stopping

the body of emmett till was exhumed today in order for medical examiners to perform an autopsy on the body of the 14 year old chicago native. till was murdered by roy bryant and j.w. milam on august 28th, 1955 for allegedly for whistling at a white woman. bryant and milam were acquitted by an all-white jury but later confessed to the crime in a magazine interview. the new interest in the case is due, to a large degree, to a documentary by keith beauchamp called the untold story of emmett louis till that uncovered new evidence in the case. a trailer for the film can be found here. more information about the film and about beauchamp is available here. pbs has also produced a film about the killing called the murder of emmett till. apparently it's based in part on research done by beauchamp.

i have a very hard time NOT hating bryant and milam. i have a very hard time NOT hoping that they will rot in hell. i have a very hard time extending them the grace and forgiveness that has been extended to me (i believe with all of my heart in God and His grace...more on that later). but i can't hate them (or their ilk). i can't look at them the same way they looked at emmett till that august nite. as something less than human, something not worthy of life. if i give in to my gut instinct, i'm no better than they are. hatred doesn't go away. nothing is accomplished by the death of an innocent teenager who didn't know what "southern hospitality" really meant.

stopping has to start with me.

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(sorry to be so heavy and serious...i promise something lite, shallow or sarcastic tomorrow)