Lynching in Britain
Marika Sherwood looks at the history of racist attacks in Britain, following the criticism of police handling of the murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence in 1993.
The term 'lynching' conjures up images of mob murder of blacks by groups like the Ku Klux Klan in the southern states of America. To 'lynch' means to execute by mob action without due process of law – usually someone unknown, murdered solely because of the colour of his or her skin. Such lynchings have been known in Britain since the end of the First World War.
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