Emmett Till Thesis

Born July 25, 1941 Emmett Louis "Bobo" Till was born much like Mary of Nazarene his mother had no idea what an impact this precious baby boy would have. Emmett grew up without his father, Louis Till who died while fighting in World War II. At the tender age of five years old Emmett was diagnosed with Polio as a result Emmett was left with a slight stutter. In spite of his illness Emmett grew up a happy child. He loved to tell jokes and often times paid people just to make him laugh. Emmett and his mother were very close and he once told her as long as she could bring home the bacon and provide he could take care of the house. The Till's lived in a middle class neighborhood on the south side of Chicago, Illinois. In their neighborhood they

While there the boys did normal boy things talk about girls, camped outdoors and fished. On the morning of August 28th, 1955, Emmett and his cousins drove his uncle's car into town and stopped at Bryant's Grocery store to buy candy. Before entering the store Till, who was used to interacting with white people showed some pictures of his white friends back home to some of the local boys outside the store. Once they saw the pictures the boys then dared Emmett to go and strike up a conversation with the woman inside, who just happened to be the owner's wife, Carolyn Bryant. While in the store Emmett allegedly flirted and wolf whistled at the store owner's wife. To modern day society this may not be a big deal but down south in the ‘50's this was considered a punishable crime. After the boys left the store they decided against telling their uncle to avoid getting into any trouble. Four days later at about 2:30 a.m. Roy Bryant and his half-brother J.W. Milam, showed up at the Wright family's house with pistol in hand. When they bust into the door they made it extremely clear by saying "were looking for the boy that did that talking". Moses Wright pleaded with the two men screaming that "he is only 14, he's from up North" implying that he did not know better, but the two men ignored his desperate plea. As they escorted young Till out of the house and to Milam's truck

Emmett Till was raised very much like me. He was taught who he was but also warned on who he may have to act like he is. Meaning it's good to be yourself and be confident in who you are, but when put in a position where you may be putting your self in harm's way be humble enough to keep your mouth closed. Again much like me Emmett was unable to control himself in order to prove a point and as a result was killed. As a leader there will be a lot of people who will test you. Not necessarily to put you in harm's way but most often to see if you'll really do it. It is up to you to be able to decipher whether this cause is reason enough to risk not only yourself but also your