Mississippi Burning Essay

“Mississippi Burning” Reaction
After watching “Mississippi Burning,” I now have a better understanding of the racism and segregation issues against African Americans in the south. I never really knew what serious actions the Ku Klux Klan took and how much hate the white people had. The fact that they would hunt people down and kill them absolutely shocks me.   Not only were they after African Americans but also the white people that supported the blacks and fought for their rights.
What surprised me the most in the movie was that the sheriff and police were all racist and committed the murders of the two white boys and their black friend while driving them off road one night. Knowing that it is a true life event is mind boggling because the police are people you look to help you and keep you safe, and they not only murdered innocent young boys but they worked so hard to cover it up. Since the police treated the blacks so badly I think that’s why the African Americans in Mississippi were sort of standoff towards the FBI. Agent Anderson’s approach to getting people to speak up helped though, by talking about the pretty flowers he see’s growing everywhere throughout the town; but it’s still hard because why would anyone want to talk to someone whose part of the law when the police have already let them down?
Also, I couldn’t believe that the one officer beat his wife when he found out that she told Agent Anderson where the bodies were and what had happened. These people had so much hate for African Americans that they let it affect their marriages and everything else in life. They ruined their own lives killing those innocent boys because they got caught and had to go to prison, lost their jobs, and broke up their own families. It was nice to see Agent Anderson get revenge on the officer who beat his wife when they were in the barber shop.
This movie was great at showing the real life events that happened in Mississippi. Some parts were hard to watch but it’s...