The Emmett Till Case
Vaishnavi Mahajan
On vacation in Mississippi, Emmett Till - an African American boy - touched a white woman’s hand while handing her money to buy some gum. Later, when the lady left the store, Emmett, unfamiliar with the social attitudes of the South, wolf whistled at her. “As she was going to her car that was when Emmett whistled at her” (One of Emmett’s friends, The Untold Story).
Frightened, the whole gang ran away, later to find a car following them. They, pulled to the side of the road and ran through cotton fields because of the lack of speed in the car. Emmett begged the rest of his gang not to let his grandfather hear about the incident that had occurred that day. “Emmett Till begged us not to tell our grandfather, so we didn’t” (Emmett's friend, The Untold Story). But the next day a couple people told them that they would hearing more about it, after it all is was a big deal.
Emmett was about thirteen years old when he was murdered by J.W Milam and Roy Bryant. According to one witness, Willie Reed, “as I was walkin’ I saw a green 1955 Chevrolet truck. And I saw there was five people and there was two-take Highlin, Herbert, and i’m pretty sure was Emmett Till, and Milam, and Bryant, and they was in the cab of his truck” (Willie Reed, The Untold Story).
Mamie Till had found out from a person named Willy May that Emmett had been taken by the two men. In her own words, “it was Willy May telling me that those men had come and taken away Bo away from my uncle’s house” (Mamie Till, The Untold Story). After the murder had occurred, and the body was found, Mamie Till let Emmett’s tortured body’s pictures be published in the newspaper and left the body so that everyone could see the disgusting results of segregation .
Even after the brutal murder, because of the society in the south, Emmett Till did NOT receive justice, and to add on, the court was trying to make Mamie Till confess to trying to get money from her insurance plan from her son’s death.
The case has been reopened and leaves a mark on America
Frightened, the whole gang ran away, later to find a car following them. They, pulled to the side of the road and ran through cotton fields because of the lack of speed in the car. Emmett begged the rest of his gang not to let his grandfather hear about the incident that had occurred that day. “Emmett Till begged us not to tell our grandfather, so we didn’t” (Emmett's friend, The Untold Story). But the next day a couple people told them that they would hearing more about it, after it all is was a big deal.
Emmett was about thirteen years old when he was murdered by J.W Milam and Roy Bryant. According to one witness, Willie Reed, “as I was walkin’ I saw a green 1955 Chevrolet truck. And I saw there was five people and there was two-take Highlin, Herbert, and i’m pretty sure was Emmett Till, and Milam, and Bryant, and they was in the cab of his truck” (Willie Reed, The Untold Story).
Mamie Till had found out from a person named Willy May that Emmett had been taken by the two men. In her own words, “it was Willy May telling me that those men had come and taken away Bo away from my uncle’s house” (Mamie Till, The Untold Story). After the murder had occurred, and the body was found, Mamie Till let Emmett’s tortured body’s pictures be published in the newspaper and left the body so that everyone could see the disgusting results of segregation .
Even after the brutal murder, because of the society in the south, Emmett Till did NOT receive justice, and to add on, the court was trying to make Mamie Till confess to trying to get money from her insurance plan from her son’s death.
The case has been reopened and leaves a mark on America
Sources:
The Murder of Emmett Till. Dir. Stanley Nelson. By Marcia A. Smith. Perf. Andre Braugher. PBS American Experience, 2003. DVD.
Photo: Griffin, Peter. Old Rustic Barn. N.d. Photograph. PublicDomainPictures. Web. 6 Dec. 2013.
The Murder of Emmett Till. Dir. Stanley Nelson. By Marcia A. Smith. Perf. Andre Braugher. PBS American Experience, 2003. DVD.
Photo: Griffin, Peter. Old Rustic Barn. N.d. Photograph. PublicDomainPictures. Web. 6 Dec. 2013.