John Jay Chapman was born in New York in 1862; he was born into a family who was wealthy, Caucasian, and against racism and slavery. His grandmother was a leading campaigner against slavery and was the first woman to be elected to the executive committee of the anti slavery society. Chapman worked as a lawyer before deciding to switch careers and become a writer. Because of his strong belief in anti slavery and anti racism Chapman decided to hold a memorial service in Coatesville, Pennsylvania when a man by the name of Zach Walker was murdered in 1911 due to his skin color. Chapman wrote and delivered a speech during the memorial service held for Walker and only two people attended. However, his speech was published in 1912 spreading the story of what happened that night. Chapman’s speech described how he first heard about Walkers death in a newspaper and felt angered and saddened that such a thing could happen in our country. He explains how hundreds of people stood there watching Walker die and failed to act. He described these witnesses as “fascinated and impotent” it seems as if he viewed those witnessing the event as weak opposed to evil.
I believe Chapman wrote and delivered this speech to not only hold a memorial service for a man who was intentionally forgotten by his community, but to spread the story of his death. When Chapman asked a friend about the incident he simply replied, “it wasn’t in my country”. It seems that the out of sight, out of mind mentality helped individuals in this community sleep at night. Chapman describes the individuals responsible for this crime as wicked however blames the society as a whole for their actions by saying, “A nation cannot practice a course of inhumane crime for three hundred years and then suddenly throw off the effects of it”. It seemed to me that chapman was trying to understand how people could commit such a horrid act against another person. I think Chapman wanted the general public to read this speech and become aware of the fact that these types of hate crimes are occurring in their own communities whether they want to believe it or not. He describes slavery as a disease; this makes me think he viewed slavery as something contagious. If it becomes a societal norm than people will accept it even if they know it is inhumane and wrong.
The National Association for the advancement of coloured people investigated Walkers murder and found the individuals who were directly responsible. When the authorities refused to bring the case to court Chapmen decided to come to Coatesville and hold this memorial service. I believe that only two people attended the memorial service because they wanted to forget what had happened, everyone in the community was responsible for not acting and speaking against the killing of Walker. Chapman explains how this crime was committed out of pure dislike opposed to personal hatred, political views, or religious views. This is what makes this crime so disturbing, a passage that stood out to me was “for to look at the agony of a fellow being and remain aloof means death in the heart of the onlooker”. Why do you think these people stood there watching without trying to save Zack Walker? It seems to be a question that chapman is trying to answer for his own piece of mind by writing and delivering this speech. I think chapman faced many obstacles when writing this speech, if everyone involved wants to forget it happened then who is listening? Do you agree with chapman and blame society as a whole for this crime or the individuals responsible?
I think that people feed off society’s norm when making decisions if they should stand up for something or not. A lot of the time when something racist is happening and people that are not part of that group witness it they will recognize it is wrong but will do nothing further to prevent it from happening or letting people know its not ok. Usually the victim and thier ethnic group are the ones who have a say in the matter. That is what makes this so powerful especially because John J. Chapman ” a wealthy Caucasian” is defending the rights of another ethnic group. It makes people want to stand up for what they believe in instead of hiding behind what their expected response should be.
I think Chapman was appalled to see that the community could stand by and watch such a horrific crime being committed in public. Since he came from a family who is against racism, he must’ve been a minority at the time. Slavery was still a recent thing during that time period and lynchings were probably still common place. I think Chapman wrote this speech to try and convince his fellow men and women that doing nothing is just as bad as committing the crime itself. Without action, change will happen extremely slow, or may be not at all.
I think the norm must have something to do with it. During this time period slavery was a major aspect to the country at the time. Lynching was also an occurring event, but the racism was an inevitable trait that reside during the country. It’s like during a riot when many people do it, then people will jump in too. They feel less punishment will happen. Also the anger and hatred leads the people to such crime. It is a crime that cannot be stop, but only learn from.
