The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

When I was a little girl I remember my grandmother telling me the story of Emmet Till, a young African American boy, who was murdered for flirting with a white woman. For my young mind the story bought up so many questions. Why did he have to die for flirting with a white woman? What is wrong with him liking white woman? What happen to the people that killed him? I remember my grandmother taking her time to explain to me how life was years ago. After several more questions I soon learned that years before I was born things were different, African Americans were not afford the privileges that whites had. The murderers of Emmet Till were acquitted because they were white.

After hearing the story of Emmet Till I felt powerless, and angry, how could people simply dislike you because of the color of your skin? I felt as if the government failed to protect and seek justice for Emmet and his family. I remember feeling sad and scared, that if I acted in a way that was not suitable to “White America” I could be next. The world would have to change in order to turn this incident into an opportunity for greater equity.