A Pivotal Moment in the Civil Rights Movement - The Murder of Emmett Till - 1 views
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Heidi Beckles on 11 Sep 13Rosa Parks is quoted as saying, "I thought about Emmett Till, and I could not go back. My legs and feet were not hurting, that is a stereotype. I paid the same fare as others, and I felt violated." Many of us know about the story of Emmitt Till, and plenty of us do not. The year of 1955 and prior year's race was largely marginalized by class, but probably more by nationality, as Roderick A. Ferguson states in his excerpt "Race. Queer formations are excepted when one is white but not queers of color. According to freedom's relation to unfreedom to modern ethics, different permutation of morality continue to shape social formations (Roderick A. Ferguson). To Emmitt Till, a 14 year old African American teenager, I find that this was and still is the case in the year of 2013. I won't go into detail of how this young boy on vacation was damaged, but his murder and the trial became largely energy serge for moral courage, that Mrs. Park's used along with other ill treatment's she experienced to stand her ground. The Emmett Till case was a spark for a new generation to commit their lives to social change; as stated by historian Robin Kelley. Robin Kelley also states that the case was not just about the murder of a teenage boy, but about transforming the south so that no one would have to die like Mr. Till. Civil rights activists used the murder of Emmett Till as a rallying cry for civil rights protest, transforming a monstrous crime into a springboard for justice. The Montgomery Bus Boycott followed closely on the heels of the case. This site adds to this platform the importance of understanding how history can spark reactions in our society, and further shape our society. Heidi Beckles