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