruit for the crows to pluck/ for the rain to gather, for the wind to suck.” But for Brown and Ferguson, the “poplar trees” were replaced with a city street.
It is an injustice that Michael Brown was killed. But injustice alone doesn’t move people to action. His killing is one of many. But the sight of Michael Brown’s body being left in the middle of the street is the closest this generation has come to seeing, in real life, the strange fruit of which Holiday sang. That’s an image you just can’t shake.
People are moved by a line of police as authorities disperse a protest in Ferguson, Missouri, early Wednesday, August 20, 2014. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
The people of Ferguson, Missouri, have rallied and marched and protested for eleven straight days and nights. They want justice for Michael Brown, the 18-year-old unarmed black boy killed by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson on August 9. They’ve been met with tear gas, assault rifles, rubber bullets, armored police cars, dogs and the National Guard. And they show no signs of letting up.
But why?
I’ve been trying to figure out why so many people have had such a strong reaction to Brown’s killing. Because this isn’t new. His death is tragic, but fairly ordinary in the course of black people’s interactions with the police. We deal with this all the time.
On her MSNBC show this past Saturday, Melissa Harris-Perry demonstrated just how ordinary it is. She read a list of names of unarmed black men killed by police in the last decade alone, and it was chilling, to say the least. “Timothy Stansbury, unarmed. Sean Bell, unarmed. Oscar Grant, unarmed. Aaron Campbell, unarmed. Alonzo Ashley, unarmed. Wendell Allen, unarmed. Jonathan Ferrell, unarmed. Eric Garner, unarmed,” she said, before adding, “From 2006 to 2012, a white police officer killed a black person at least twice a week in this country.”
Twice a week. It’s business as usual for police to kill black people. And those are only a few names—many more black men and women have been killed by police. Many of them were also unarmed. Many were around the same age as Michael Brown. So what makes him special? Why did his death elicit such a strong reaction?
Of course, there are several factors to consider. That he was a young black man and not a young black woman is part of it. Black women/girls are often forgotten as victims in the discussion of police violence. That he was regarded as a “gentle giant” (Brown was 6'4" tall and close to 300 pounds) and a prospective college student are relevant. His image as “harmless” and “respectable” makes him more sympathetic to some people. That a mostly white police force routinely harasses black residents of Ferguson matters. And the fact witnesses say at the time of his shooting Brown had his hands up in the air, surrendering, also matters. It makes the six bullet wounds he suffered appear even more callous.
But for me, the detail that sticks is that Brown’s body was left in the street for at least four hours. Not only did people in the community witness the shooting, they were forced to look at the aftermath. For hours, they had to see Michael Brown’s bullet-ridden, bloody body lie rotting in the street.
It’s not unlike Henry Simmons’s bullet-filled body being hung from in tree in Palm Beach, Florida, in June of 1923. Or that of William Turner, whose body was hung, then cut down, then hung again before being burned in a bonfire in Helena, Arkansas, in November 1921. There was also Jim Roland, shot and killed by a mob in Camillia, Georgia, after having refused to dance for a white man who was pointing a gun at him in February 1921. And also Frank Dodd, shot and hung from a tree “in a negro settlement on the outskirts of DeWitt, Arkansas, in October 1916.” And so many more.*
They were lynched. They were killed and displayed publicly for the amusement of the lynch mobs and other white folks, and for the further terrorization of black people.
Please support our journalism. Get a digital subscription for just $9.50!
The police didn’t hang Michael Brown, but they made a public display of his killing. They left his body lying there for all to see. The psychic toll that exerts on a community calls to mind the eerie words once sung by Billie Holiday: “Southern trees bear strange fruit/ blood on the leaves and blood at the root…/ here is a fruit for the crows to pluck/ for the rain to gather, for the wind to suck.” But for Brown and Ferguson, the “poplar trees” were replaced with a city street.
It is an injustice that Michael Brown was killed. But injustice alone doesn’t move people to action. His killing is one of many. But the sight of Michael Brown’s body being left in the middle of the street is the closest this generation has come to seeing, in real life, the strange fruit of which Holiday sang. That’s an image you just can’t shake.
TRADUCCIÓN DE GOOGLE:
Extraña fruta en Ferguson
por Mychael Denzel Smith en The Nation
Las personas se mueven por una línea policíal, las autoridades dispersan una protesta en Ferguson, Missouri, la madrugada del miércoles, 20 de agosto de 2014 (AP Photo / Charlie Riedel)
Los habitantes de Ferguson, Missouri, se han manifestado y marcharon y protestaron durante once días seguidos y noches. Quieren justicia para Michael Brown, de 18 años de edad, muchacho negro desarmado asesinado por agente de policía Darren Ferguson Wilson el 9 de agosto Han estado se reunieron con gases lacrimógenos, rifles de asalto, balas de goma, coches de policía armados, los perros y el Nacional Guardia. Y ellos no muestran señales de disminuir.
