Emmet Till 

Emmett Louise Till was born on July 25, 1941 in Chicago, Illinois. He was raised in a middle class black neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago. His neighborhood was full of black-owned businesses therefore he was used to living in a place where black people could thrive. Emmett was described as being responsible, funny, and an infectiously high-spirited child, and was also known for having a speech impediment. When he was 14 years old his great uncle Moses Wright came from Mississippi to visit Emmett’s family. When his uncle left with Emmett’s cousin Emmett wanted to go with them to spend time with his cousins and begged his mother to allow him to go to Mississippi. Reluctantly his mother agreed and this decision would forever be remembered.

Three days after Emmett had arrived in Mississippi on August 24, 1955 he and a group of teenage boys entered Bryant’s Grocery and Meat Market to buy some drinks after being outside all day. The woman working at the cash register, Carolyn Bryant claimed Emmett Till flirted with her by asking for a date and grabbed her hand. She was the wife Roy Bryant who was the owner of the store, and she told her husband about what had happened. Four days after the boys entered the store, at approximately 2:30 am on August 28, 1955 Roy Bryant and his half brother J.W. Milam kidnapped Till from Moses Wright’s house. Then Till was beaten brutally, dragged to the bank of the Tallahatchie River, shot in the head, tied with barbed wire to a large metal fan and his body was shoved into the water. Till’s uncle Moses reported his disappearance to the local authorities and three days later Till’s body was pulled out from the river. His face was so disfigured that he was unrecognizable, and the only way his uncle Moses was able to identify Till was by the ring on his finger that was engraved with his father’s initials “L.T.” After the body was found it was shipped to Chicago. There his mother, Mamie Till decided to have an open-casket funeral and her reasoning was to, “Let the world see what has happened, because there is no way I could describe this. And I needed somebody to help me tell what it was like.”

The kidnapping and murder trial of Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam began on September 19, 1955 and the final verdict was reached on September 23, 1995. Regardless of the tremendous amount of evidence and pleas for justice, the panel of all white male jurors acquitted Bryant and Milam of all charges. The deliberation lasted for 67 minutes. Four months later in January 1956 the two men Bryant and Milam confessed to Look magazine in exchange for $4,000, that they did in fact commit the crime. Because of double jeopardy laws the men were protected and could not be sent to trial again, so they freely told the entire story.

The death of Emmett Till was crucial in triggering the American Civil Rights Movement. Although Mamie Till could never get over the pain of losing her son, she did understand that what had happened to Emmett Till was able to open the eyes of America to the racial hatred that was tormenting the country. Also, by opening their eyes it allowed for a substantial protest movement for racial equality and justice. Only 100 days after the murder of Till, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on an Alabama bus. This then caused the yearlong Montgomery Bus Boycott. Nine years after the Boycott, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This Act then outlawed various forms of racial discrimination and segregation. Then one year later in 1965 the Voting Rights Act was passed which outlawed discriminatory voting practices.

The trail of Emmett Till is still not completely over. As of 2007 Carolyn Bryant admitted to lying about what she said Till had said/ done to her while in the market. She confessed to Timothy Tyson who then wrote about it in his book entitled, The Blood of Emmett Till. This does not change the outcome of the trail because the damage has already been done. However, it does exhibit a modern testament to the racist and unfair legal system that has long refused to give African- American people fair treatment and judgment.

Works Cited:

“Emmett Till.” Biography.com. A&E Networks Television, 27 Jan. 2017. Web. 15 Apr.   2017.

“The death of Emmett Till.” History.com A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 15 Apr.   2017.

“Emmett Till.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 13 Apr. 2017. Web. 16 Apr. 2017.

“Emmett Till Murder.” Famous Trials. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2017.

USATODAY. “What’s next for Emmett Till’s accuser after she lied.” YouTube. YouTube, 08 Feb.         2017. Web. 14 Apr. 2017.

Reading Response: James Baldwin and Emmett Till

For Tuesday's reading response, you can choose to focus on the essays or on two of the poems. Think about how the works are in dialogue with one another. How are they responding to a similar idea or using a similar strategy to convey their point? Where do they diverge or rely on contrasting strategies? What do you learn by reading them together? This response is due by class time on Tuesday, April 18.

