In my view, this next story has absolutely no redemptive value. Nothing good emerges from such a grievous, historic injustice. And there can be no redemptive value in a recantation rendered when approaching the end of life.
Yet despite, or perhaps because of, its ugliness, it is important for all of us to bear witness. Emmett Till was a person, one who had barely tasted life, when he fell victim to a monumental, monstrous hate crime. And the even greater evil is that he is but one of countless others who suffered such cruel fates owing to a system racism that is far from eradicated, even in the 21st century.
And if you have never heard it, give a listen to Billie Holiday's haunting and unforgettable Strange Fruit.
How many Emmett Tills have there been? How many all white juries and judges have made southern courts complicit in these murders? Didn't we hope that the election of a black president would somehow usher America into a post-racial nation only to see a racist backlash and the spread of bigotry? There are many fine Americans and many good parts of the United States yet there remains this vile core propped up by the people Hillary branded as "Deplorables." Right now they have captured the White House.
ReplyDeleteClearly, Mound. humanity still has a long, long way to go.
Delete