Travon Martin vs. Emmett Till

“History repeats itself first as tragedy, second as farce.” – Karl Marx

Progression of time brings about the repetition of history. From 1955 to the present, there have been many cases similar to that of Emmett Till. The case of Trayvon Martin is one such case. As both cases demonstrate, in America, many teenage African-American males leave home and never make it back. Their failure to return is due to the racial climate. Although the murder of Emmett Till occurred 56 years ago, it has many compelling similarities to the present day Trayvon Martin Case. Both were African-American teenager who left home and never came back. Both forced the nation to talk about racial discord. Both did not live to see what symbols their stories would become. Although the murders occurred in different centuries, they symbolize the same racial problem.

57 years ago, the images of a Black teenager severely disfigured as a result of a beating by white men shocked and repulsed the United States. While visiting family in Money, Mississippi, 14- year old Emmett Till, a black teenager from Chicago, was brutally murdered for flirting with a white woman. The white woman’s husband and brother beat him nearly to death, gouged out his eye, shot him in the head, and then threw his body into the river. Although arrested, the killers were acquitted of any wrongdoing by the all white Mississippi jury. Likewise, Trayvon Martin was killed by a white man and his killer was acquitted. Trayvon died on February 26, 2012 while visiting his father’s home in Sanford, Florida. George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer who said he was acting in self-defense, shot and killed Trayvon. Florida has a stand-your-ground clause which allows a defender to use lethal force against an attacker if his life is in danger. Trayvon was unarmed, carrying a bag of Skittles and bottle of ice tea. Like Till, Trayvon was in strange surrounding where he did not know the racial climate. He did...