Emmett Till and The Civil Rights Movement
The murder of a fourteen year-old Chicago boy named Emmett Till
sparked the fire that was the Civil Rights Movement. Prejudice still
exists in the world today; but because of his death , many people that
have heard about or know of it, have changed the way that they think,
the way they live their lives, and what their outlook is on other
races.
Born in 1941 on the rough streets of Chicago, Illinois, Emmett Till
had never experienced the extremes of racism or violence, his mother
tried to keep him away from bad things. Mammie Till had told him
stories and life experiences of racism. When Emmett decided to travel
to Mississippi with his cousin, Wheeler, to visit his uncle Moses
Wright in the summer of 1955, he thought that it was just going to be
a regular trip, and that he would stay the summer helping out Moses on
his farm. While waiting at the train station to leave for Mississippi,
Emmett's mother Mammie gave him a stern warning about most people in
the South, and that things were very different there then how they
were in Chicago. Emmett's father past away years before, but he left
behind a gold ring; Mammie gave this ring to Emmett just as he left,
she was worried but thought that he would take care of himself while
in the southern city of Money. After a sixteen hour train ride Emmett
and his cousin arrived in Money.
Wheeler about his trip to Money with Emmett: We went to the South,
near the beginning of cotton-picking time, late August and we picked
cotton for a half a day and we would go swimming, run the snakes out
the river. We had a lot of fun.
Money was a little town ...
... middle of paper ...
... acquittal, Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam sold their
story of how they kidnapped and killed Emmett Till to "Look" magazine,
and since they were acquitted, they couldn't be tried for the murder
again.
Exactly 100 days after the murder of Emmett Till, Rosa Parks wouldn't
give up her seat, and the Montgomery Bus Boycott began. This murder
has impacted blacks in America greatly and the way that we are treated
by others.
Works Cited
"The Lynching of Emmett Till." nd. Heroism.org. February 4, 2003
<http://
www.heroism.org/class/1950/heros/till.htm>
"The Murder of Emmett Till." nd. PBS. February 4, 2003
<http://www.pbs.org/
wgbh/amex/till/fillmore/index.html>
3, Dylan, Bob. "The Death of Emmett Till." nd. Special Rider Music.
February 4,
2003 <http://www.bobdylan.com/songs/emmetttill.html>
Emmett Till, who was born on July 25, 1941, was 14 years old when he was lynched in Mississippi after allegedly flirting with a white woman. He had traveled from his hometown of Chicago to visit his relatives in the South when two white men arrived at his family’s home and dragged him out at gunpoint.
Emmett Till Emmett Till was a 14 year old boy visiting Money,Mississippi from Chicago, Illinois in 1955. He whistled, flirted, and touched a white woman who was working at a store where Emmett Till was purchasing bubble gum. A day later Till was abducted at gunpoint from his great uncle’s house. 3 days after that Till’s body was found, unrecognizable other than a ring he had on. He was unprepared for the intense segregation of Mississippi.
The Emmett Till murder shined a light on the horrors of segregation and racism on the United States. Emmett Till, a young Chicago teenager, was visiting family in Mississippi during the month of August in 1955, but he was entering a state that was far more different than his hometown. Dominated by segregation, Mississippi enforced a strict leash on its African American population. After apparently flirting with a white woman, which was deeply frowned upon at this time in history, young Till was brutally murdered. Emmett Till’s murder became an icon for the Civil Rights Movement, and it helped start the demand of equal rights for all nationalities and races in the United States.
Emmett Till was fourteen years old when he died, as a result of racism. He was innocent, and faced the consequences of discrimination at a young age. His death was a tragedy, but will he will live on as somebody who helped African-Americans earn their rights. Emmett Till’s death took place in a ruthless era in which his life was taken from him as a result of racism during the Civil Rights Movement.
Dictionary.com defines segregation as “to separate or set apart from others or from the main body or group…”. During the time in which Emmett Till lived, segregation was a common concept, and the exorbitant amount of discrimination was exhibited with Emmett Till’s death. Emmett was murdered by two white men, at the age of fourteen, for saying “Bye baby” to one of the men’s wife. A trial was held in the middle of September, 1955. This trial brought many protests and a controversy
Jackie Robinson was not only the first African American to play in the MLB but, directly contributed to the civil rights movement around the world. Jackie Robinson made his debut April 15, 1947, for the Brooklyn Dodgers, officially breaking the color barrier. Jackie was not the best African American baseball player but Branch Rickey, the owner of the Dodgers once said, "I'm not looking for someone who is strong enough to fight back, I'm looking for someone who is strong enough not to fight back" (Branch Rickey). Jackie never fought back and his actions soon became the way many African Americans would fight the civil rights movement. Outside of baseball Jackie got involved in the civil rights movement through organizations. With his involvement Jackie had an impact on civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X, as well as presidents, and other government officials (The Civil Rights Movement). Jackie Robinson impacted baseball and the nationwide civil rights movement through the integration of baseball, involvement in the civil rights movement, and his public image.
