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Notes -
You're correct that Emmett Till's murder had a significant impact on support for the Civil Rights movement and a 1-for-1 comparison to the Zebra killings isn't accurate. The Zebra killings did not have a historical impact of note. Likewise, it's still early, but George Floyd's murder doesn't seem to have had a long term impact on policy. We are probably experiencing some sort of Ferguson Effect with rising murders and de-policing right now, but that part will probably be short lived and will be forgotten in 20 years. In that sense, his murder is not historically significant.
You have mentioned that you're not making claims about media coverage as it relates to this topic, so feel free to ignore the rest of this. This is my primary issue (maybe not the OP's), and maybe we were talking past each other a bit.
Despite its apparent lack of historical significance, I don't think Floyd's name will disappear from mainstream media coverage in 25 years, but will be revived in mainstream press whenever useful. Similar to how Emmett Till's name appeared 0 times in NYT coverage in 1980, and 72 times in 2018. Perhaps I'm "poorly informed" that I had never heard of the Zebra killings (dozens killed). Like many, I typically rely on popular media, news media, and the education system to inform me of these stories. But I also have the feeling that if I ask 10 younger people close to me (many Californians), maybe 1 has heard of Zebra. This seems odd to me but fits a pattern of the media suddenly becoming uninterested in a mass shooting when the perpetrator's identity/motives are "off-narrative" (or being cagey with details, not publishing his picture). That was the "racial angle" I was referring to.
Thanks for the links.
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