Racial terror lynching and violence -acts of racial terrorism committed outside of the legal system and designed to enforce the myth that Black people are inferior to white people, that involved killing African Americans by hanging, burning, mutilation, or other brutal assault at the hands of white mobs of at least three or more people, for the purposes of not only terrorizing the victim, but the entire African American community, with no fear of legal punishment. White press accounts often further contributed to the injustice of lynching, either perpetuating narratives that encouraged lynching or justifying the use of lynching and impunity for white mobs. These accounts motivated the work of anti-lynching activists, such as African American journalist Ida B. Wells, and anti-lynching efforts and organizations, such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), who sought to publicly respond to the false narratives and lack of accountability for white mobs that perpetuated lynching. The use of press to either encourage or dismantle racial bias and the legacy of lynching continues today. See EJI’s Lynching in America website and report or EJI's Reconstruction in America website, video, and report for more information.
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