Ethos: Emmett Till

This picture of Emmett Till's mother mourning the loss of her son was published and showed by many websites all over the world. This one that stuck out to me, where the picture came from, was from the site http://www.crunkfeministcollective.com/2011/08/22/mamie-tills-memorial/  It was published by a name that goes by "ashoncrawley." He posted the picture and can be credited because of the information that he provided with the picture itself. He gave an entire background on the Emmett Till case, what actually occurred that night, and how his mother, Mamie Till, went about informing the world of what had happened to her little boy on that horrific night. This publisher, like many, wanted the viewers to focus on her grieving and mourning of her son. Reason why he tells a story with it.

- Tamyca G.

Logos of Trayvon Martin. (redone)

You can see in the picture his parents are upset and both in their own little world. His father is upset and mourning while his mother is just in an entirely different state of mind. The picture was taken from a certain angle so you can get a sense of the grief and distress on their faces. It was taken after his parents had found out what their sons murderer was being charged with. Obviously, the photographer took at that time and place and from that angle for a specific reason.

- Tamyca G

Logos of Emmett Till

     The murder, trial, and funeral of Emmett Till have a strong effect on the national view of southern racism. It forced people to recognize that there were people who were willing to kill African-Americans without legitimate reason and that southern society was willing to coexist with that type of racism. The picture of Emmett's funeral shows his mother weeping beside the casket, the photographer choose to focus on her grief with only the corner of the casket visible as it is carried away. The function of this is to try to get the audience to empathize with Mrs. Till and her grief. It uses a persons natural attempt to glean information from a picture, to force them see that this is not simply a death of a loved one but a death that is tragic and immoral. The funeral itself was an argument in logos, presenting the maimed body of Emmett to leave no doubt in those who came to the funeral of the evil and cruelty with which the murders committed this crime. 

Exploring Pathos: Emmett Till

     The Emmett Till case easily evokes emotion because the case provides insight to our current society into the racism found in the South in the 19650's.  Emmett Till was only fourteen and died during a family trip in Mississippi. People in the North, especially large cities like Chicago were not aware of the unfortunate situations Blacks faced. Many accounts differ on what Emmett Till did while interacting with the woman in the store. Defenders of Emmett Till say that he did not acknowledge her, while many White people in Mississippi said that he whistled at her, grabbed her, and made lewd remarks. The pathos of the case emerged due to the photographs released from the funeral of Emmett Till in the coffin in his family and also the pictures of his family. During the trial the defense was that Emmett Till was not actually dead depsite that he could only be identified by his ring on his finger.  In addition, Carolyn Bryant and J. W. Milam were interviewed and told all the gruesome details of how they killed Emmett Till. William Bradford Huie reported the story and they were able to come clean because they could not be retried. Due to their lack of remorse Bryant and Milam were ostracized by the community. Due to the outrage, Emmett Till became a martyr for the civil rights movement. The most recent time Emmett Till was heavily publicized was due to a song called Karate Chop by Future featuring Lil Wayne. In the song he said, "beat the p***y up like Emmett Till." As a result he was dropped from brands such as Mountain Dew and Pepsi. 

-Amber Ebanks

Ethos: Trayvon Martin

The Trayvon Martin picture was post by @ItsYaGirlAC on April 11, 2012 at http://wchbnewsdetroit.com. This picture was published couple of hours or minutes after Trayvon Martin’s parents expressed relief after prosecutors decided to charge George Zimmerman of 2^nd degree murder. This publisher wants the audience to focus on Trayvon Martin’s parents because she has zoomed in only on the parents and has dedicated a page just for them. This publisher has credibility because she is published the picture the same day the prosecution was decided. So the publisher sounds well-informed and knows like she knows the most current thing on the topic.

-Ahmedin Ibrahim

Exploring Pathos: Trayvon Martin

Pathos- A quality that causes people to feel sympathy and sadness (defined by Merriam-Webster)

    Discussing Pathos in a case that discusses race relations is rather easy. Racism in America has been a major issue since the slave era. Though many minorities feel that racism is solely between the African American and Caucasian race, racism is faced by many minorities such as Native Americans, Latin Americans, Asian Americans, and even European Americans. America is a topic that is often brushed under the rug because most people feel that racism is no longer an issue because there is no longer segregation. In our society cases such as the Trayvon Martin incident uncovers years of prejudice. For example, the Trayvon Martin case was instantly linked to the Emmett Till case in society due to the creation of pictures like the one above.  In the picture of Trayvon Martin's parents emotion is easily evoked from the viewer. Most parents are able to identify with the Martin family because of their lost. Other than parents, people can understand the severity of losing someone in such a tragic setting. I believe that the pathos of the picture is found easily because of the parents' faces.

-Amber Ebanks

Emmett Till: Rhetorical Situation

            The 1950s was a turbulent time, containing many incidents that led to the reform and protests of the 1960’s. Racism was at a peak with its conflict with equal rights as African-Americans were becoming fuller members of society, and the flaws of the Jim Crow error were beginning to be more widely recognized. The murder of Emmett Till was one of the few incidents of the 50’s that brought the issues of racism to the forefront of the American conscience. His murder highlighted the lack of progressive change in the south in the years since the civil war with little change in the unofficial, but ever present racial caste system. Change of any kind in the south was slowed or prevented by white supremacy groups like the White Citizen’s Council and the Ku Klux Klan (of which his murders were members of). Even with much of the south stuck in the past the majority wanted to look forward at the time the murder occurred. 

