“‘I said come here, n****r, and bust up this chiffarobe for me, I gotta nickel for you. He coulda done it easy enough, he could. So he come in the yard an’ i went in the house to get him a nickel and i turned around an ‘fore i knew it he was on me. Just run up behind me, he did. He got me round the neck, cussin’ me an sayin’ dirt-I fought’n’hollered, but he had me round the neck. He hit me agin an’ agin-’” (Lee 241)
Mayella Ewell, only 19 years old, accused Tom Robinson of rape. Even when this story was disproved, she still held on to it. While it is sad, it was only normal. Many similar events took place during this time. Take Emmett Till, for example, a 14-year-old black boy. 
In 1955 he walked into a store to buy bubble gum. Reportedly, he whistled at the store clerk on his way out. Four days later, his mutilated body was found at the bottom of a river. The perpetrators? Store clerk Carolyn Bryant’s husband and brother. These men were tried for murder, and got off free. How in the world did this happen?
Even now, with the murder of Trayvon Martin, and other violent acts having to do with racial prejudice, nothing has changed! The court system needs to change so that it is not bias, and people have to start making better judgements. This can’t keep happening!
No comments:
Post a Comment