Explain the similarities and differences between the reactions to the two murders.

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Parina Patel         Civil Rights In The USA        5/5/2004

Explain the similarities and differences between the reactions to the two murders

In 1955 when Emmett Till was murdered there were different reactions from different people.

The whites in Southern America thought that he deserved to die, as he broke the ‘rules’, to what was socially acceptable in Southern America. In that a black kid wasn’t allowed to be cheeky especially to a white woman. They had this view as generally people in the South were racists.

The whites in Northern America were completely shocked when hearing about the murder, as they didn’t understand the extent of racism in the South. They didn’t understand racism as there was hardly any racism in the North for them to experience. The whites increased their support and sympathy for blacks in the South.

The blacks in Southern America were scared as they thought that it could be them next. The blacks were oppressed by the whites and were helpless against them.

The blacks in Northern America were equally as shocked as the whites in North America as they also didn’t understand racism. They were also keen to lend their support and help to the blacks in the Southern States.

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The media also played a big role in the murder as they spread the knowledge about the murder. It was reported in most newspapers in both Southern newspapers and Northern newspapers as it was very big news.

Emmett Till’s mother, Mamie Bradley, wanted people to remember Emmett’s death and she didn’t want to let people forget what happened to Emmett. To do this, at the funeral she had an open casket where approximately 2000 people walked past. The body hadn’t been cleaned up and all the mourners walked past the coffin – Mamie was trying to send a ...

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