Emily Harris
Different Way to Think
Growing up being a 90’s child has made me open to many things. Lifestyles, hobbies, and
many other things but most importantly, it has made me open to everyone being an equal
regardless of their skin tone. After watching “The Abolitionists” and the documentary in
class, my view of what went on before my time has expanded greatly.
The stuff that went on in the early stages of this country just seems so surreal. No one ever
talks about it and no one really knows why. But it is truly amazing to look back and see
how far we have come, especially when it involves us as a country giving everyone in the
land of the free the same exact “god given” rights.
“The Abolitionists” was, in my opinion, very painful to watch. But it did have very good
facts. Being a white person in that time in the south that saw the blacks as more than a way
to make money and produce goods must have been very challenging. The moment a
person like William Lloyd Garrison spoke out and told everyone what he believed, they
would just give it right back to him and treat him like they would a slave. He no longer
was considered a white man when he did not believe they were superior to the blacks
strictly based on their skin tone. The one thing that stood out to me in that movie was how
badly they beat the slaves. It just does not seem possible to me to think that they can treat
another human being like that and not feel remorse. They would rather treat them like
animals instead of realize they were the vicious animals the entire time.
“Bye baby!” To most fourteen-year-old boys, saying that fraise to an older woman is just
the boy being a brat but when you are a black boy down in the south, those are candidates
to being your last words. Emmett Till knows all about that. The fourteen year old boy from
Chicago was visiting his southern living uncle, Mose Wright when spoke those words to a
white lady. The lady told her husband and his brother about what the boy said and next
thing you know, they are marching Emmett from his uncles house to their car. Not only did
they beat the life out of a fourteen-year-old boy, they threw him in the Tallahatchie River.
