Black Civil Rights Movements

The overarching theme linking the strategies used during the Black Civil Rights Movements is appealing to people’s emotions with media. Emmett Till was murdered at the age of 14 for flirting with a white woman in Mississippi. His mother decided to have an open casket during his funeral. His mother did this to show everyone the truth and how bad everything was in the South. This strategy generated empathy within people because compared to everywhere else, Mississippi was one of the most segregated areas. In addition, Martin Luther King got high schoolers to protest against segregation. Because they were protesting, police beat them with hoses even though protesting is nonviolent. The protests were on international television and made Americans look bad. This intentional protesting was to make Americans stand up and advocate for change. Media was very important during the Black Civil Rights Movements because without it, it would have been harder to promote change.