The Death and Trial of Emmett Till

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Dictionary.com defines segregation as “to separate or set apart from others or from the main body or group…”. During the time in which Emmett Till lived, segregation was a common concept, and the exorbitant amount of discrimination was exhibited with Emmett Till’s death. Emmett was murdered by two white men, at the age of fourteen, for saying “Bye baby” to one of the men’s wife. A trial was held in the middle of September, 1955. This trial brought many protests and a controversy
On August 28, 1955, Emmett went to Mississippi to visit his family and friends. While he was there, he bragged and pretended to have a white girlfriend back home. Since his friends were pranksters, they dared him to say something playfully to Carolyn Bryant, a white woman at a local store. Emmett bought a few candy bars, and when he was walking out, he said, “Bye baby” to the woman. Carolyn’s husband, Roy Brant, found out later on that week, and he and his half-brother killed Emmett a few days later. Emmett was kidnapped in the middle of the night then murdered. “Milam said he and Bryant beat Emmett Till, shot him in the head, wired a 75-pound cotton gin fan to his neck and dumped his body in the Tallachatchie River” (Free 40). Emmett was later found dead in the Tallachatchie River, but his face was so deformed from the beating that the only way he was able to be identified was by a ring he wore in which his father had given him. “Three days later, his corpse was recovered but was so disfigured that Mose Wright could only identify it by an initialed ring” (Death). A trial for the men who killed Emmett was held in the middle of September, 1955.
Three weeks after Emmett was murdered, a trial was held for Roy Bryans and Milam. “On September 23, the all-wh...

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...f discrimination and segregation. Emmett Till was only fourteen when Roy Bryant and Milam murdered him. The case was held on September 23, 1955. Roy and Milam were set free, and had no charges. This sparked many controversies between the black and whites during that time. Emmet’s story still lives on today, and has had n enormous impact on the world today.

Works Cited

"The Death of Emmett Till." History. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2014. .
Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, 2014. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. .
Free at Last. Montgomery: The Southern Poverty Law Center, 1992. Print.
Metress, Christopher. "No Justice, No Peace': The Figure of Emmett Till in African American Literature." MasterFILE Premier. N.p., 2007. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.

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