Tuesday, February 19, 2008

The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till

Thanks to the recommendation of a fellow blogger, Just A Mom, my husband and I watched the documentary, The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till. It is the true story of a 14 year old young man who was brutally lynched in Jim Crow Mississippi. In 1955 young Emmett traveled to Mississippi to visit family. Being raised in Chicago, he was not accustomed to the Jim Crow laws or the severe racism that existed in the South. One summer day he whistled at a white woman and would later pay with his life. Later that night two white men showed up at the home where he was staying, dragged him out of bed and took him away. They savagely beat him (beyond recognition) and threw him in a river. In a joke of a trial, the men charged with his death were found not guilty, by an all white jury. This documentary is a must see. I highly recommend it. You will be moved and educated about the ugliness of racism and the injustice that African Americans lived under and still encounter today. For a list of Jim Crow laws click here.