Jim Crow

“Segregation not only harms one physically but injures them spiritually.  It scars the soul.  It is a system which forever stares the segregated in the face saying ‘You are less. You are not equal to.’” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Jim Crow Laws was a form of racial caste system in America that existed from 1877 to 1965.  The laws segregated the blacks from society forced a lesser race ideology.  The history of Jim Crow began years before the laws were actually put in place in 1877.  Before the Civil War, there were not segregation laws in place because society did not need them.    There were laws in place against freed slaves at that time, however this only impacted where they can be employed, but the extent of the laws did not become strict until after 1877.  Slaves were able to work side-by-side with whites as long as they were subservient.  The idea of Jim Crow was from the 1830’s minstrel skit by Thomas Dartmouth, AKA “Daddy Rice”.  The skit consisted of Dartmouth dressing up as a black, disabled slave.  He used African American Vernacular English and was in black face, where he would sing a song that was racially offensive.

After the Emancipation Proclamation was signed on January 1, 1863, the Reconstruction Era began in the United States of America.  Many African-American slaves were freed, and society moved forward with making these freed slaves U.S citizens.  Laws were put in place to protect these freedoms, and at this time black men could vote, serve in juries and run for office.  Because there were no laws that separated schools at this time, schools were fully integrated.  Laws were in place to protect the citizenship and rights of African Americans, however eventually these rights would slowly be taken away.  Beginning in the 1870’s, southern democrats slowly began to take control of the southern legislature.  They pushed a white supremacist ideology.  White supremacist groups such as the white league and the red coats tried to intimidate from voting and ran republicans out of town.  By 1877, white democrats gained control of almost every southern state, who legislated laws known of Jim Crow Laws, which officially began the Jim Crow era.

In the early 1880’s, black people were still on office, however from the 1880’s through the early 1910’s, laws were put in place to suppress black voters even further.  The democrats of the south passed laws that restricted who could vote, by implementing a voting tax, as well as literacy and comprehensive tests.  These tests were very extensive, and impossible to pass.  This reduced the number of black voters in southern states drastically.  White people living in poverty were also reduced, however they were eligible for a grandfather clause to keep their right to vote, while black people did not.  The statistics showed that around the south, blacks were suppressed from voting, and in Louisiana in 1910, only 0.5% of black men were registered to vote at that time.  Those who were registered to vote were threatened, beat and often times murdered in order to keep them from voting.

Clip from Selma (2015)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YRUUFYeOPI

The laws that were put in place were solely for the purpose of keeping the races separated.  These laws limited intermarriage, integration of schools, bathrooms, restaurants, hospitals and other common areas.  The laws varied form state to state, other states having stricter laws than others.  The penalty for these laws also ranged from state to state, while most were viewed as a misdemeanor. 

•       Jim Crow Laws (by State)

The Jim Crow Laws were in place from 1877-1965.  In 1955, the Montgomery Bus Protest was a protest started by the arrest of Rosa Parks. The outrage of this incident led to a massive boycott, which ultimately ended in the integration of the buses.  It also inspired other civil rights groups to fight to reverse some of the segregated laws.  Eventually in 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights act of 1964, which ended public discrimination and segregation.  In 1965 the Voting Rights Act of 1965 ended barriers to voting for federal, state and local elections, marking the end of the Jim Crow era after 88 years. 

            Although Jim Crow is officially reversed in these southern states, a systematic racial system is still in place affected many African Americans in the United States, particularly African American men.  The term New Jim Crow was a term coined by legal scholar and civil rights attorney Michelle Alexander in her book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness.  In her book, she discusses how the war on drugs and mass incarceration is a tool used to racially control society, and continues the ability to practice racial discrimination in the United States.  It is a reminder that although Jim Crow has ended, the ideology has not died, and there is still a strong prejudice that is still relevant in our country.

Sources:

•http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/links/misclink/examples/homepage.htm

•Lasner, Lynn Fabian.  “Fighting Jim Crow.” Humanities, vol. 23, no 5.  October 2002.

•“Reconstruction and the Rise of Jim Crow.” The African-American Experience, Primary Source Media, 1999.  American Journey.

•Packard, Jerrald M.  American Nightmare: The History of Jim Crow.  New York: St Martin’s Press.  2002.  Ebsco.

•Cook-lynn, Elizabeth.  “Mass Incarceration is the new Racism.” Diversity Studies collection.

•http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/links/misclink/examples/homepage.htm

4/11 Class Notes

Today in class we continued our discussion on Homegoing. Dr. West noted that part one of Homegoing took place before the Civil War and part two takes place after the emancipation. This set the stage for Claire and Kelsie to present their historical context. Claire presented on the Great Migration (1915-1960). In her presentation, she highlighted the reasons why African Americans migrated from the southern states to northern and western cities. She noted two key factors that African Americans faced in the south that led to the migration, this included economic (ex. no job opportunities) and social (ex. lynching) conditions.

