Paul Lawrence
Dunbar has written two similar pieces depicting how race has played a major
factor in the decision making of law enforcement and community. These two
stories “Lynching of Jube Benson” and “Sport of the Gods” give us a perspective
of racism, and how it can create injustice and inequality in society. It also
gives us a perspective that darker complexion people are guilty of more crimes
than whites. In this blog I will summarize the occurrences of both stories and
show how they collaborate and focus on racism and the negative consequences it
can create.
The
story of the “Lynching of Jube Benson” explains how a white man who committed a
murder is not prosecuted. Instead the server of the victim is blamed for her
murder. Jube is not given a trial or a chance to prove his innocence, before he
is killed. Immediately after the servant is hung, the individual who committed
the crime Tom Skinner is discovered hiding in the barn with dirt on his face.
He has colored his white skin with dirt to appear as dark colored person. He is
a murderer and a rapist, yet he is not prosecuted. Jube brother is the person
who discovers the actual perpetrator. The brother of Jube tries to cut the rope
and save his brother’s life it is too late, he is dead. This great injustice
was performed so that a community may remain calm thinking the criminal was apprehended.
This perception of the colored man, being always guilty of crime.
In the story of the “Sport of the Gods” is
about a free black man, his name is Berry Hamilton. He is a former slave who
becomes a servant to a rich white family. He works for the family for many
years and is considered a loyal employee. He is such a great servant that he is
given a cottage for his family on the Oakley’s estate. The Oakley’s discover a
quantity of money is missing from their home. Frank Oakley blames Berry
Hamilton for this theft and subsequently Berry pleads his innocence. This is
not enough to persuade the Oakley’s, and Berry is prosecuted to the full extent
of the law. Berry is given an obscene amount of incarceration. They court system
made an example of this slave who turned free man and now has become a slave
again.
These two stories written by Paul Lawrence
Dunbar have strong racial convictions, intertwined in the literature. The
racial profiling that occurs in these two stories is egregious and dissatisfying,
especially through the course of the text where the author himself unveils the
fact that these two main characters are really innocent. Is being punished for
a crime you commit lawful? The violations of basic human rights due to race are
evident in these two short stories.
