Objection to Mutilated Mannequin

More than 30 years have passed since young Emmet Till, a 14-year-old black boy who grew up in Chicago, spent a summer vacation visiting his grandparents.

As he and a friend strolled through a small Mississippi town, Till allegedly whistled at a young white woman. Later that night, he was taken from the home of his grandparents by the woman’s husband and friends.

He was taken to an obscure place, savagely beaten and shot to death. His mutilated body was found the next day.

After more than a quarter-century, it is not the fact that the accused were not prosecuted that I remember most. Rather, it is Till’s handsome photograph, contrasted with magazine and newspaper prints of a badly mutilated, swollen corpse that renews my remembrance of this grotesque horror.

African Americans who remember this injustice do not wish to see a mannequin, or any other (reminder of) this tragic, disgraceful case, used in a school classroom to illustrate how special effects can distort reality (Times, March 11). Our educational institutions, above all others, are expected to be concerned at all times with promoting the effects of positive, rather than negative imagery.

Racial discrimination, oppression, injustice and tragedy comprise what is called the “special history” of African Americans. Negative labels and events associated with race are ancient burdens that we drag around with us in this country. It’s on everybody’s mind all the time even if we think it’s not.

It is unconscionable that in 1990 any individual or group would think it acceptable or reasonable to maintain a mutilated black mannequin in a classroom. It is a sad reminder that on numerous occasions in American history, especially in the south, the mutilation of African Americans has not always been considered unjust treatment.

Are mannequins that depict Holocaust victims, mutilated animals and other objects of discrimination, inequality, injustice and tragedy viewed as acceptable teaching tools? The school district board of trustees and some white teachers at Hawthorne High School might think so.

I strongly support the Committee For Racial Free Education, which strives to eliminate racism from campuses in the Centinela Valley Union High School District. The use of a mutilated mannequin or any other object that depicts mistreatment of any racial or ethnic minority group is wrong. Parents, teachers and supporters must work with school officials, the state Department of Education and the community at large in order to resolve racial tensions and make education race-free in the Centinela Valley Union High School District.

DR. EDNA F. BRIGGS

Los Angeles

(Editor’s note: Briggs’ husband, Adrain, organized the recently formed Committee for Racial Free Education, a group of parents.)