Why does Emmett Till have a marker and highway stretch named after him (Memphis: neighborhood, university)

[SippiStateBulldogs]

Originally Posted by JacksonPanther

Which should make you wonder if the OP really is an Af-Am... Typical race-baiting thread.

I will be in Jackson (Brandon in rankin county to be exact) visiting my wife's parent for thanksgiving. Name the time and place and we can meet face to face and you can see I'm Black.

[SippiStateBulldogs]

Why is it so hard to believe a Black person could have a master's in history and love his southron heritage enough to question an Emmett Till marker. All I am saying is he is not some civil rights icon.

[Warszawa]

Originally Posted by Desert kid

Having read more than a few things about Forrest outside of the internet, own several books on him, he wasn't some cardboard villain.

That could be said for any questionable character in history. Stalin, besides being a mass murderer, did a lot to help bring Russia into the 20th century, and turned the country into a superpower. Without Stalin's efforts, WWII might have ended quite differently. Additionally, Jim Jones, before turning into a power hungry cult leader, actually was a big supporter of civil rights and started his church as a way of helping poor black people in the community. Truth is, even the worst d*ckheads in history had softer sides, no matter how much we hate to admit it.

That doesn't mean we should be naming high schools after Stalin, Jones, or Forrest

[Listener2307]

Originally Posted by Warszawa

That could be said for any questionable character in history. Stalin, besides being a mass murderer, did a lot to help bring Russia into the 20th century, and turned the country into a superpower. Without Stalin's efforts, WWII might have ended quite differently. Additionally, Jim Jones, before turning into a power hungry cult leader, actually was a big supporter of civil rights and started his church as a way of helping poor black people in the community. Truth is, even the worst d*ckheads in history had softer sides, no matter how much we hate to admit it.

That doesn't mean we should be naming high schools after Stalin, Jones, or Forrest

Point to a high school named after Forrest. There are two.

Go to that state's forum and register your outrage.

[Teddy52]

Emmitt Till was a victim.

The hero was Emmitt's mother who insisted on an open casket to draw attention to the murder.

[Desert kid]

Originally Posted by Warszawa

That could be said for any questionable character in history. Stalin, besides being a mass murderer, did a lot to help bring Russia into the 20th century, and turned the country into a superpower. Without Stalin's efforts, WWII might have ended quite differently. Additionally, Jim Jones, before turning into a power hungry cult leader, actually was a big supporter of civil rights and started his church as a way of helping poor black people in the community. Truth is, even the worst d*ckheads in history had softer sides, no matter how much we hate to admit it.

That doesn't mean we should be naming high schools after Stalin, Jones, or Forrest

I'd thank you to read up on Forrest before comparing him to Stalin.

At least Forrest had a change of heart, and even though he had controversy with Fort Pillow, he never issued pogroms or the like in the ways Stalin did.

Forrest was an agnostic for most of his life to boot, I very much doubt he'd be the type to "drink the Kool-Aid" as well.

[SippiStateBulldogs]

Originally Posted by Warszawa

That could be said for any questionable character in history. Stalin, besides being a mass murderer, did a lot to help bring Russia into the 20th century, and turned the country into a superpower. Without Stalin's efforts, WWII might have ended quite differently. Additionally, Jim Jones, before turning into a power hungry cult leader, actually was a big supporter of civil rights and started his church as a way of helping poor black people in the community. Truth is, even the worst d*ckheads in history had softer sides, no matter how much we hate to admit it.

That doesn't mean we should be naming high schools after Stalin, Jones, or Forrest

Did you compare Nathan Forrest to Jim Jones? SMH. Someone else said Emmett Till's mom was a hero for having an open casket. How does that make someone a hero. She lived in Chicago not Mississippi. Blacks in and around Tallahatchie had to live with the consequences. Once again people continue to mis-understand the South and act like they know stuff.

[SippiStateBulldogs]

Another thing I find it more racist that someone would doubt my Blackness because I have a dissenting view from the majority of Blacks. We do not have to be some monolithic group. No one questions Whites on their Whiteness if one is conservative or liberal. Because I am Black though I am not allowed to think outside the box. Hmm.... Seems racist to me.

[Madeline2121]

Well isn't that what this whole thread is really about? That we are all just a bunch of racists?

[Votre_Chef]

Originally Posted by MissStateDawg

Ok I am African American and a Mississippian with roots going back 250 years. Why is Emmet Till honored? I mean I am not justifying his killing or saying the people who did it should not have been put in prison for life. What I am asking though is why is he honored. He whistled at another mans wife. That's not noteworthy enough in my book to warrant labeling him a civil rights leader or honoring him with a civil rights marker or stretch of highway. What are your opinions?

Perhaps you could look at it as him being commemorated rather than honored.