He wrote this essay to spread awareness to the society since at the time he wrote this slavery was common in the U.S and he wanted to open please minds and also give courage to the ones who are against slavery , but are scared to of politicians. He blames the society because everyone saw the murder , but still they ignor as Walker was not a human. He is right in some ways because he want to honor the death of Walker , but no one come forward to show their respect it is society that did not care. It is totally has to do with norm and racism was not such a big deal for powerful people at that time and they did not treat people of color as humans. I read the Douglass book where explains slavary in different part of U.S clearly.
I think racism is an issue that exists even today but to a much lesser degree. Even today we see crimes targeting specific races and ethnicities. Also, we all have stereotypes that are associated with certain races. It think it will be a while until racism is totally eliminated. And even then, I don’t think it will be completely gone. There will always be people who will discriminate a person based only on their skin color.
Chapman was influenced to become a supporter against racism because his family was a part of it also. During the time, slavery was still going on. Chapman wanted to be a writer against slavery, so that people can hear his speeches. He knew what was right and wrong at the time. People thought of slavery as a normal thing to do, but realistically, everyone is still a human being. It is a crime and hatred because of the skin tone of people. Chapman wants people to step right up to what they think is right for them. If people are just going to be a bystander, then there will be no change at all.
I like how you mentioned the “out of sight, out of mind mentality” of society, this not only applies to the time which it happened but in today’s society as well. People have the tendency to think that since “it’s not happening to me, then I don’t have to do anything about if” almost as if we expect someone else to deal with it. I think Chapman points this out very clearly. People are always going to have this type of mentality, but I think Chapman wants to point out the uncommon thing to do, which is to stand out and stand up against the “norm” (racism, slavery hate etc.)
You question who would be listening if everyone else wants to forget? I think that’s the point he wants to make, that EVERYONE else is not doing their part against the hate. It validates even more so how sad it is for a community to not show their support, especially with such a horrible and unthinkable crime.
This reminds me of MLK’s letter, how he mentions that not supporting a cause is the same as being against it. I think this applies to this essay not only because its about racism but also because it points out Chapman’s idea of doing something for the right reason, not because everyone else to doing it.
I think i would blame the individuals for acting out their feelings of racism, but I also blame the society as a whole for creating racism as an institution (definition: a set of widely shared norms and principles, rules and procedures). What’s beautiful about this that Anjelica already mentioned was that this white privileged male is speaking on behalf of a minority. Why I think he wrote this? It is relevant from then til present day. The norm today is gay rights. It’s a little disgusting that people can have such strong dislike over someone else’s life, lifestyle, etc. but when they are gone, they completely avoid the fact they even existed?
I think I do agree with the fact that Chapman’s essay here points out the issue of racism. I think when he mentions about friend and how the friend responded it was not his country. It is like saying that it is not his problem so he does not have to deal with it. I think it also became a shock to Chapman because of the respond that was given. I think this whole essay sums up to the point where even though it is not happening to light skinned people, it is happening to dark skinned people and every one should be aware of it instead of ignoring it. His essay gives a vibe where judgement of each person should no longer looked upon just from the outside.
Lynching and slavery was a pretty common thing in the past. I believe that the people who stood there and just watched believed that “Oh, this black person must have some something wrong and should be punished” would be a common thought at those times. Or it could have been that no one wanted to stand up out of fear that they may be persecuted and also killed. In the past everything was in chaos, no authority. Racism is something that has grown out of proportion within the society since the past, and yes I do agree chapman that society does play a big role. Maybe if people started to stand up for others race, this whole long feud will end forever.
We are a society of rubberneckers who believe someone else will inform the proper authority when something goes wrong–bystander effect. Some of the onlookers might have wanted to help, but were too afraid of the consequences, whiles others were too lazy or even agreed with the action.
