Tony Morrison’s Song of Solomon reiterates the concept of violence throughout the novel. The reader witnesses violence as force that is motivated by a myriad of emotions, ranging from love to a rudimentary desire for balance and equity, as expressed by Guitar’s actions involving the Seven Days. These actions are those somewhat paralleled by real-world events, but can be seen most apparently in White mob violence and Black retaliation.

In addition to the historical significance of racial violence, one can observe equally intriguing (and admittedly horrifying) philosophical connotations that stem from racial tension. While it is indisputable that the majority of race related violence is a result of bigotry and ignorance, the underlying motivations for these acts of violence echo philosophical musings concerning social dynamics. When viewed in terms of Hobbesian theory, racial violence assumes an interesting role as a form of “extra-legal justice” (Austin 162), acting as a means of social control implemented by a racial majority. If one considers post-Reconstruction lynching, for example, it is clear that these instances of violence were, in part, motivated by a desire to subjugate African Americans and restrict their movement. These actions are conspicuous, tangible representations of Hobbes’ conception of human nature as a struggle for dominance. In the same manner that displays of violent dominance are used as a means of subjugation, one must also consider their role as a means of liberation. Retaliatory violence can thus be seen as the corollary to racial violence – a response that is reminiscent of the Seven Days organization in Morrison’s novel.

Among the frequent reasons that have been cited by African Americans as motivation for violent action, the reason of self-defense is relatively common. In history, African American communities were constantly put under the threat of racial violence. One threat that African Americans faced is lynching, an extrajudicial execution carried out by mobs in most cases due to racial prejudices. As a result, African Americans tried to resist and protect their families, often fleeing in order to avoid confrontation with White mobs, which could result in deaths of their friends or relatives who might be targeted by lynching. In most cases they were caught by the mob while trying to escape. Due to their lack of social and legal influence, they did not have many choices but to fight back fiercely to protect themselves. In another case, in Little Italy, Cleveland, Ohio an African American fatally shot a White American because of the fear of being attacked. This event happened shortly after the Hough Riot, which killed four African Americans and critically injured another thirty. After this event, African American men in the community met and established and armed guard force to cruise around during the night to protect the community and they were all highly alerted about the possibility of being attacked by Whites.

Black response to white mob violence was a very controversial topic even into the mid-1900s. Many cases where violence was used, ended in the prosecution of a member of the Black community, often with denial of any legal action afterwards. In the case of Rosa Lee Ingram, who claimed to be the victim of unwanted sexual advances from a white man, her retelling of the incident was completely ignored. Upon denying his advances, the man drew his gun; at which point her sons attacked the man to defend their mother. The sons were tried and convicted of murder, and were eventually given the sentence of life in prison, though they received parole in 1959. Events such as this tie heavily into Song of Solomon, as the text outlines situations where Whites who committed heinous, unjustifiable crimes (such as the murder of Macon Dead) go unpunished, contrasting with the real world where perfectly justifiable Black defense to White violence is, with no contemplation, sentenced heavily. In the case of Jim Robinson, police raided his church due to accusations that he preached hoodoo and held “wild orgies”. During the raid, a struggle occurred in defense of Robison between two Black men and a White police officer, ending with the officer being shot and killed. In response, the two men were executed, and though he escaped the event, Robinson was later caught and killed as well. Events such as this show the horrid and violent crimes of Whites being ignored in spite of the fact that Blacks took action in self-defense.

Racial violence depicted in Tony Morrison’s Song of Solomon roots from racial tension and reveals philosophical connotations of desire to impose control on African Americans using extrajudicial systems. The violence, which results in the self-defense efforts of African Americans, ultimately evolved into retaliation from African Americans. These preemptive “self-defense” actions from African American unknowingly gave sympathy to White crimes against Blacks in the same period. To make sure this issue won’t be repeated in the future, an effective legal system must be enforced to protect African Americans and the government should support the Black community to establish their social position.

References:

Austin, A. "Race and Lethal Forms of Social Control: A Preliminary Investigation into Execution and Self-help in the United States, 1930-1964." Crime Law and Social Change, 45.2 (2006): 155-164.

Hill, Karlos. "Resisting Lynching: Black Grassroots Responses to Lynching in the Mississippi and Arkansas Deltas, 1882-1938." Www.ideals.illinois.edu. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. .

Race, Violence, and Urban Territoriality : Cleveland's Little Italy and the 1966 Hough Uprising, Todd M. Michney, Journal of Urban History 2006 32: 404

Shapiro, Herbert. White Violence and Black Response: from Reconstruction to Montgomery. Amherst: University of Massachusetts, 1988. Books.google.com. Web. 25 Oct. 2010.