Pero ¿por qué?
He estado tratando de averiguar por qué tantas personas han tenido una reacción tan fuerte que la muerte de Brown. Porque esto no es nuevo. Su muerte es trágica, pero bastante común en el curso de las interacciones de las personas negras con la policía. Nos ocupamos de esto todo el tiempo.
En su programa de MSNBC, el pasado sábado, Melissa Harris-Perry demostró lo ordinario que es. Ella leyó una lista de nombres de los hombres negros desarmados asesinados por la policía en la última década, y fue escalofriante, por decir lo menos. "Timothy Stansbury, sin armas. Sean Bell, desarmado. Oscar Grant, sin armas. Aaron Campbell, sin armas. Alonzo Ashley, sin armas. Wendell Allen, sin armas. Jonathan Ferrell, sin armas. Eric Garner, sin armas ", dijo, antes de añadir:" De 2006 a 2012, un oficial de policía blanco mató a un negro al menos dos veces a la semana en este país ".
Dos veces a la semana. Es lo de siempre para la policía para matar a personas de raza negra. Y esos son sólo algunos nombres-muchos más hombres y mujeres de raza negra han sido asesinados por la policía. Muchos de ellos eran también sin armas. Muchos estaban alrededor de la misma edad que Michael Brown. Así que lo que lo hace especial? ¿Por qué su muerte provoca una reacción tan fuerte?
Por supuesto, hay varios factores a considerar. Que era un hombre negro joven y no un joven negro es parte de ella. Las mujeres negras / niñas a menudo se olvidan como víctimas en la discusión de la violencia policial. Esto fue considerado como un "gigante gentil" (Brown era 6'4 "de altura y cerca de 300 libras) y un estudiante universitario prospectivo son relevantes. Su imagen como" inofensivos "y" respetable "lo hace más simpático a algunas personas. que un policía local en su mayoría blancos hostiga rutinariamente los residentes negros de importa Ferguson. Y los testigos de hecho decir en el momento de su rodaje Brown tenía sus manos en el aire, la entrega, también es importante. hace que las seis heridas de bala que sufrió aparecen aún más insensible.
Pero para mí, el detalle que sobresale es que el cuerpo de Brown fue dejado en la calle durante al menos cuatro horas. No sólo la gente en la comunidad son testigos de los disparos, que se vieron obligados a mirar las consecuencias. Durante horas, tenían que ver acribillado, mentira cuerpo ensangrentado de Michael Brown pudriéndose en la calle.
No es diferente a Henry Simmons cuyo cuerpo lleno de balas colgaba de en árbol en Palm Beach, Florida, en junio de 1923 o la de William Turner, cuyo cuerpo fue colgado, cortado, luego colgado de nuevo antes de ser quemado en una hoguera en Helena, Arkansas, en noviembre de 1921. También Jim Roland, baleado y muerto por una turba en Camillia, Georgia, después de haberse negado a bailar para un hombre blanco que le apuntaba con una pistola en febrero de 1921. Y también Frank Dodd, baleado y colgado de un árbol "en un asentamiento negro en las afueras de DeWitt, Arkansas, en octubre de 1916" y así muchos más.
Ellos fueron linchados. Fueron asesinados y mostrados públicamente para diversión de los linchadores y otros los blancos, y para aterrorizar a la gente negra.
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La policía no cuelga a Michael Brown, pero hizo una exhibición pública de su asesinato. Dejaron su cuerpo tendido allí para que todos lo vean. La cifra psíquica que ejerce sobre una comunidad trae a la mente las palabras misteriosas una vez cantadas por Billie Holiday: "Los árboles sureños dan fruto extraño / sangre en las hojas y sangre en la raíz ... / hay una fruta para que los cuervos arranquen / para que la lluvia reuna, para que el viento chupe". Pero para Brown y Ferguson, los "árboles de álamo" se sustituyen por una calle de la ciudad.
Es una injusticia que Michael Brown fuera asesinado. Pero la injusticia sola no mueve a la gente a la acción. Su asesinato es uno de muchos. Pero la visión del cadáver de Michael Brown abandonado en medio de la calle es el más cercano que esta generación ha llegado a ver, en la vida real, el extraño fruto de la cual Holiday cantó. Esa es una imagen que no se puede sacudir.
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