Rhetorical Situation: Trayvon Martin

     In this picture we can see a close up view of both Trayvon Martin’s father and mother. The fact that their unarmed son, Trayvon martin, was shot to death by Zimmerman, has made both parent sad. This picture was taken when both Trayvon Martin’s parents gave a quick insight on the second degree murder charge against Zimmerman. A connection can be made with Trayvon martin’s parent emotion and Emmett Till’s mother emotion. We can see that Trayvon Martin’s father eyes are red as if he has already cried or is about to cry, while, Trayvon Martin’s mother looks like she is trying to hold back her emotions and stay strong . In Emmett Till picture, we can see that his mother is on her knee’s crying, while people around her comfort her. In both pictures, one parent, even though Emmett Till’s mother is the only parent there, can be seen as emotionally hurt, publicly, while others around them stay strong.

-Ahmedin Ibrahim

Style.

     The photographers that captured these pictures, took them the way they did for a reason. With the picture of Trayvon Martin's parents, you see that the picture is very up close and personal. He may have captured the picture closely for the viewers to feel the pain that they are feeling. In that particular picture, they had just found out that the man that killed their son was getting charged with 2nd degree murder. You see a sense of relief on their face, but also grief. Grief due to the fact that they are actually speaking out on the subject of the murder of their son. Relief due to the fact that the man that murdered him is being convicted for what he did. In the picture of Emmett Till's parents, however, is much more saddening and almost upsetting. The picture was taken at Emmett Till's funeral. It was an open casket funeral, because his mother wanted to make a point to the public, which made it more heartbreaking for her. Both pictures were captured from an angle off to the right, which the parents weren't paying much attention. These picture would have a softer spot in parents hearts particularly because every parents biggest fear is losing their child. So, when parents see other parents going through a situation like that, they feel a special connection. 

-Tamyca G. 

Introduction to Trayvon Martin Case

          

     On the evening of February 26, Trayvon Martin – a 17 year-old African American high school student, came out a local 7-Evelen store with Arizona Ice Tea and Skittles. On his way home, he was confronted by Zimmerman – a 28 year-old neighborhood watch captain in Sanford, Florida. Zimmerman noticed Travon Martian walking and called 911. Zimmerman told the dispatcher, “He's got something in his hands. I don't know what his deal is...These assholes, they always get away.” Zimmerman later goes on, "Shit, he's running." The dispatcher asked, "Are you following him?" Zimmerman replied, "Yep." Several minutes later, according to other callers to 911 in the neighborhood, Zimmerman and Martin got into an altercation and then wrestling match on the ground. Then a single shot rang out, and Martin lay dead. Zimmerman claimed that he acted in self-defense, and under Florida's ‘Stand Your Ground’ law that states that Florida residents are allowed to use deadly force against a threat without attempting to back down from the situation.

Cite and more detail of the case, click here.

-Ahmedin Ibrahim

Exploring the Audience

Link to images in question

     The audience is an important factor when dissecting media because the audience is not only the spectators or listeners. Ultimately the audience determines what is created and shared. The audience members' become media literate by understanding the role that different forms of media play in society. By questioning who created or publicized the message, what techniques were used to attract attention to the media, and finally what type of lifestyle, value, or point of views are presented a person has a better opportunity to completely understand the media. In an English class setting the audience refers to whoever is reading your material or the people you are trying to reach. For example, the main audience of this blog are the freshman in English 101 section 0404. 

     This picture of Emmett Till's mutilated body were published in many newspapers and many people called for justice. This rallied justice for Till soon turned into support for the killers. After sparking media attention a public funeral was held. At the funeral the photograph of Mamie Carthan, his mother, was published. The photograph appealed to the people of the late 1950s and 1960s. The picture of her crying by his coffin sparked debates nationwide about the rights of Blacks. It finally provided the African Americans of the South a visual voice for the accusations of mis-justice they were so adamantly preaching. 

    Trayvon Martin was often compared to Emmett Till because of the graphic nature of his death. This photograph of Trayvon Martin laying dead in the grass was show on many news stations, including MSNBC. The photograph of his corpse was taken from the George Zimmerman trial.  By showing this image on such a large platform this photograph was widespread to the general public. Many people debate on whether such a graphic image should be displayed to the public. The audience of the photograph of Trayvon Martin's parents crying at the rally was the first image of the parents that received a lot of media attention. Trayvon Martin became a person with a family instead of just a boy in found slain in the grass. 

-Amber Ebanks

Introduction: Emmett Till

The black and white image below is a picture of Emmett Louis Till funeral. In August 1955 Emmett Till, a Chicago resident, was murdered shortly after arriving in Mississippi. Emmett went to Mississippi to visit family and was targeted by a local grocery store owner for supposedly flirting with his wife. Before being shot Emmett, who was 14 years old at the time, was kidnapped and tortured, then after was dumped in the river tied down to a 70 pound piece of machinery with barbed wire. Emmett’s murder was a key turning point in national opinion of southern racism, with the mix of Emmett’s northern residence, the very publicized open casket funeral, and the failure to obtain a guilty verdict of the three very obviously guilty attackers and murders. 

Examining Prejudice

     As a group we would like to follow the stories of these two young Black men and Black men that have similar stories. The left photograph shows the parents of young teen Trayvon Martin at a rally trying to gain support for their son. The right picture is of Mamie Elizabeth Till-Mobley at the funeral of her son, Emmett Till. We have chosen these two photographs as our texts because we believe that they have a clear link. Both photographs show the reactions of family members close to the deceased. In addition, Emmett Till's murder sparked the African American civil rights movement and Trayvon Martin is often compared to him.

-Amber Ebanks