I saw a CBS Morning story recently about an historical site. It’s the site where Emmett Till was murdered. It’s still standing, unbeknownst to many people living in the area since this time. Hearing this is one of the reasons why it’s important to continue educating ourselves. It’s important that this information is passed to future generations. The only way to truly move forward is to know where we came from.
Here’s a brief history of the Emmett Till case. He was a 14-year-old Black boy visiting family in Mississippi from Chicago. One day, while at a store with family, he came across a young white woman at the counter, who later accused him of whistling at her. In 1955, the South had increased racial prejudices against Black Americans. This accusation led the woman’s husband and his brother to go to Emmett’s family home in the night, dragging him out the and away. He was later found murdered in a local river with a cotton gin fan bound to his neck. He had a gunshot wound to his body. The barn mentioned in the news story was where they took him that night to torture and later murder him.
This news story was done because a book titled “The Barn: The Secret History of a Murder in Mississippi” was released. It’s author, Wright Thompson, grew up a few miles from this barn but only learned of its existence in college. Mississippi is a place that has a lot of history as it relates to race relations. Today, it is still a place that has not seen equal advancement for all the people who live there.
More and more books are being banned in the U.S. Most of the books on the list involve stories of race, sexuality, and mental health. This greatly affects schools, so for parents it’s important to make sure you share history with your children at the appropriate times but never keep them away from it. Make sure they know life for all people here in our country and around the world is not always roses. There is a history that is dark. There are people who live feeling like each day is dark, and they must hide their dealings and feelings. By learning of it, we can see more of the light as we move into the future. This leads to more patterns of empathic behaviors that can truly make us great.
Thanks for bringing attention to this. I didn’t see this story. This is something that you would think would have a little more attention paid to it.
The perpetrator envisioned always see it fit to bury or forget. This is the nature of them who wonder in the darkness and are quite heartless. All is justified and all is well until one day they must pass through Tuat and their hearts be measured on a scale.