Social Norm Analysis

Imagine walking into a store and being declined service. Imagine getting on a bus and seeing a distinguished line of where you were and were not allowed to sit. All of these flaws and injustices are due to the color of your skin. This “line” was not a line of direction, or right and wrong, but instead, a line illustrating the corrupt and misguided public, who sneered and abused people because of the pigmentation of their skin. Hearing about the horrors and indecencies performed in the past, one can sigh a breath of relief that these issues have been resolved. However, at one point in time, these were not stories, but realities. The boundaries people went and crossed in order to expose white supremacy are appalling. However, the perseverance

The recounts are simply “mind boggling.” Blacks were not allowed to eat in the same restaurant, and since the rule reads, an owner can decline service to whomever he wants, this could not be combated. Additionally, the examples continue to include, separate water fountains, separate schools, separate seating in theatres, and even separate rest rooms. These extremities were not laws that one needed to follow, but simply an example of a social norm. The social norm progressed into more violent showings of hatred, such as lynching and hangings. An unforgettable example, is the unspeakable story of Emmett Till. Emmett Till was a fourteen year old boy from Chicago, who had not experienced segregation in his home town, but upon arriving in Mississippi, his experienced certainly changed. Since he bragged about the fact that he had white girlfriend at home, some of the local boys dared him to go into a store and to talk to a white girl in there. He bought some candy, and upon leaving, he muttered, “bye baby” to the white woman, who happened to be the store owner’s wife. Three days later, the recounts

Men, women, children, aged and crippled, were victims. A 103-year-old woman was whipped, as was a completely paralyzed man. In Georgia, Abraham Colby, an organizer and leader in the black community, was whipped for hours in front of his wife and children. His little daughter begged the Klansman, "Don't take my daddy away." She never recovered from the sight and died soon after. In Mississippi, Jack Dupree's throat was cut and he was disemboweled in front of his wife, who had just given birth to twins. Klansman burned churches and schools, lynching teachers and educated blacks.