On August 28, 1955 an event happened that changed lives and sparked the beginning of the civil rights movement by opening the eyes of thousands. Emmett Louis Till, whose nickname was Bobo, was a 14 year old boy from Chicago, Illinois who traveled to Mississippi with his uncle, Moses Wright and cousin, Simeon Wright. Emmett’s goofy personality and the ways of the south did not mix and created much tragedy for thousands. Although it was a horrific, tragic event it opened many doors afterward that would affect people for years to come.
Before Emmett left Chicago on August 19 to travel to Mississippi, where his family grew up, his single mother, Mamie Till tried to educate Emmett on the ways of the deep south but he did not listen. They all went to Mississippi and got “jobs” picking cotton in fields. Until, one day a whole group of them went into and local store called “Bryant’s Grocery” for some refreshments. The two white male owners, Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam, were out, leaving Bryant’s wife, Carolyn, at the …show more content…
Although this was not a fair trial, all of the jurors were white men from Bryant’s hometown of Money, where the murder occurred. Both Bryant and Milam were acquitted, but that did not stop the craze. Emmett’s photos of him after death and his whole story ended up in newspapers and later Bryant Milam confessed and turned themselves in by selling the story to Look Magazine for 4,000 dollars each. This is thought to be the spark of the civil rights for many reasons but one reason is that a little over 3 months after the Emmett Till murder, on December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man on a public bus. Emmett Till in a way made a much needed sacrifice for the black community to open their eyes and stand up to the mistreatment. They most definitely did, things would never be same between blacks and whites after
Before Emmett left Chicago on August 19 to travel to Mississippi, where his family grew up, his single mother, Mamie Till tried to educate Emmett on the ways of the deep south but he did not listen. They all went to Mississippi and got “jobs” picking cotton in fields. Until, one day a whole group of them went into and local store called “Bryant’s Grocery” for some refreshments. The two white male owners, Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam, were out, leaving Bryant’s wife, Carolyn, at the …show more content…
Although this was not a fair trial, all of the jurors were white men from Bryant’s hometown of Money, where the murder occurred. Both Bryant and Milam were acquitted, but that did not stop the craze. Emmett’s photos of him after death and his whole story ended up in newspapers and later Bryant Milam confessed and turned themselves in by selling the story to Look Magazine for 4,000 dollars each. This is thought to be the spark of the civil rights for many reasons but one reason is that a little over 3 months after the Emmett Till murder, on December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man on a public bus. Emmett Till in a way made a much needed sacrifice for the black community to open their eyes and stand up to the mistreatment. They most definitely did, things would never be same between blacks and whites after