The Myth of the Black Sniper

Newark to New Orleans: The Myth of the Black Sniper:

"Bob Hennelley, who has reported extensively on the legacy of the Newark riots for WNYC public radio, says: 'The 1967 phantom 'negro snipers' that was used to justify dozens of civilian homicides by law enforcement 40 years ago appears to have been the rhetorical equivalent of our 'weapons of mass destruction.'' Back in 2005, the Army Times conjured that same phantom, actually referring to the chaos in New Orleans—the supposed rebellion among people who have been abandoned by the thousands to suffer and die—as 'the insurgency.'"

It turns out that the myth is much older than Katrina. Probably goes back to the early days of slavery and the slave rebellions.