The Ethos of Emmett Till's Photograph

I don’t know if the first question you ask yourself as you view the picture of Emmett Till’s gruesomely distorted face is who took this photo? But it certainly should be.  I don't know that I'd trust a photograph taken just by your average Joe. 

Jet magazine's 1955 publication of the photograph of Emmett Till's brutal murder gave the picture the foundation it needed to make the claim that future inhumane murders of African-American children could only be prevented through the passage of American legislation and the appearence of a much-needed change in the attitudes of complacent Americans. His body was photographed at the funeral, where at the request of Emmett's mother, Mamie Till Bradley, the casket was left open for the world to see the disfigured face of Emmett Till.

After Emmett Till's photograph was published by Jet magazine, it then was circulated around the country in various news publications. It was meant for the eyes of American readers across the country.  Jet magazine was known as a credible source for coverage of Civil Rights issues, as it chronicled the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950’s and 1960’s. This photograph achieves a sense of ethos as Jet magazine was a magazine marketed toward African-American readers. This in and of itself reflects that the initial publisher of this photo likely did believe in the values expressed by leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. 

  This was a photograph published to enlighten the majority of Americans, who chose not to get involved in the Civil Rights Movement, that the effects of racism were gruesomely lethal, and who would come to see in the mutilated face of Emmett Till the suffering of his black predecessors and the ongoing  problem of racism in America. 

- Lina Bauer