Emmett Till: The Social Definition Of Race

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Race can be referred to as a group of people who are diverse from each other because of genetics or bodily appearances. Privileged political humans or economically solid humans will humiliate and step on the people below them. Race in a biological concept, is not any actual set of genes that align to a social definition of race. In spite of the scientific facts, race holds no biological power and this does little to change cultural perceptions. The social meaning of race is status labels in racial hierarchal societies where racial labels are determined of said status labels. Social race can also be identified as segregation. Racism is all about knocking people down because of the color of their skin. Ethnicity differentiates people by their …show more content…
Emmett Till was from Chicago and did not know he could not talk to white women. Chicago was a segregated town, but not nearly as brutal and segregated as Mississippi. He went into a store to get candy and on the way out flirted with a young white woman saying, “Bye Baby”. Till did not realize his words offended others and actually meant it as a joke but the lady’s husband cared a lot. The woman’s husband went to talk to Emmett’s uncle, Mose Wright, to ask if he could talk to Emmett. Instead of acting reasonably, the man pushed Emmett into a car and drove off. The husband brutally beat him, gouged out his eyes, shot him in the head, and tied him to a cotton gin. A few days later the body was found. Emmett’s mother had an open casket funeral to show everyone what they have done to her son. That day she became a civil-rights figure. Emmett’s mother took Milam and Bryant to trial for her only son’s death. The juries were all white and within an hour called in defendants not guilty. Despite all of the eyewitnesses and evidence the jury still decided the defendants were not guilty. It was hard for Emmett’s family and eyewitnesses to stand up because they knew people would come after them and come murder them, but they still decided to stand up for what was right for Emmett. Many people migrated north and left because of fear. Soon Milam and Bryant confessed about what they had done, …show more content…
Emmett Till’s death sparked this reaction. Whites were given the front row seats and the African Americans had to sit in the back. They had to stand up if the bus was too full so the white men and women could sit down. African Americans were humiliated and treated like dirt. It was until Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus that everyone decided to stand up for what was right and start a boycott. African American’s walked or car-pooled to work instead of riding the bus. It was supposed to be a day, but instead it lasted for a little over a year. Martin Luther King Jr. was a new young preacher and lead people to a nonviolent boycott. Kings stated, “You must love not hate.” He made a difference in African Americans life and Whites, because he led in love and without his leadership it could have ended up in a brutal boycott. It was not about the seats on the bus, it was about civil rights. It was disrespectful and immoral for whites to treat African Americans like trash because their skin color is

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