Voices of Freedom - Essay Example

As the discussion highlights strong believed that the minor races did not have any option but to conform to the views of the superior race. Document 112 presents Emilio Aguinaldo on American imperialism in the Philippines. Aguinaldo was of the opinion that Americans needed to give the Philippines the right to self-governance and independence. In his view, it was ironical that America represented particular ideals of freedom, yet they denied the Philippines their right to independence.This essay discusses that the events in Memphis changed Ida Wells’ attitude towards lynching after her first hand witnessed the events that unfolded.

Many of the lynchings had been based on lies and false accusations of black people. In the Memphis lynching, three black men were shot dead. Before the men were killed, it had been declared that their grocery store would be destroyed. To prevent the attack, the three partners hired men to protect their grocery store. Some white men who stole goods from the store were shot by the black men and wounded. Such events led to many colored men imprisoned. The following day, the three black men were killed.

After witnessing such events and reading the newspapers published the following day, Wells realized that the lynchings were staged to eliminate black people. In her view, it was an evident demonstration of racial segregation. The Memphis lynching led to the destruction of her newspaper, an aspect that motivated her to begin an anti-lynching movement.