Georgia’s history books report that 458 people were lynched in this state between 1882 and 1930, second only to Mississippi.
Most of the victims — but not all — were black. This carnage left a permanent bruise on the Peach State. It’s a reminder that justice should be dispensed in court, not at the end of a rope.
Or by money-grubbing lawyers.
Forget everything you’ve heard or read about Paula Deen the past two weeks. Ignore her tearful apologies for saying the N-word 30 years ago. Dismiss those who believe she’s worthy of forgiveness, like former President Jimmy Carter and the Rev. Jesse Jackson. Forget all the good she has done in feeding the hungry and helping the poor, and the jobs and paychecks her businesses have provided.
None of that matters now. The deed has been done.
Savannah’s celebrity chef has been lynched — figuratively and publicly in the court of public opinion, and without a full and fair accounting of the facts. Why? Mostly because this 66-year-old woman who impressively built an empire from scratch said “no” to the equivalent of a shakedown.
When Deen refused to pay $1.25 million in hush money last year to a former employee of her brother’s restaurant — a white woman who claimed, among other things, that Deen’s brother was guilty of racial discrimination — the lynch mob began forming.
“Exposure of the racist and sexist culture of her corporate and personal life is going to permanently, and irreparably, damage the value of the brand,” Savannah attorney S. Wesley Woolf warned in a Jan. 31, 2012, demand letter to Deen’s lawyer. He stated that “if we are unable to settle, the Complaint will not be quietly filed. I am making arrangements for a press conference on the day of the filing. I have identified the journalist for the New York Times who covers civil rights matters and he will be provided a pre-filing exclusive. A nationwide press release will be issued to the major networks, newspapers, newsmagazines and news websites across the country.”
And finally, the closer: “I hope that upon full and deliberate consideration of this offer, (your clients) will come to understand that the small price they quietly pay and that my client quietly accepts will allow Paula Deen a chance to salvage a brand that can continue to have value.”
Woolf was a hangman of his word. Except for one thing. The Times didn’t break the June 19 story about Deen using the N-word. The National Enquirer did. Still, the illusion of the First Lady of Southern Cooking as an unreconstructed bigot spread faster than grease on a hot griddle.
Today, the celebrity chef that Forbes said earned $18 million in 2012 is being hung out to dry financially. To add insult to injury, the woman behind the lawsuit, Lisa T. Jackson, admitted that she never heard Deen make a racist remark. Or, do anything discriminatory. But when you’ve threatened to inflict “permanent” harm on someone, facts don’t matter. It’s about whipping a mob into a frenzy.
It’s a lynching for our times. Yes, that word shouldn’t be idly used. But given the injustice, it fits.
None of this absolves Deen from using a racist slur. It doesn’t excuse her brother, Earl W. “Bubba” Hiers, who’s accused of sexual harassment. But there is such as thing as punishment fitting the crime. This doesn’t come close.
And what about that lawsuit — the one that spawned the rope used to string up Paula? It’s pending in federal court here before U.S. District Judge William T. Moore Jr.
Moore has sent signals that suggest this case is a lemon. It’s no wonder. White people can do bad things. But what is white-on-white discrimination? An opera lover being forced to listen to country music?
The plaintiff and her lawyers, which includes Atlanta attack dog Matthew Billips, shouldn’t be hoping for a big score. They fired their one bullet. It made a huge noise and caused tremendous harm. But they got zilch. It makes you wonder if they studied law by watching “Night Court” reruns.
Here’s what Moore said Aug. 23, 2012, about the plaintiff’s legal strategy — it “defies logic and borders on the ludicrous.”
So does what happened to Paula Deen. These rope burns were undeserved. They could sting for a long time.
Tom Barton is the editorial page editor of the Savannah Morning News.tom.barton@savannahnow.com.
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