We'll Remember You, Emmett.

Today, in my High School English class, I was introduced to an atrocity that seems to have a strong clutch on my mind. It is a story I have to share, because I feel hate's potential should be known to all. Currently, we are in the middle of reading "To Kill a Mockingbird", Harper Lee's one-hit-wonder. Because the book is associated with racism, we are discussing some major prejudicial incidents. Our teacher shed light on an act of not only prejudice, but pure hatred. The incident took place in Money, Mississippi in the summer of 1955. Emmett Till, a 14 year old African American boy from Chicago, IL, was visiting his uncle for the summer. Unaware of the presence of Jim Crow Laws, due to his Northern residence, he did not realize that he would be more subjected by whites in the South. Reportedly, Emmett whistled at a white woman in a general store. This simple boyish act, which may or may not have even taken place, would cost Emmett his life. The woman whom he whistled at reported the incident to her husband, who would not let it go unanswered. Her husband, along with his half-brother, took Emmett from his uncle's house where he was boarding for the summer, and drove him to a shed where he was beaten to death. Emmett was just a boy, but was stripped of his life simply because of the color of his skin. It is disturbing how this could have taken place. To look at the photographs of Emmett's beautiful, photogenic smile, and compare them to the truly grim photos of his brutalized body made me sick. Who would do such a thing to a young boy? What hurts me even more is the fact that the men who killed Emmett were never sentenced to any punishment for their actions. Their Southern jury was rigged in their favor. It is unbelievable, truly unbelievable to think that such a trial-- to decide the fate of people evil beyond comprehension was ended in their favor. In a country which supposedly encompasses freedom, and the pursuit of happiness, there sure is a whole lot of hatred. Bob Dylan's song, "The Death of Emmett Till", explains Emmett's story musically, and is included in the wonderful video which summarizes Emmett's story below. If you watch the video, you are waking yourself up to a story that should be known by all. Emmett Till may have gone, but until the end of time, his story will serve the purpose of waking up our country to how hatred can dehumanize even the most innocent. You will live on, Emmett, in the minds of many and in the influential changes that your example has helped to bring to our country.

* SOME OF THE IMAGES IN THE VIDEO ARE DISTURBING