When he describes the gathering of bystanders, you think it is all whites, so you would think the blacks would rally together and see justice done, but only two people showed up for the memorial and the murderers were never brought to justice. Where were the blacks that day when the onlookers were telephoning each other? Did any of them accidently stumble upon the scene, and if they did, what were they thinking when they saw what was happening? Both major races in this issue did nothing for Walker.
By not stopping the murderers, the group gathered was as responsible as the murderers, but I would not go so far as blaming it on society as a whole; I also would not blame those of the past, because thought they may have created this racist mindset, the murderers are the ones who should have taken responsibility for their actions.
Some students have commented that “slavery” was still around during this essay. The 13th Amendment ratified on 6 December 1865 abolished slavery, as the author stated “less than fifty years ago domestic slavery was abolished among us” (73). It is racism that still thrived after slavery ended. I heard recently on a 60 Minutes episode that in recent years, white supremacy groups have had an increase in membership. It is so sad; you think it would be decreasing with time.
I think didn’t do anything to help because they didn’t want to be in the front lines for the consequence. It sort of like the story of Kitty Genovese, the story of a women who was raped and in killed on the streets of New York while many witness failed to intervene. Humans are more to help when the are alone versus when they are in a group. It really takes a true hero to step up and make difference. Chapman wanted to do his part in making a difference.
I don’t know where to start. I believe no one dared to prevent the murder of Zack Walker because they didn’t want to get involved, when during the time, racism and slavery was such a critical topic. I feel everyone is for themselves, save yourself before saving others. Their actions can jeopardize their surrounds. If you were anti-slavery, anti-racism, much hate will be aimed towards you so not that many people, in this case no one, bothered to help. If they were to help, they too would get murdered or tortured for helping people who weren’t light skinned. For those who did go, I felt they felt ashamed and the least they can do is attend and to listen what Chapman had to say on behalf of Zack Walker.
Another reason why people just watched was that they believe that Zack Walker has done wrong so he deserves to be tortured > murder. I still don’t see a good rationale reason though for this view. If someone has done wrong, it does not amount to murdering them, probably punishing yes but not murder.
I believe people should be more aware and proactive. If you know something is wrong, speak up and do something about it. Standing there, not progressing, not doing anything will not help anyone, not even yourself. You think you play it safe by doing nothing? You’re not and you will always have that mindset of “I watched this man get murdered for no reason.” I would hate to live with that embedded in my head. If you want to make a difference, first step is actually improving one thing after the other, taking steps until you have reached your goal.
Chapman wanted to make sure that the evil that it is Racism was exposed for his contemporaries and for future generations. It is hard to specifically blame just the individual or society for crimes committed. We have seen in recent events in the middle east, how people have committed crimes after their governments have fallen and the common response is to forgive them this time because they are new to democracy and don’t really know how to behave. But there is no question in my mind that the person that commits the crime is to be blame for it. Now the question is, should I be responsible for a crime if I don’t help to prevent it? That is a tough one to answer! If we pass by a gas station and a person with a gun start shooting at the attendant at the station, how many of us would immediately jump in between the gun and the attendant exposing ourselves to be shut and killed? The most likely reaction would be to hide or run away and come back later to investigate. Should we then be blame for this crime? I know that these are two totally different scenarios; I just wanted to present one of our contemporary scenarios.
I liked reading this easy, very short but with such abundance of though provoking ideas. I agree with Lineah and other comments that Chapman wanted to denounce these race driven crimes and expose the current putrefaction underneath our society. He condemns this horrific crime by human standard and religious beliefs. It is great to read about this eloquent Caucasian male talking and defending a black male and yet only two people came to hear him. Perhaps folks were still afraid and that is why not even black people show up. It makes me wonder if it was because he knew that it was unlikely for him to suffer some physical harm that he came to deliver this speech? Would he have come if it were a black “WOMAN”? However I admire him for having the courage to come out in public and expose evil of racism in our society.
