My favorite class in high school was Creative Writing, taught by Mr. Windom. In this class, I was exposed to the poem "Emmett Till" by James A. Emanuel. At the same time, I was also taking US History. I recall during a very dry lecture the teacher mentioned Emmett Till, I blurted out something about the poem and started rifling through my papers to find it. I was "corrected" for my "outburst." The poem somehow holds together love, sincerity, and pure horror. This poem moved me in a haunting sort of way and I've always carried it with me.
This week's news stories (and the countless others) of the recent deaths of young men of color have similarly moved me. Most recently maybe because Philando Castile happened to work at a Montessori School; however my human connection alone should be enough. There is a deeply unsettling similarity in all these stories. In the end, death is death regardless of the details and my heart feels sad.
I'm at a loss for words today about all this so I just want to share with you the poem, and what better then a youtube of James A. Emanuel reading it himself! It is only 5 minutes but he shares some powerful insights.
(post from Joshua)
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