EOTO Reflection

    All of the EOTO's were very disturbing but also very informational. The culture of the United States during the time of discrimination and the 1900's was disturbing and a little unbelievable.  The EOTO that stood out to me the most and which one was the most mind blowing was the Lynching of Emmet Till.

    Emmet was a 14 year old boy and he was murdered for flirting with a white woman. In 1955 Emmet was visiting his family in Mississippi where he was supposedly seen flirting with a white woman. This happened during the time of discrimination and it was strongly against the social norms of the time for a black and white person to date. "Emmet was abducted, forced to carry a 75-pound cotton gin fan to the bank of the Tallahatchie River and ordered him to take off his clothes. The two men then beat him nearly to death, gouged out his eye, shot him in the head and then threw his body, tied to the cotton gin fan with barbed wire, into the river." (History.com) This brutalization of Emmet shocked the country and even caught the attention of Martin Luther King. 

    The murder of Emmet Till helped motivate the Civil Rights Act and was one of the sparks that led to the peaceful protests and powerful changes that led to the end of discrimination and segregation. Martin Luther King heard about the death of Emmet and he was furious about where the culture of the United States was heading. He stated in one of his speeches, "this might be considered one of the most brutal and inhuman crimes of the twentieth century.” (Stanford University) And Martin Luther King was right. The devastation of Till's murder led to antilynching campaigns, peaceful protests, and much more. He was a 14 year old boy and his life was ended over something so small and so stupid. It is crazy to me how different society used to be and how things like lynching were considered acceptable.

    Emmet Till is now considered a hero to the United States. There is a bronze statue of him that stands proudly in Mississippi. The murder of Till is still a tragedy and should always be seen as one instead as a piece of history. He was a young boy whose life was taken away from him because of racism and prejudice. Emmet was a hero, he helped spark the Civil Rights movement which saved so many other black people. But the life of a 14 year old was taken, and he still had so much to offer the world. It is eyeopening how this is how the world used to be and we are so lucky that it isn't anymore.