Land, lynching and oil in Mississippi : NOLA Indymedia

When the US military is bombing people in Iraq to steal their petroleum via Halliburton, is it really a far stretch to think that the KKK would not kill an African to do the same if they know there is petroleum under their family land?

The police are calling his death a suicide because they don't want racial tensions to escalate, though suppressing the possibility of homicide will only cause more tension. Someone fighting a court battle to defend their family home is focused on survival, not suicide..

We cannot rely on the police alone to solve this crime, this time the people need to conduct their own investigation..

Using an innocent tree to kill another human being is a double crime for pagans. Just hope the police catch these racist murderers before we do..

POLICE: MISSISSIPPI LYNCHING - A SUICIDE?
By: Nayaba Arinde
Challenge Group
Originally posted 4/29/2004

''They hang one and scare the rest, that's the way they do it in Mississippi,'' Willie Bradley, a family member of the lynched Roy Veal called the Daily Challenge ''to put the news out there about what happened.''

On Friday, Roy Veal was found hanging from a tree close to his mother - Thelma Veal's home in Donegal, Wilkinson County.

Increduosly within less than a week, the state Department of Public Safety in Mississippi, announced that the 55 year-old Veal killed himself. Wilkinson County Sheriff Reginald Jackson said turkey hunters found his body.

A published report has DPS spokesman Warren Strain, declaring; ''Our investigators' findings are consistent with a suicide.''

Jackson requested that the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation looking into the case.

Reportedly, he is waiting on an autopsy report and results from the crime lab, before he makes his determination.

''Roy went down from Seattle Washington about a week prior to the hanging,'' said Bradley, who lives in New York. ''The family have been in court about the ownership of some land. A family member who was on drugs sold her portion to a white man, who has since tried to claim the 40 acres. Roy's grandfather had the land and his daughter - Roy's mother, has lived on it since she was 18. She is now 79 years old.

Evidently, the white guy is trying to steal the property, so the family has been in court fighting for the land. Roy said he had the all the paper work and a map. He left his mother's house last Wednesday [April 21], and the paper said that some turkey hunters found him hanging from a tree at 9a.m. on Friday.''

The Challenge asked if the burnt papers apparently found at his feet included the map and his proof of ownership of the land.

''The paper never did say,'' Bradley mused.

He said the property is allegedly oil-rich 40 acres in southwest Woodville.

The upshot of Veal's death, which Bradley said is not a suicide, has all the markings of the KKK.

''Evidently they scared his mother, but her daughter is coming from San Franicsco to continue the fight for their land. I spoke to my niece last night, and I heard that there is not going to be a funeral, just the family at the graveside.''

The Challenge asked 'Why?'

''They hang one and scare the rest, that's the way they do it in Mississippi. I'm from there. People down there are so afraid. Then there's the Black sherriff Reginald Jackson. We fought to get that Negro in office. He said 'There was no lynching, but yes, a man was hung.'

What's the difference between hanging and lynching? One is by law one is by a gang without law.''

The Challenge called Mississippi.

Not a great response. The paper wanted to know how law enforcement officials have stated that this unfortunately seemingly 'typical' lynching - could be detemined to be a suicide.

The paper called Warren Strain, director of public affairs of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, but could not get through; then a female at Wilkinson County Sheriff Reginald Jackson's office referred the paper to Mississippi's Federal Bureau of Investigation - who said that it was out of their jurisdiction; they put the Challenge on to press representative Debra Madden.

''The FBI is not involved,' said Madden. ''The supervisory special agent said that the state and local investigation is still pending. They are waiting for the autopsy results. If there's a determination that a federal criminal violation occurred, then the FBI will get involved with technical evidence recovery. We are just standing by.''

It is probably bubbling below the surface, an under-reported and/or ignored simmering potboiler -there is serious race issue - a potential, or probable battle brewing. It is national. General disastifaction: economics, politics, history and traditional social attitudes - and the taking back of legislated aids like affrimative action; are all leading to the kneading of the conditions that make white supremacy manifests itself in the most base fashion.

Veal's sister Doris Gordon, told the Associated Press, ''It's awful. We don't know who did it.''
She added, ''There are people trying to take part of our land because they apparently think there is oil on the land.''

Wilkinson Chancery Clerk Thomas Tolliver acknowledged in media reports that a lawsuit was filed last October by Boyd and Marjorie Alexander of Natchez and Kevin Krick of Baton Rouge, regarding a land title.

In December 2001, the Daily Challenge published an article on the epidemic that is Black land theft.
Then, Atty. Alton Maddox had invited Dr. Raymond A. Winbush, the Benjamin Hooks Professor of Social Justice at Fisk University and Director of the University's Race Relations Institute, to be the keynote speaker at the United African Movement weekly Harlem forum at the Oberia Dempsey Center.
Winbush's topic will be 'The Earth Moved: Land Theft and African Americans in the United States.'
''Land taken from Black folk is nothing new,'' Winbush told the Challenge then. ''[It is] the greatest unpunished crime in American history.''

The Associated Press had just summed up their study which ''documented a pattern in which Black Americans were cheated out of their land or driven from it through intimidation, violence and even murder. In some cases, government officials approved the land takings; in others, they took part in them. The earliest occurred before the Civil War; others are being litigated today.''
The AP documented 107 land takings in 13 Southern and border states. In those cases alone, 406 Black landowners lost more than 24,000 acres of farmland and timberland plus 85 smaller properties, including stores and city lots. Today, virtually all of this property, valued at tens of millions of dollars, is owned by whites or corporations.

According to the U.S. Agricultural Census., in 1910, Black people living in America owned at least 15 million acres of farmland, nearly all of it in the South. Today, that number is down to just 1.1 million acres of farmland, with Black part owners holding on to another 1.07 million acres.

