The Face of Emmett Till

To sum up my research blog, I wanted to post about how photography helped capture the horrific aftermath of what happend to Emmett Till. The first photo was taken at his open casket funeral, and the second is a reference photo of what he looked like before the murder. This evidence was the only solid proof of the extent of what Milan and Bryant did to Bobo Till, and when it was published in Jet Magazine it sent America into a frenzy. This was one of the main turning points in support for the murderers, presumably from the reality of the truth setting in. White Americans, especially ones around Till's age seemed to be affected much more than the older populations. "You know, I remember in interviewing people in the course of doing [Eyes on the Prize] that it was not only young black people who spoke about Till, but young white people as well, who had the idea that this is someone our age, you know, a pre-teen really, or young teen, and if you can see that happening to a young black child down in Mississippi, it's not only black kids who say, "Well, it's not that I can't be the teacher or nurse, but if they kill people, this is serious," and that young white people also said, "If they're killing people, it's not just a matter of some folks don't like colored people, this is horrible, and this can't be allowed to go on. I've got to do something about this." All of this turn around in support was brought forth by Emmett's mother in her solid stance on having an open casket funeral; "Two months ago, I had a nice apartment in Chicago. I had a good job. I had a son. When something happened to the Negroes in the South I said, 'That's their business, not mine.' Now I know how wrong I was. The murder of my son has shown me that what happens to any of us, anywhere in the world, had better be the business of us all." A picture is worth a thousand words, but this picture has changed views and had people of all colors of skin questioning the rationale of their government ruling system. I wonder if this would change if this open casket photo wasn't published, if the media had that censorship control, it would be possible that the waves of change may not have come as soon as they did for equality in the United States. I am convinced that the murder of Emmett 'Bobo' Till was a huge head turner in terms of the human equality issues that were so evident then. A mere stepping stone on the path to equal rights for all. 

Tex, Big. "The Face of Emmett Till (Updated)." Daily Kos. N.p., 14 May 2009. Web. 4 Mar. 2014. <http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/05/14/731205/-The-Face-of-Emmett-Till-UPDATED