The Impact of Emmett Till's Death

1473 Words3 Pages

On August 28th, 1955. A young, African American, fourteen year old boy, Emmett Louis “Bobo” Till, was murdered in Money, Mississippi after flirting with a white woman (“Emmett Till”, 2014). Emmett Till’s story brought attention to the racism still prevalent in the south in 1955, even after attempts nationwide to desegregate and become equal. Emmett’s harsh murder and unfair trial brought light into the darkness and inequality that dominated the south during the civil rights movement. Emmett’s life was proof that African American’s were equal to whites and that all people were capable of becoming educated and successful even through difficulties. Emmett’s death had an even greater impact, providing a story and a face to the unfair treatment of African Americas and proof of the progress that still needed to be made in the civil rights of all people. (“The death of”, n.d.)

Emmett Till was born in Chicago on July 25th 1941 (“Emmett Till”, 2014). Emmett Till was the son of Louis and Mamie Till, who divorced a year after Emmett’s birth. Emmett grew to be a strong willed, educated, and comical young man. Emmett’s father died in World War II leaving Emmett’s mother alone to raise him singularly in 1945, when Emmett was only four years old. The only item that was salvaged from Louis Till was a ring with the engraving L.T., which was given to Emmett’s mother and kept as a reminder of her ex-husband. (“Timeline”, n.d.)

Emmett Till attended a segregated elementary school but after The Supreme Court ruling in the case of Brown v. The Board of Education on May 17th 1954, became a member of a desegregated community and school in Chicago (“Timeline”, n.d.). The case forced all public schools to desegregate which counteracted the separate but e...

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Reference List

Cozzens, L. (1998, June 29). The murder of Emmett Till. website: http://www.watson.org/~lisa/blackhistory/early-civilrights/emmett.html

(n.d.) The death of Emmett Till. Retrieved from History website: http://www.history.com/this- day-in- history/the-death-of-emmett-till

(2014) Emmett Till. Retrieved from The Biography Channel website: http://www.biography.com/people/emmett-till-507515.

(2004, June 01). Reopened investigation into the 1955 kidnapping and murder of Emmett Till. Retrieved from Federal Bureau of Investigation website: http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2004/june/till060104

(n.d.) Timeline: The murder of Emmett Till. Retrieved from The Murder of Emmett Till website: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/till/timeline/index.html

Williams, J. (1987). Eyes on the prize: America's civil rights years 1954-1965. New York: Viking Penguin Inc.

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