In 1955 Emmett Till was brutally murdered at the age of 14 by two white men in their thirties. One of them happened to be the wife of a white woman whom Till had talked with on the street earlier that week. His husband became angry and decided to murder Till, over a matter so small. Not only was Till murdered, he was horrifically beaten by the two men, shot, and thrown in the river. When he was found, his mother decided to have an open-casket funeral to show the public just how serious and terrifying the inferiority of blacks to whites was becoming. The fact that Emmett Till’s face had almost no features left, leaving it virtually impossible to recognize him, showed the public the extreme to which things had gone. This marked the start to the Civil Rights Movements.
In order to fully capture social justice in a society there must be fairness and equality amongst the people. There must be understanding, sympathy, and the courage to look through another’s eyes for moment. Unfortunately in many cases this does not occur. Our society has grown into a fairly tolerable and diverse one that seems to have grown in multiple ways since the 1950’s and 60’s when African Americans were considered of lesser importance. However, although our society may not be so upfront about social injustices, there are still many hidden areas of society that do not receive the attention that they need and the full amount of respect and equality that was a given right to them at birth.
For example, social injustices occur in everyday looking households among young children. Child abuse is one of the largest unseen social injustices that are mainly hidden because these children do not have a voice to speak out. They do not have the ability to form campaigns or let others know what is occurring. Only about 1/3 of cases are reported, showing just how little the general public knows about this large problem. With Americans defending their rights to punish their children, it is no wonder that this is one of the largest social injustices still occurring. Many citizens choose to overlook child abuse when viewing it because they either do not feel it is their place to step in or feel as if the parent has the right to raise their child in their own way. It is this turning of the cheek that allows social injustice to continue. However, those who choose to take a stand are doing everything in their power to lower the percent of this unseen cruelty. Many groups have been formed including the CACA (Citizens against Child Abuse) and others to ensure that social justice will be reached eventually for the children who have little voice in the problem.
There are many other social injustices that occur today among women, foreigners, and various other cultures. Discrimination in the workplace, in schools, and in public places is still around however not as prevalent. If we are truly the society that we believe we have transformed into, the society which is tolerable, fair, and courageous, we will find the social injustices that are left among us and fight to end them. The cry for social justice became evident to many among the murder of a young boy in 1955. It should not take another incident of the same caliber to open the eyes of the people to not only refrain from discrimination and inequality, but to fight against it and take a stand as well.
Sources:
I really like how you pulled together the idea of Emmet Till (which was the original project idea) and actual modern day issues of social injustice. Child abuse is not one of the things that would have at first struck me, but after reading your post and thinking about it, it truly is a great example. I agree with the idea that child abuse is a hidden danger because the children are afraid to speak out against their parents. Overall, I really liked how you pulled the whole piece together through Emmet Till.
ReplyDeleteEmma you a really great writer! I can tell you're passionate about human rights by the way you write. I loved your example of the Emmett Till story, that truly sparked something inside of me. It is heartbreaking to me that someone could feel that someone was so inferior to them, that they could really end their life. Great job incorporating al of the other human rights, especially child abuse. Great job (:
ReplyDeleteWow! Great job! I found your blog post to be fascinating. I think it was well written and thought about. I could tell you took time and thought about what you wanted and was going to say. I learned a lot from your blog post. Your post also helped me to understand some things I was confused on. Well done.
ReplyDelete