Kelsie presented on the racial caste system, the Jim Crow laws (1877-1965). Jim Crow was coined by a man named Thomas Dartmouth, who would put on a black face, and make racist remarks toward African Americans. Kelsie highlighted that before Jim Crow, many African Americans had federal rights and were able to run for office, and black men were able to vote and made strides in education reform (ex. Louisiana). This era was known as Reconstruction (1863-1877). However, as African Americans began to gain influence in the political arena and gain momentum economically, white supremacist groups such as the White League, Red Shirts and Ku Klux Klan (KKK) began to discriminate against African Americans through the legislation of the Jim Crow laws (1890s). Kelsie highlighted some of the Jim Crow segregation laws; they included laws relating to marriage, bathrooms and burial grounds (Kelsie noted how segregation even followed African American even to death). The Jim Crow era ended in 1964-1965 with the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. However, despite the end of the Jim Crow era, Kelsie noted the presence of a “New Jim Crow (2010)”, that Michelle Alexander famously stated in her book The New Jim Crow. This new Jim Crow has a similar presence in the Jim Crow era in the 1890s, with legislation that leads to mass incarceration amongst African Americans.

Following the presentations, we broke off into groups to discuss questions that Rachel (a student doing her dissertation on Homegoing) presented. Next,  we discussed the questions as a class with Rachel and Dr. West. The first question was “How do the three stories we've read in Part 2 begin to disrupt our romanticized understanding of "emancipation?” Group one noted that despite African Americans migrating to the north and no longer being slaves, they were still treated inhumanly and this continued with the Jim Crow laws. This was seen specifically with Kojo’s story. In the beginning, we see that Kojo is living a happy life, with a family and a stable job. However, this is disrupted when his pregnant wife is taken away, “he began to think about what life would be like without his wife, the woman he had loved hard and long. Everyone had been keeping up with what was becoming known as the ‘Bloodhound Law.’” (126).  

The second and third question had similar responses.The second question was “What connections exist between the story that is unfolding in Africa and the one in the United States?” The third question was “What connections exist between H's story and the stories from Part 1? What significance might those connections have?” We examined the text through symbolism and a cross- continental lenses. The group noted that in H’s story when he is in the coal mine in Alabama how that paralleled to Esi in the dungeon in the castle in Ghana. Additionally, both H and Esi were outcast. H was a big man and labeled as dangerous. Whereas, Esi was unmarried, which was not custom in that culture. We noted how this generational symbolism was a common pattern throughout the book.

We then discussed the fifth question, “What connections exist between Willie's story and the stories from Part 1? What significance might those connections have?” The group noted the recurring theme of generational trauma. Dr. West highlighted how the “voice” was taken away. This was seen in part one when James pinches Effie’s tongue. This same theme was present when Willie lost her ability to sing when she and Robert moved to Harlem. However, the chapter Willie ends with Willie regaining her voice when she steps into the church to sing. Both examples represent the oppression and generational trauma and experiences that took place despite the different context.

Next, we talked about question four, “What connections exist between Akua's story and the stories from Part 1? What significance might those connections have?” We noted the connection of cultural superiority seen with the example of Effie using a tribal tradition (roots) to increase her fertility and James becoming angry and forbidding her to practice her tradition because it is not Christian. He states, “Now, Effia, I don’t want any voodoo or black magic in this place. My men can’t here that I let my wrench place strange roots under the bed. It's not Christian.” (23)  This same tension was seen in Akua’s story when the Missionary tried to get her mother Abena to repent by baptizing her until she drowned. The Missionary states, “She thrashed as I lowered her down into the water. She thrashed and thrashed and thrashed, and then she was still” (189). Rachel also highlighted the role of Missionaries in both Akua’s story and Effie’s story. Both were being protected and guarded by these missionaries for survival. Furthermore, we also noted the theme of fire and how in Akua’s story the theme of fire is mentioned in the beginning in Akua’s dream. She states, “the fire was shaped like a women holding two babies to her heart” (177). Effie’s story fire destroyed the family, one child was born out of the fire and the other child born out of the water. Dr. West noted in class to pay attention to the tensions between fire and water.

We concluded class by noting the multiple ways in which we can read Homegoing. Dr. West suggested reading the story one continent at a time (skipping every other chapter). In addition, Dr. West wants us to pay attention to the racial segregation and intimidation, and how it changes form (shape) throughout the book.