Emmett Till: The Civil Rights Movement

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“We must impress upon our children that even when troubles rise to seven-point-one on life’s Richter scale, they must be anchored so deeply that, though they sway, they will not topple.” This quote was spoken by Mamie Till, the mother of a boy that was murdered after whistling at a white woman. Emmett Till, a Chicago native, was known kind and resourceful amongst his family and friends. He was brutally murdered by two white men when he was visiting his uncle and cousin in New Orleans. The murderers admitted to the kidnapping and during the trial, they were convicted not-guilty. After this, the two men were exonerated of their heinous crime. His story and murder was one of the leading factors of the Civil Rights Movement. Emmett Till was born into the loving arms of Mamie Till and her mother. Before his birth, Emmett’s father, Louis Till, was deployed to Italy. Emmett was born on July 25th, 1941. His mother worked several jobs and was hardly home. Young Emmett helped his grandmother and mother keep the house clean. He was raised mostly by his grandmother. Mamie described him as an adventurous and independent-minded child. Even after contracting polio at the age of six, he never stopped his love for exploration. In 1945, Louis Till died of unknown circumstances. Only a few things were sent home to the Till family. The items included a ring …show more content…

This escalated to riots and even the spark of the Civil Rights Movement. Growing up in the working-class of Chicago and murdered in Money, Mississippi for being falsely accused of whistling at Carolyn Bryant. The two men who kidnapped him and beat him to unrecognizability walked away unharmed. Even after the rallying cries and the riots, the government still did nothing. Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. even had a say about the circumstances of this young death. Just as Simeon Wright said, “J.W. Milam and Roy Bryant died with Emmett Till’s young-blood on their

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