Changing the Moral Landscape of Society: The Story of Emmett Till

The issue of hate crimes motivated by various conflicts, such as religious, racial, or gender differences, and so on, has been one of the most eminent problems of society. It may be assumed or argued that hate and indifference towards other human beings are deeply rooted on the people’s narrow-mindedness, arrogance, and lack of understanding and respect of humanity, dignity, and cultural and individual differences.Based on various ominous events that happened throughout the years, we realize today that the price that human beings have to pay for pride, bigotry, and contempt is the unwarranted death of thousands of people who have viciously been the victims of hate crimes. It is a poignant circumstance that only in these deaths do we apprehend the need to honorably change the moral landscape of society in order to endorse morality, humanity, and the dignity of the human race.

Such is the case of Emmett Till, son of Mamie Till-Mobley, who was killed because of unfounded societal rules implemented in the past to draw the line between races, particularly between the “blacks” and the “whites. ” The book, “Death of Innocence: The Story of the Hate Crime That Changed America” by Mamie Till-Mobley, tells the story of Emmett from the perspective of his mother. Mamie Till-Mobley was a loving mother who conscientiously raised her son, Emmett, despite the absence of Emmett’s father who was forced to join the Army.A few weeks before the trial against Emmett’s murders commenced, Mamie learned that her husband was hanged in Italy because of three consecutive crimes that he allegedly did. It was one fateful day in Money, Mississippi, summer of 1955 that Mamie lost her son due to the forceful cultural beliefs and ideologies prevalent during that time concerning the black and the white people.

Her strength during those trying times made her an icon of the civil rights movement.It was Mamie’s desire to change the flaws of the landscape of society and become a beacon of hope, strength, and morality to children and their parents that motivated her to write the book and retell her painful memories about Emmett’s death. In the book, Mamie’s strong feelings and emotions about injustice and inequality as well as her personal struggles as a mother to handle the death of the son that she loved commanded her forceful and inspirational narrative.It was summer in 1955 when Emmett went to visit and stay with his uncle’s family in Money, Mississippi for a two-week vacation. One day, during Emmett’s two-week vacation in Mississippi, he went to a convenience store owned by the Bryant’s. At that time, Emmett was whistling in the presence of Carolyn Bryant, which was later justified as caused by his stuttering.

There were some speculations which suggest that Emmett might have talked to Carolyn or uttered something, which was strictly prohibited during that time.Social laws forbade black people from talking to and looking at white people. Three days after Emmett’s encounter with Carolyn, he was abducted at two in the morning from his uncle’s house by Carolyn’s husband, Roy Bryant, and Roy’s step brother, J. W. Milam. Emmett’s uncle, Moses Wright, testified that a female was with them, Carolyn allegedly, and his statement was considered one of the most significant parts of the trial.

Moses’ involvement was also something momentous because of his courage to go against white men which was strongly discouraged and gravely punished during that time.Other witnesses include Willie Reed who admitted to seeing Emmett in J. W. Milam’s truck along with four white men and four black men. Willie and Frank Young, a sharecropper, who lived near Milam’s home testified that they heard a gunshot and a boy’s cry for help coming from the barn, presumed to be Emmett who was being tortured and beaten to death, Mamie decided to expose Emmett’s body to the public as a means to protest against injustice and show the world what the accused did to his 14-year old boy.The incident attracted the media from all over the world and the massive attention paved way for the court’s interest on the case, although it could be assumed that if Mamie did not act aggressively to right the wrong, there could not have been a trial that took place.

The court banned the media from taking any form of documentation such as pictures, but the massive population of attendees representing media entities was uncontrollable leading to a worldwide coverage of the trial and the events thereafter.Added to this, the state police and the government did not want any involvement in the case as the former exerted effort to take away various witnesses from the stand, including Willie Reed who was taken off state in order to prevent the build-up of strong evidence to prove the culpability of Roy Bryant and J. W. Milam, and the latter refused to interfere even if the proceedings and the results of the trial were clearly erroneous.

Roy Bryant and J. W. Milam were acquitted of the crimes ascribed to them, and despite their confessions, the government did not make a move to correct court proceedings.The story of Emmett has stirred the world up until today.

Through the efforts of the media, people from around the world have witnessed a great injustice which they never believed to be possible until that time. The criticism of the U. S. government due to its neglect of justice and humanity and how the trial was handled on the part of the jury and the Mississippi police has revolutionized the landscape of the Civil Rights Movement. Mamie’s narrative has made it possible for people to realize the importance of instilling moral values to children as a means to start transforming the beliefs and ideologies upheld by society.Her experiences not only as a mother, but a mother who lost her son over hate and prejudice, have become the inspiration for her to tell her and her son’s story to the world in order to teach children and parents the values of respect for human life and differences, and love and compassion.

Moreover, Mamie wanted parents and their children to learn how to be strong in order for them to be able to face the challenges and difficulties that life would inevitably present them, like what Mamie had gone through with the loss of her son, Emmett, and her ex-husband, Louis.Overall, although the book may be assumed as biased due to Mamie’s intimate connection with Emmett, her statements and appeals as a mother convey the truths that may be attributed to hate crimes not only in Emmett’s case but with other thousands of cases of hate crimes motivated by racial discrimination and prejudice. Her strong emotions and feelings may not be considered as biased because it mirrors all other emotions and feelings that other people might have, whether they are black or white, if they experience needless and inequitable loss.Moreover, Mamie’s narratives and arguments as a mother relating her sentiments have made it possible for her to present her thesis of helping children become prepared for the challenges and difficulties of the real world. By and large, the major strengths of the book constitute Mamie’s incorporation of first-hand experiences that will provide the readers with true or factual accounts of what took place during that time, particularly during the trial.

On the other hand, the weaknesses include how some information were assumed and alleged due to Mamie’s absence from the time Emmett came into contact with Carolyn, when he was abducted from Moses’ house, and when he was being tortured and beaten to death in a barn. The book is particularly significant in reviewing the events or situations that led to the strengthening and development of the Civil Rights Movement as the basic foundations of how the system runs society at present time.