Is "lynch" considered a racist word?

Let's say that for example, people thought Chris was a bad person and he killed many people. A group of people vote for Chris to be lynched. Race has absolutely nothing to do with this; it's because of Chris's actions. This is the context for the use in question of the word "lynch".

My friend says the term "lynch" is such a racially-loaded term that we should use the word "hanging" instead. He says that the word "lynch" carries specific connotations of racist violence.

Please English experts tell me your insight on this! Is it actually racist or is he going overboard?

Lynch by definition means someone was put to death without a legal process. It usually refers to death by hanging, but not necessarily.

Hang means hang to death by rope, legally or otherwise.

The word "lynch" in the U.S. is often associated with a history of extrajudicial killing of black people, usually by racist organizations like the Ku Klux Klan.

Whether the term "lynch" would be considered racist would depend on the context in which it was used. If the term was referring to a black individual in the U.S., it might be perceived as racially or historically insensitive.

See the Wikipedia page on Lynching in the United States for more information.

I would object on two points: one, the word lynch is not "racist" but rather "racially charged"; two, it's not a matter of its origins but of its later associations. I would still probably avoid the word - but to avoid dragging in confusing associations, rather than for fear of causing offence.

As has been pointed out by WS2, the term "lynch law" pre-dates the KKK, and the earliest victims were not black. That being said, the KKK and its actions have hijacked the popular conception of the terms, so when you use the word "lynch" most people will not think of "rough vigilante justice, followed by summary execution", but of "white-on-black murder". For most audiences in the early 21st century, this is likely to result in a good deal of sympathy for the person being lynched. If that was not your intent, you should use a different phrase.

There is also an unfortunate tendency for people, undergoing some criticism or societal disapproval, to compare themselves to victims of much greater historical injustices - think of Godwin's law, for example. Throwing around the term "lynching" too loosely - "I'm getting lynched here" - should be avoided.