Thursday, June 19, 2025
Village Voice News
ADVERTISEMENT
  • Home
  • News
  • Sports
  • Editorial
  • Letters
  • Global
  • Columns
    • Eye On Guyana
    • Hindsight
    • Lincoln Lewis Speaks
    • Future Notes
    • Blackout
    • From The Desk of Roysdale Forde SC
    • Diplomatic Speak
    • Mark’s Take
    • In the village
    • Mind Your Business
    • Bad & Bold
    • The Voice of Labour
    • The Herbal Section
    • Politics 101 with Dr. David Hinds
    • Talking Dollars & Making Sense
    • Book Review 
  • Education & Technology
  • E-Paper
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Sports
  • Editorial
  • Letters
  • Global
  • Columns
    • Eye On Guyana
    • Hindsight
    • Lincoln Lewis Speaks
    • Future Notes
    • Blackout
    • From The Desk of Roysdale Forde SC
    • Diplomatic Speak
    • Mark’s Take
    • In the village
    • Mind Your Business
    • Bad & Bold
    • The Voice of Labour
    • The Herbal Section
    • Politics 101 with Dr. David Hinds
    • Talking Dollars & Making Sense
    • Book Review 
  • Education & Technology
  • E-Paper
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
Village Voice News
No Result
View All Result
Home Columns For Your Attention

STRANGE FRUITS IN COTTON TREE BACKDAM

Staff Reporter by Staff Reporter
September 13, 2020
in For Your Attention
Ronald Austin Jr
0
SHARES
0
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Ronald Austin Jr

Before you scream ‘All lives matter’ without specific mention of why ‘Black lives matter’, it will serve you well to educate yourself about the history of persecution against people of African descent. Perhaps, a good place to start is with the song “Strange Fruit” recorded by Billie Holiday in 1939. This revolutionary song was painfully influenced by the lynching of two black men in Indiana which was witnessed by Jewish communist teacher and civil rights activist from the Bronx, Abel Meeropol. This song which was originally a poem, reminded Holiday of her father who died from a lung disorder after being turned away from the hospital because of the color of his skin. She was moved to use her celebrity platform to lyrically protest and the result was the song of the century.

READ ALSO

IDPADA-G awards cash to young business leaders  

Democracy is Hard, Autocracy is Easy

STRANGE FRUITS IN COTTON TREE BACKDAM

Fast forward to almost a century later, smackdown in the rural part of the English-speaking South American country. A search party sets off in the fruit-filled back dam of Cotton Tree, Berbice for two missing teenagers from their community. After hours of exhaustion, they stumbled on mutilated and mangled bodies of Guyana’s most valuable human resource. The strangest fruits of them all, the very likes of which Holiday achingly referenced from deep within in her song. Understandably, they felt the same anguish and volcanic eruptions within which was experienced by Meeropol and Holiday. Cotton Tree is within the orbit of that bountiful region of Guyana where there is even talk of silk being available in the area but never known for such strange fruits.

THE SYSTEM

When strange fruits pop up with extreme violence and wounds inflicted with symbolic marks, it usually points to the existence of a system that allows the perpetrators to feel comfortable enough to commit such unspeakable acts with no fear of consequences. Here, there is no system being controlled by the state to give any succor to such acts as was the case of the US in the 1930s where the Jim Crow laws institutionalized racism and gave open refuge to those who lynched African-Americans. Therefore, it is possible that the system exists at the communal level. These acts are seldom perpetrated by a few individuals. In such cases, there is always a vigilante group and aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces and community members are very aware of such developments.

WAS IT A HATE CRIME OR PLAIN MURDER?

According to the United Nations, ‘Hate crimes are criminal acts motivated by bias or prejudice towards particular groups of people. To be considered a hate crime, the offence must meet two criteria: First, the act must constitute an offence under criminal law; second, the act must have motivated by bias.’ Such bias is driven towards a certain group of people due to their ethnicity, race, religion or social standing. It is reasonable to conclude, this was a hate crime.

There is absolutely no doubt, the brutal symbols of chop marks on the bodies of Joel Henry and Isiah Henry were indicative of a hate crime fueled by untamed disdain for a particular group of people. In such circumstances, it is reasonable to assume that other weapons of choice were available but as the noose, chops were the preferred way of inflicting fatal wounds to send a message.

The author is convinced about the possibility of this diabolic act being committed to by some vigilante group formed to protect the community. There might be more strange fruits in Cotton Tree back dam.

ShareTweetSendShareSend

Related Posts

For Your Attention

IDPADA-G awards cash to young business leaders  

by Staff Reporter
May 23, 2022

Five youths were awarded on Friday with cash grants from the International Decade for People of African Descent Assembly -Guyana...

Read moreDetails
For Your Attention

Democracy is Hard, Autocracy is Easy

by Staff Reporter
April 24, 2022

It is an extremely difficult undertaking. Democracy is hard. This sentiment is not driven by any abhorrence for this form...

Read moreDetails
For Your Attention

DRUNK ON OIL, WE SHOULD NOT FORGET THE IMPORTANCE OF CARICOM

by Staff Reporter
April 10, 2022

When CARICOM Day is upon us, there is the usual razzle and dazzle of social media frenzy and official public...

Read moreDetails
Next Post

Could we dare hope justice will be served for Henry boys?


EDITOR'S PICK

Close to 14,000 GTT customers now receiving bills via WhatsApp Billing

July 27, 2021
Annette Ferguson MP (Shadow Minister for Housing and Water)

After 4 years Guyanese have nothing to celebrate under this PPP/C regime!

August 5, 2024
Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham, O.E, S.C

Forbes Burnham: Reflecting on the Legacy of Guyana’s First Executive President on His 102nd  Birthday

February 20, 2025
CFP

China-US financial working group holds 7th meeting

December 17, 2024

© 2024 Village Voice

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Sports
  • Editorial
  • Letters
  • Global
  • Columns
    • Eye On Guyana
    • Hindsight
    • Lincoln Lewis Speaks
    • Future Notes
    • Blackout
    • From The Desk of Roysdale Forde SC
    • Diplomatic Speak
    • Mark’s Take
    • In the village
    • Mind Your Business
    • Bad & Bold
    • The Voice of Labour
    • The Herbal Section
    • Politics 101 with Dr. David Hinds
    • Talking Dollars & Making Sense
    • Book Review 
  • Education & Technology
  • E-Paper
  • Contact Us

© 2024 Village Voice