For African Americans, the noose is a hostile symbol of racial oppression. In the 80 years from 1880 to 1960, more than 4,700 people were lynched in this country, and the noose was the preferred means of execution.

In recent years, there had not been much concern about the noose, until the Jena, La., incident last September, when marchers protested the judicial treatment of six black students punished for fighting with white high school students over their display of a noose on the school grounds.

Since the Jena Six became a national story, about 60 noose incidents have been reported around the country.

Source: BayStateBanner.com [1]

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