Now, the potent symbolism of black men hanging from trees has put this city on edge — the atmosphere within the black community is a “powder keg,” one local pastor said — causing many to question law enforcement’s handling of the cases. A black teenager was found dead near an elementary school in Spring, Texas. And a black man was found dead in a tree in a Manhattan park. In Northern California several nooses were found recently on five trees in a popular park in Oakland, prompting the F.B.I. Mayor Libby Schaaf of Oakland said that the intent of whoever put the ropes in the trees will be relevant to the criminal investigation, while acknowledging the potent symbolism.

Source: New York Times June 19, 2020 17:04 UTC