TOW #16 - "Coatesville"

This week I read "Coatesville" by John Jay Chapman, an account of the lynching of a black man in Coatesville, PA not fifty years after the abolition of slavery. He gave this speech during the prayer session held a year after the tragedy in remembrance. His belief that slavery was not an institution but a disease is what interested me the most. He proclaimed, "With the great disease (slavery) came the climax (the war), and after the climax gradually began the cure, and in the process of cure comes now the knowledge of what the evil was" (73). This metaphor of his got me thinking that he was both right and wrong in his comparison. It is true that slavery can be accurately viewed as a disease, and the Civil War can be viewed as the point of most-affected, but I disagree with his view about the "cure" to this disease. Yes, the country has come a long way in terms of the treatment of African-Americans, but we have such a long way to go. Unfortunately, racism is something that will never truly 'die out', similar to how a disease or infection is never permanently cured or proclaimed to be extinct. Also, I noticed how Chapman utilized the emotions of his audience by saying how the blame and the burden of the tragedy rests on the shoulders of not just those who participated in it, but everyone who knows of it. In other words, he wanted us to understand that it is our job as American citizens to ensure that the injustice that occurred on this day is not forgotten. It should serve as a reminder to all that the consequences of racism and discrimination lead to suffering. Another aspect of Chapman's essay I enjoyed was his comments on the fact that the men who participated in the lynching of this man were just everyday people. Reading this reminded me of an essay I read about the steps it takes to reach "hate" in concurrence with the events that took place during the Holocaust. Chapman and the author of this essay would have agreed that it doesn't take much to change an ordinary man into a ruthless one. For example, many of the Nazis were people you and I could have known, they simply joined Hitler either out of fear for themselves/their families, or blatant blindness. Men joining in with racism and race-related violence fall victim to the same idea. They either fear that the hatred will be turned towards them, or they simply do not know that it is wrong. All in all, despite Chapman's essay being quite heavy on the sad side, I feel that is was important for me to read. Therefore, I would also recommend it to everyone else looking for a quick read; it provides occasional but crucial reminder that we should not forget the injustices and tragedies of the past.