Since the start of racial segregation, African Americans have been treated badly and Emmett Till was one of them. He was one of the victims of racial discrimination and segregation. Segregation limited all African Americans daily life like, eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, riding a bus, and the purchase of a home. Through all of this, Emmett Till and his family were strong and lived on with their lives.
African Americans have a history of struggles because of racism and prejudices. Ever since the end of the Civil War, they struggled to benefit from their full rights that the Constitution promised. The fourteenth Amendment, which defined national citizenship, was passed in 1866. Even though African Americans were promised citizenship, they were still treated as if they were unequal. The South had an extremely difficult time accepting African Americans as equals, and did anything they could to prevent the desegregation of all races. During the Reconstruction Era, there were plans to end segregation; however, past prejudices and personal beliefs elongated the process.
What event caused the Civil Rights Movement to begin: Brown vs. Board of Education, the Emmett Till Murder, or the arrest of Rosa Parks? Throughout years after the abolishment of slavery, many different racial groups have faced a lot adversity.From the earliest years of the european settlement, whites have enslaved and suppressed our blacks.After the Civil war sparked the abolishment of slavery, a harsh system of white supremacy persisted thereafter.
Martin Luther King, Jr. lost his life trying to better the lives of African American people who, because of their skin color, didn’t have the same rights as white people in America. King was a man of integrity and passion with a vision of a desegregated society. He played a part in the Civil Rights Movements where he eventually went to jail because of his protesting, and he became involved in the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott.
Crack! Back, back, back the ball goes. Home run! Who hit it? It was Jackie Robinson, the first black baseball player in the major league. Many people would agree Jackie was one of the best players to ever swing a bat. However, he faced many difficulties on his journey to becoming a professional baseball player. Without Jackie playing in the pros, baseball and civil rights wouldn’t be the way it is today. Baseball may have taken a long time to not be made up of mainly white players. Jackie was a beacon of hope to black people in the fact that they could compete and succeed in a white man’s sport.
Civil rights can be defined as the rights for individuals to receive equality. This equality includes the right to equal jobs, justice, the right to be free from harsh treatment and discrimination from the whites in various ways. These rights include education, voting rights, employment, same sex marriages, housing, and many more. Civil rights include gay and lesbian rights, women rights to vote and hold positions in offices, African- Americans and Hispanics as well. Looking at it from a historically, the civil rights movement is the fights, protest, and demonstrations all in a non-violent form by African-Americans to achieve equality amongst whites. Today, civil rights can be used to describe the call for equality for all people regardless of culture, race, sex, age, disability, national origin, religion, or certain other characteristics.
Segregation was an issue in the past that a lot of the population did not wanted to deal with. Even some presidents did not touch the topic because it could cost them their re-election, but as time went on, the topic of African Americans wanting equality in all aspects of life increased among audiences and since then nothing has been the same.
To the average person, in the average American community, Jackie Robinson was just what the sports pages said he was, no more, no less. He was the first Negro to play baseball in the major leagues. Everybody knew that, but to see the real Jackie Robinson, you must de-emphasize him as a ball player and emphasize him as a civil rights leader. That part drops out, that which people forget. From his early army days, until well after his baseball days, Robinson had fought to achieve equality among whites and blacks. "Jackie acted out the philosophy of nonviolence of Martin Luther King Jr., before the future civil rights leader had thought of applying it to the problem of segregation in America"(Weidhorn 93). Robinson was an avid member of the NAACP and helped recruit members because of his fame from baseball. Jackie had leadership qualities and the courage to fight for his beliefs. Unwilling to accept the racism he had run into all his life, he had a strong need to be accepted at his true worth as a first-class citizen. Robinson was someone who would work for a cause - that of blacks and of America - as well as for himself and his team.
The Civil Rights Movement of the 50's and 60's was arguably one of the most formative and influential periods in American history. Hundreds of thousands of civil rights activists utilized non violent resistance and civil disobedience to revolt against racial segregation and discrimination. The Civil Rights Movement began in the southern states but quickly rose to national prominence. It is of popular belief that the civil rights movement was organized by small groups of people, with notable leaders like—Martin Luther King, Jr, Rosa Parks, Medgar Evers, and even John F. Kennedy—driving the ship. That is partly correct. The Civil Rights Movement, in its truest form, was hundreds of thousands of people organizing events and protests, working together to ensure that every American—whether black, white, brown and anything in between—had the right to a prosperous and harmonious life.