John Jay Chapman is a brave man by going to the county of Coatesville to deliver an address to Zach Walker horrific death. He is brave because a man was burned and as white person going out of his way for color was unheard of. I bet after he did that he got nasty letters. It’s sad to read that “hundred well-dressed American citizens.” Watch a man burn to alive in front of them. During that time for America blacks were not well liked by white people. As developed country I believe America knows how to call out its wrong doing and works to fix it, because we don’t see a man burning on the streets today. Chapman exemplifies this with his essay. Because the memorial he wrote is still with us today as we are reading it in our class. Almost hundred years ago we get to read how Americans acted as community. The community watched a man burned and Chapman implies the country should share the guilt too. To develop as a whole meaning the country we learn from our past and try as Country to improve on it even if its slow process but we need people like Chapman who stood up against social norms because if it’s wrong we need to fix it. Nobody is perfect but still our country past history might be terrible remember we have improved and will continue to improve because that’s what America does.
On the second paragraph, first quote, there is a typo, instead of country it suppose to say county.
Nobody decided to act because they rather believe that the person who was being burned was guilty than to believe the entire community was wrong. This is similar to when someone goes to death row. Sure there are a few people protesting outside, but the rest of America can careless. The next morning they’ll read it in the paper, so and so was put to death, and they’ll forget about him/her within the hour.
I wouldn’t say that the community wants to forget about the incident. It seems to me that they could care less about the incident. They could care less about the man of a different race on the stick. They could care less whether he is guilty of a crime. And they definitely did not care for what Chapman had to say.
I agree with Chapman and I’d have to blame the society as a whole for not acting against this crime. Also, this clearly has to do with the norms that was probably existent during this time period when Zach Walker died; I think racism made the society careless about the Zach’s death. I mean the reason why he was killed was because of his skin color, and this is also the reason why the community stood there watching him die, didn’t care about his death and didn’t sympathize with him because of his skin color. When Chapman asked his friend in another country, his friend’s statement seemed to reinforce this reason; his friend also didn’t care and maybe because his friend’s community had a different view on racism. I liked how you referred to his friend’s ignorance as “out of sight, out of mind mentality” because I agree with you; that’s also another playing factor. I think Chapman is spreading the words of an ignorant death due to skin color to show how racism was back then in his community. And the people listening (his audience) would be our society. Maybe Chapman’s trying to show how we need to change the norms and views on racism in our society.
When I read the piece I became angry because of the picture of complete abandonement toward another human being that the author portrayed. It made me sad to picture the scene and know that even today such hanous acts are witnesses. It might not be linching in particular,(lets hope people don’t do that anymore) but what about a mugging or senseless brutality?Many people are capable of standing there and watching but not many will stand up against it, or do something. This is the crime of indifference.
I think, that the author accomplished his goal: to get people to be completely outraged at the situation that many wanted to just push under the rug. In doing so, he waqnts people to change their attitudes, so that it will not happen again. At least thats my take on it. Racism at the time this was written was not something that people tried to hide, they would outright demonstrate it. Today it is a touchy subject, but I believe that it is still around, eventhough people might not want to look at it in the eye and face it.
I think that you did a great job in anlayzing the text and bringing questions into our minds about this subject. It is a tough one to talk about but hopefully people will let theire thoughts be known.
I agree with ecartano, Nikko, when she said, “I feel everyone is for themselves, save yourself before saving others.” Those were the times when people were getting punished cruelly and it was normal for their society. People were scared to say something against something that was wrong or inhumane because they do not want something similar happening to them.
It’s very cool that Chapman and his family were against slavery and racism even though they were healthy. I thought that the only people that would be against slavery back then that were not of color were poor Caucasian families, at least.
I meant *wealthy.
[...] are extremely helpful when students are to lead the discussion. Two of my favorite readings are “Coatesville” by Lineah and “How It Feels To Be Colored Me” by Maria. Lineah’s essay talked about a [...]