Walter Manning had a far more horrific battle than World War II. He was a Black man living during one of the most deadly anti-Black moments in this country.
Lynching was one of the most prevalent ways for racists to send us the message we were not equal citizens in this country.
This message was also communicated to the rest of the world, and Germans, intent on creating a “pure” white race of people, were inspired by the numerous lynchings across the country. American eugenics programs even directly influence Hitler’s ethnic cleansing.
Manning, a Tuskegee Airman, was shot down over Austria during the war. An angry mob captured him, lynched him on a lamp post, and threw his body in a shallow grave. His lynching served to show American racists how a lynching could be “PROPERLY” carried out.
Though many flyers were captured, Manning was the only known Black flyer to be lynched. The Austrian government eventually apologized for their heinous crime and gave Manning the highest military honor in their country. But has America ever apologized for its crimes?
Just this year, Congress passed the Emmitt Till Anti-lynching Act, which finally makes lynching a crime.
But this does nothing to help those who were murdered by angry mobs or ease the pain their families experienced. We must keep fighting for our protection and equality under the law - and beyond!