Dear Theophilus

Sometimes you read a story that shakes you. One might read the story below and think, "look how barbaric our history was." What strikes me most about the story are the parallels to our modern day. Not only was this not that long ago, the actions and arguments now concerning racism and oppression are not far from what these were. HERE is the story written then. (Warning: there is racist language throughout, not only from the testimony of the perpetrators, but the journalist as well). Emmett Till was a 14 year old boy from Chicago visiting his family in Mississippi during 1955. He made a mistake about romantically approaching a married white woman that, a few days later, would cost him his life. (Note: the events of what happened in the store are disputed by different witnesses). The husband of the offended and harassed woman (Roy) and his brother-in-law (Milam) went and found the boy sleeping. They took him to a shed and beat him with pistols. Emmett bravely asserted h...