Martyrdom?

I just saw a very powerful and disturbing movie called 'The Untold Story of Emmet Louis Till'. He was a 14 year old African American boy who was brutally murdered in 1955 for whistling at a white woman. The two men who kidnapped and murdered him went proved not guilty. This was not because of lack of evidence. It was just the way the society worked. A courtroom full of white people watched as the two men responsible for this inhuman act rejoiced.
Last weekend I attended the Alumni of Color Conference at school. The panel dicussions were largely about racism that colored students face in the American public schools system. To me coming from India, which looks at America as this perfect dreamland, was a bit of a shock.
In India, it is the so called 'lower castes' or women that face inhuman treatment even today. The Jesica Lall case was only one instance where something was actually done. But there are thousands of women who don't have anyone fighting for them and who are facing unthinkable atrocities. The problem is not only the fact that this is even happening but the real problem is that we as a society are letting it happen.

No matter what part of the world we live in, we see this kind of inhumanity take place right under our noses. How can education change this? The sad reality is that our curriculum is designed such that children are shadowed from the real world. In the Indian curriculum, there is only room for history. Teachers talk about how things were in the past not even touching about how little things have changed since then. Compared to the advancement we have seen in this past century, mankind has not really made progress in the 'humanity' department. Even today well educated people kill their own blood for marrying out of their caste and even today 'servants' are treated with little respect even though those same people who hire them cannot imagine going on without them.

This movie brought home many issues that are impossible for me articulate succintly. On one hand movies like these inspire me to do good work and on the other they make me realize what a dysfunctional society we live in. I think it is important to keep working thinking about all the Emmet Tills who gave their lives.