Reflection 5: Immersion
As I watch the "Remember Emmett Till" video, I learn how difficult to remember what happened to Emmett's tragic death without feeling emotional toward the violent nature against Black Americans. His death was extremely gruesome as people learn on what happen to his body during the lynching, but remembering could spark a movement for the nation to make a difference in their society.
I believe the remembering is the most powerful matter for people to accomplish and could lead to a bigger picture for what America need. It's also powerful and strong for different communities, black communities for example, to carry a lasting reflection about Till by teaching the next generation about his tragedy so they could tell their children as well.
The video states that, "Here in Mississippi, the name Emmett Till is carried by Black families from generation to generation often as a cautionary tale." This meant that although Black families use the name often, they would need to do it in order for the memory to last forever until the death is finally recognize.
I enjoyed knowing the history of racial injustice which ties to what's going on in our society and knowing what happen to the memorial sign. Looking at the multiple bullet holes on the sign and seeing at destroyed, made me think most people don't want to remember the incident or they still can't move on from the accusations of what the boy did.
I also enjoyed the VR experience because it was a different then other videos I watched because of the authentic use of being a spectator in events before my time. It helps me to evoke Till's memories and think about emotional situations in my life that I could connect.
I felt when looking at the video in VR made it feel like your physically there.
An example of this was the scene of re imagining the courtroom fill with white Americans during the trail of Emmett Till's murder and seeing myself in the same position as the African Americans who were sitting in the back row to witness the trail. Another one was looking through the VR set to see all the physical remains that reminds people of his death that was fascinating to me since most states rarely do it.
The most challenging thing about the video was to adapt in to watch it in VR format because the concentration using the VR feature to see every detail in video while keeping up with the information told by the speaker of the video. It was the case when I had to replay the video about three times in order to get a better understanding on what thee actual message the video is telling me.
Overall, I've learn, enjoyed, and felt somewhat challenging when seeing the full video of reflecting upon Emmett's death. His legacy of being lynched for flirting with a white woman gave the civil right movements legs and fuel the willingness to change people's emotion of fear.
There was one incident related to lynching like Ahmaud Arbery who was chase down and shot because the white Americans felt like he stole from them after jogging past their house. This situation impacted people everywhere and had full support to have justice for the murder.
I reflect on Arbery and George Floyd deaths the most which created a change in myself to be more aware about racial injustice in this country. The first statement that stood out to me is that memorials are important because it help visitors walk away and think about have "honest account" on what happen to this young boy in the mid 1900s. The other statement was that America has a "push and pull memory" on how they want to remember or forget about tragic deaths like with Emmett Till.
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