"Every argument on lynching in the South gets back sooner or later to the question of rape"

In this quote, Ray Stannard Baker is highlighting the pervasive problem of lynching in the Southern United States and how it is often linked to the topic of rape. Lynching, which describes the extrajudicial killing of a person by a group, was a common form of violence versus African Americans in the South during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Baker recommends that conversations about lynching inevitably cause conversations about rape, as it was typically utilized as a validation for the ruthless and unjustified killings. This quote sheds light on the disturbing truth of how rape was used as a tool to perpetuate violence and injustice against African Americans during this time period.