Postcards from the edge of decency
Nearly 30 men and women stood in line at a Dec. 5 forum to tell Emory University that it should stage an exhibit of early 20th-century lynching postcards and photographs.
Emory has grappled since May over whether to display the collection of macabre postcards, on loan to the school from an Atlanta collector. Perhaps more noteworthy than Emory's hesitation in displaying the photographs — a reluctance that reflects a new South anxious to maintain racial balance — is the fervor of Atlantans who want the images shown.
Judy Willis tearfully told the panel the exhibit that would honor those who died such gruesome deaths, including her own grandfather. "I know," said Willis, "that his memory wants to be brought forward."
Emory is expected to decide by Dec. 15.