The Murder of Emmett Till

This is a documentary which chronicles the account of Emmett Till, a fourteen year old African American young man who was viciously put to death by two Caucasian men for whistling at a Caucasian woman. His murder came about despite the fact that he was unaware of having broken an accepted law of the south at the time that African American men could not have any relations with Caucasian women. Emmett’s mother decided to place his body inside a Chicago church for four days so that the entire world could see the crime that had been committed against her son. It can also be said to have been a mother’s attempt to protest against the racism in the south and a bid to appeal for justice for her son. The news of Emmett’s death was spread by the media all over the world and this ensured that the story became quite common not only at the local level but also at the international level. The injustice of this story is that those who had committed this heinous crime were acquitted by an all Caucasian jury and as a result, there was no justice for Emmett Till. It is indirectly because of this incident that the civil rights movement came to develop and it can be said that it is due to Emmett’s sacrifice that this movement developed in strength.

African Americans have for a long time been depicted in a negative light in which they have been presented in a way which has made them to be considered to be a race of criminals, or worse, animals. African Americans, for instance, are portrayed as being some of the most violent people in the United States, and this has created a stereotype where all African Americans are often profiled as being potential criminals, an allegation which does not hold any truth in the reality of this nation. In addition, the view of African Americans in American society has been influenced by the long history of racial relations in the United States where the Caucasian dominated hierarchy tended to look down upon it. In addition, because of the unconscious Caucasian belief that African Americans are inferior, this has formed a mentality where individuals look upon this minority group as being the enemy of the public. It is a fact that the presentation of African Americans by the media has to be brought under control because at the moment, it has developed into a fierce social problem that has to be dealt with firmly. This is because of the fact that the development of equal rights for all human beings has become a fundamental aspect of human lie and to deny African Americans their own would be to go against the ideals of the society.

One of the most noteworthy cases that have raised the same emotions as that of Emmett Till that have developed in the current world is the Zimmerman case which, through the media, has gained the attention of people not only in America but also the entire world. Almost the same events which took place in the Emmett case recurred in the Trayvon Martin case where the perpetrator, Zimmerman, was freed by the jury despite the fact that he had murdered an innocent African American teenager. One of the issues that have been given prominence by the most of the individuals following this case has been the fact that this is not the first time that such a crime has been committed in the United States and the murderer has gotten away with it. Despite this being the situation, it can be said that these cases tend to be made more prominent than normal by the media and this has ensured that many of the people in the world have come to the realization that despite the development of Affirmative action, the racial situation in the United States has remained more or less the same. This situation has also developed into a negative one because of the media’s tendency to sensationalize  the news concerning the murders of such African American individuals such as Emmett Till and this has made it difficult for juries to provide justice because of the racial tensions that come about as a result. Therefore, instead of coming up with solutions to the murder of African Americans by Caucasians, the American media has become a means through which the perpetrators of this crime end up being set free by those who would otherwise have considered the facts before doing so.