On the board, make a list of the institutions below that hold very important roles in our communities. Explain that institutions have sometimes protected Black communities, and other times have failed Black communities. For each institution, have students work in pairs to list out the social and legal safeguards that each provides, as well as the ways in which each institution prevents progress or can potentially harm Black communities. (Do an example with one of the institutions on the board so students have a model.) 

• newspaper, radio, and TV stations
• schools
• local and state courts

• local police or sheriff’s department
• the military 
• religious institutions

Divide up the institutions, and have the student pairs conduct internet research how their assigned institution responded to the problem of lynching. They should locate at least one specific example of the institutional response, and then share out with the class. Hold a discussion of the following questions:

• To what extent did institutions hold White Americans accountable for racial terrorism and lynching? Explain.
• Did institutions mostly help or mostly harm Black communities during this time period? Explain.
• How and why did American institutions, including the U.S. Congress and the Supreme Court, fail to end racial terrorism and structural racism in the post-Reconstruction South?
• Has this changed today?