The International Civil Rights
Center and Museum presented a large amount of interesting artifacts and images.
In particular, the image of the mutilated body of Emmett Till stood out to me
the most. Never have I seen a body so badly brutalized before today. Till's
scars, so deep in meaning and size symbolized extreme dehumanization and
hatred. Although I have read books that talked about traumatizing violence such
as the one experienced by Till, I was shocked to see what lengths human beings
would go to in order to prove a point, moreover I was shocked to see what lengths
human beings would go to in order to instill fear in their own brothers and
sisters. Till's story opened my eyes to a lot. I see now why the Greensboro
Four were motivated by so many things going on at the time, such as Till's
death, to carry out the Sit-In's. Had I lived during the era of the Civil
Rights Movement and saw those images of violated young 14 year old Emmett Till,
I too would have been urged to display courage and bravery. The Greensboro four
were among the prominent civil rights activists to take the first steps in
motivating future generations such as people like myself, people short with
confidence and voice to be able to speak up (even if it means not using words)
and take action for social justice.
Hafzat Akanni, Hope High School
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