Just like in the old black and white Hollywood movies, mobs of people would
pour out onto the streets in search of a man/monster to lynch, it wasn't always
the man who committed the crime, but the mob would not stop until they felt
justice was served. Justice was served in many ways, dragging a man/monster
until near death, then burning then hanging then the crazed mob would tear
the body apart. Prized souvenirs of these lynchings were body parts, which
were sometimes displayed in local shop windows. In the paper the next day the
article would invariably read that the lynching, although attended by recognized
local civic leaders, was perpetrated by 'persons unknown". No punishment
was inflicted upon the perpetrators. This actually happened regularly, as recently
as fifty years ago.
Times have changed, but unfortunately fear and perception has not changed so much. Policemen, schooled to diffuse dangerous situations, find themselves time and time again confronted with unarmed black men who project such a frightening image that the officers fear for their lives and must empty their guns before they can feel safe. The following list is a list of unarmed African American men killed by government trained professionals who, when confronted by these men, saw no other option.
Disposable Men is dedicated to the many African American men who have been killed unjustly. The list below displays only a sample of the unarmed local men who lost their lives.