Back to right now,, Veal family lawyer Homes Sturgeon, who is also a Wilkinson County prosecuting attorney, said that the autopsy results will shed light on the case.

He did not return a Challenge phone call by press time.

How can state law enforcement authorities through the Department of Public Safety/ Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, fix their mouths to say that a man with a pillowcase over his head, swinging from a tree, with signs of trauma, committed suicide? Strangefruit indeed.

''I just don't understand,''Bradley said, adding that he had contacted the Nation of Islam and other Black organizations. ''The papers are saying that everything is under investigation. This is not over. We want to find out what happened, and the fight will go on to keep the family land.''

Finally some justice may come to Mississippi. Land is always been taken from Blacks and is still going on. Yet when asked for assistance there is none. I hope and pray that this brutually crime will come to light. Yes there have been other there never did. Other counties are Mississippi are still doing the same thing.

Reading this article has sickend me to the point of not wanting to finish my day at work. It on the other hand saddens me to know that we still have states in the United States that condone this type of behavior. Even though we have all races of troops fighting for our liberty over here in the U.S. The blacks are not only fighting for blacks and the whites for whites. They are all fighting for the same justice. EQUAL JUSTICE for us. The American people. I wonder how they would feel if they knew they had people in Mississippi killing black people over oil. And the bad thing about that is, this oil belongs to these people. How can you take something that do not belong to you? We punish our children for STEALING, so my sentiments are exactly the same when it comes to the person or people who killed Mr. Veal. They need to be punished as well!

Why hasn't this story outlined the front pages of our nations periodicals and magazines. Why do only a handful of us know about this tragic event. I it had been a white man hanging from a tree white america would have been angry. Why is this not a big issue with all that black people have been through?
Just food for thought.

This is a disgrace! My family was thinking of buying property in Miss! Why we would we now relocate to an area that is apparently still bound to oppress people of color!

It will be very important for us to begin a campain and a fund to stop these people from reversing time.
everyone should call the NAACP and other black political groups to stop this.

First, I would like to extend my condolences to the Veal's family and the mentioned and unmentioned Black families that have been affected by the unforgiving cowardness act of lynching. This ugly crime has happen for a reason. It is time for we as people to reflect on our past, present, and future and realize that we need to establish our civilization of true brotherhood away from people who has a history and continued present history of primitive, savagery, sadistic and satanic nature..

Ms
by Alice Long Wednesday, May. 26, 2004 at 1:01 PM
alice.long@msfc.nasa.gov 2568950916 650 Wynn Drive 268

This is a travesty to the United States of America for this type of violent act to be happening in America today. I cannot believe that the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation (MBI) and the Sheriff department is calling this incident a "suicide." This is as far fetched as a rattlesnake not being poison. I am origionally from Mississippi and I am very outraged that the people of Mississippi and other places are not getting more involved in pushing for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National NAACP to get to the bottom of this situation. It is time out for foolishness and greed in this country. No human being should ever have to lose their life over out-right greed and stupidity. The Black Sheriff need to turn his badge in if he is not willing to uphold the law. We don't need an Uncle Tom and scary people to be in a position of power if he or she cannot protect all people's rights. It is time for black people in Mississippi and other places to start writing and calling every newspaper, television, and radio station in this country. This is about getting to the bottom of what happen to a man that came to Mississippi to stand up for the rights of his property that had been in his family for many years and now all of a sudden he is found hanging from a tree with trauma to his body and a pillowcase over his head. It is something very wrong with this picture. Murders like this should never be left unsolved because I grant you that someone somewhere knows exactly what happened to Mr. Veal.

I am a concerned black woman who lives in Pennsylvania (regarding the lynching and unequal standards among blacks and whites in Mississippi). I would like to know if this case is under FBI's investigation and if not I am willing to send this artical to every news television station in the nation...., better yet here is focus on the family's link to access every media in the nation: http://capwiz.com/fof/dbq/media/ . Please let me know if I can be of any assistance. Thank you.

Thanks to the concerned poster who provided the link to the media center...i have typed my life away!!!
We need some justice towards this injustice and racially motivated crime!!!!!!

"IF we don't stand for something, we'll fall for anything"-Malcolm X

Once again the sickness of racism and white supremacy that permeates the fiber of this nation has raised its ugly head. We, above all others, should recognize this demon by now.

My prayers go out to the family. May the Lord comfort them in this time of extreme sorrow.

To my fellow brothers and sisters, we are reminded once more that we cannot fail to heed the cries of our beloved ancesters that beckon us to unite and stand up. We need to use every technique at our disposal to expose acts of this type for what they are. Let us not fool ourselves, this can easily happen to any black person in Amerika who tries to disrupt the chain of economic or personal racism. Be steadfast my brothers and sisters and let's get the word out.

I'm very interested in this topic and would like to learn more. As a former journalist, it is not surprising when issues like this do not get the coverage they deserve. There are many reasons why this happens - one major one is that the general public often does not believe such stories and becomes angry when confronted with such information. Then, pressure is put on the journalist to pass on the information unless it is so apparent, it can't be ignored. Anyway,I'm about to publish a book on Delta history, and would appreciate any references on the land theft that has been going on and anyupdate on this story.
Thanks,SK

http://uncivilrites.com

The American government still have a lot to clean up here in there on back yard on how to treat all people and especially the African Americans here in the U.S.
The President (Bush) need to spend time and funds to investigate crimes here in the United States, instead in all other Countries. It is a shame in 2004 crimes of the sort continue to happen and sick minds are so filled with hate.

Reading the story of Roy Veal this morning really upset me. I remember hearing about this briefly when the news first broke. I stumbled across the story again this morning through Black America Web. I hope justice can be served and this family will continue to fight for the land that is rightfully theirs.