Editorial: The Power of Racism
Racially motivated killings are meant to terrorize society
SPANISH VERSION
The murder of African-Americans at a southern church by a young man who apparently uttered racist slurs is an act of terrorism against U.S. society. It is a cruel and cowardly attack, not only because of the location where it was perpetrated but also for the zeal and racial hatred against the victims.
The Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, has a long history in the struggle for racial equality for African-Americans. Since its foundation in 1816, it has seen its leaders be executed for organizing a slave uprising and has been burned and destroyed by racists.
It is tragic that, 200 years later, the church still attracts racist attacks. This event does not happen in a void; it is a reflection of the current racial tensions spread throughout the country, especially in the south.
Charleston was also where a white policeman killed a black man by shooting him in the back not long ago. The officer is currently serving time thanks to a video recording of the incident. According to estimates by the Southern Poverty Law Center, there are 19 hate groups in South Carolina, including two Ku Klux Klan chapters. One of them handed out candy bags to soften its image and recruit new members.
In front of the state’s legislature building, a confederate states flag waves as if longing for the old days of slavery, before the Civil War. It is the same flag that shooting suspect Dylann Roff had in his car’s license plate.
It goes without saying that the freedom with which people are able to buy and sell firearms bears close relation to how easy it is to get them and kill scores of people quickly. Since 2006, some 279 incidents with at least 4 fatal victims each have occurred in the U.S. The solution is not more armed people.
Charleston’s Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church survived all previous attacks, and it will survive this one as well. Through the times, the bravery of its constituency and the power of Justice, the community and of reconciliation have allowed it to move forward. As in the past, the power of racial hatred will fail to destroy it.
