A portrayal of violence

Yesterday was one of the first times that I saw and unflinching portrayal of the violence that had been perpetrated against black people, in the hall of shame we were shown graphic images of those injured and killed during acts of violence. It was eye opening to me,because though i had heard and learned about the violence and hate crimes, seeing them hit at a much deeper level.  I also learned about those who were not black that helped the movement and were hurt or killed as a result, specifically the Rev. Keebe who was clubbed to death on the evening of Bloody Sunday.  And his death interested me because though black people had been persecuted and maimed and killed and lynched it was his death that created a stir throughout white America. It was not the bombing of the small church which killed four young girls, but it was instead the killing of a young reverend which truly disturbed white America. And this is a pattern that we see even today, the fact that people of a minority can be killed and slaughtered, but if a white person is killed then it creates an up roar.  For example in the recent killings of the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists, which is now uniting Europe against terrorism and radical Islam. By creating mass protests and outcries for piece. But on  a different side of the world, in Nigeria, Boko Haram has just recently slaughtered 2,000 people, men, women, and children,and the world looks on.  Thousands of black lives were lost and no one really noticed.  Which is why I think that the civil rights struggle is still very real, and the supposed shackles of society still exist.

Isabelle King 
12th Grade, City College