Lynching Memorials

Memorials to murders are extremely important because they show that these events are important enough to be remembered. The memorial in Alabama for lynchings is an example of this, as it helps show the vast number of people affected by these events and murdered in old blood. It is a place for the victims' names to be written down and remembered and for people to reflect on these events in history. Without any type of memorial, it is easy for the atrocities to be forgotten or diminished. To have an established place that serves as a memorial to these murders is to solemnly recognize and pay our dues to those who perished. Additionally, it makes us more aware of what occurred and how terrible it was, hopefully causing us to think more carefully about our actions and to swear to never let anything like this happen again. 
I think that 60 Minutes was correct for showing graphic images of the lynchings in their program because when it comes to atrocities like this, it is not something we should or could shy away from. We need to educate people on what actually happened, and face the horrible reality of the crimes committed. Photographs put faces to the stories and depict the horror in a tangible way. The photographs leave no room for excuses or denial; they cause us to face the hard, terrible truth. Just like in Holocaust education, where even students are shown graphic images of the torture, starvation, and death, the same should be done for the lynchings. These events need to be recognized and remembered, and showing these images to the public will make it stick in their minds and cause them to confront these events in a harsher way. Even though the pictures are unsettling and extremely graphic, they are necessary. You cannot sugarcoat what happened and try to make it less bad that it actually was. These photographs are hard to look at, but they should be because they represent and show the truth of what happened. They should make people uncomfortable in order that they realize the gravity of these events and learn from this part of history to change our future. 

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