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Racial discrimination effect on society
The effects of racial discrimination
Throughout this paper I have discussed the events surrounding the death of Emmett Till
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In the early 1900’s racism was a force to be reckoned with, but not knowing the dangers of the south, Emmett Till was unaware of his actions and the consequences. While visiting his uncle in Mississippi Emmett Till was murdered for whistling at a white woman. Not knowing the dangers of the south Emmett acted like his casual, cocky self. Emmett Till’s death is thought to be the spark of the Civil Rights Movement (Crowe). Even though everyone knew who had murdered Emmitt, the men were never put to justice or charged. Emmett Louis Till was 14 year old black boy from Chicago, who had never been to the south and did not know what went down in the south. Emmett’s father Louis Till was killed in WWII. His mother Mamie Till was a single mother that worked long hours. Emmett was going down to Mississippi to visit his uncle and his cousins (Mamie Till). According to his mother he was a nice cocky boy that loved to talk. This gives us a little insight of how lightly Emmett would take his visit to the south. Also according to his family he was childish, playful, and mischievous (Mamie Till). Now knowing how Emmett Till acted it is easier to see who he was and why he did the thing he did. Emmett Till went down to Mississippi with his cousins to visit their …show more content…
But back then there were no black people in law enforcement. The two men were only tried for kidnapping and not for murder (Mamie Till). This just explains how vague the police and FBI searched to really find out what had happened. There were witnesses to the kidnapping (Emmett’s Family) but, they still did not find the men guilty due to lack of evidence. The trial was a two week speedy trial and the men were never convicted of anything (Gale Student Recourses). Adding to the fact that the trial was speedy, there was a decent amount of evidence to tie the men to kidnapping but, with the all-white jury there was really no chance of justice
The forties and fifties in the United States was a period dominated by racial segregation and racism. The declaration of independence clearly stated, “All men are created equal,” which should be the fundamental belief of every citizen. America is the land of equal opportunity for every citizen to succeed and prosper through determination, hard-work and initiative. However, black citizens soon found lack of truth in these statements. The Montgomery Bus Boycott and the murder of Emmett Till in 1955 rapidly captured national headlines of civil rights movement. In the book, Coming of Age in Mississippi, the author, Anne Moody describes her experiences, her thoughts, and the movements that formed her life. The events she went through prepared her to fight for the civil right.
On August 28, 1955, fourteen year old Emmett Till was beaten, tortured and shot. Then with barbed wire wrapped around his neck and tied to a large fan, his body was discarded into the Tallahatchi River. What was young Emmett’s offense that brought on this heinous reaction of two grown white men? When he went into a store to buy some bubblegum he allegedly whistled at a white female store clerk, who happened to be the store owner’s wife. That is the story of the end of Emmett Till’s life. Lynchings, beatings and cross-burning had been happening in the United States for years. But it was not until this young boy suffered an appalling murder in Mississippi that the eyes of a nation were irrevocably opened to the ongoing horrors of racism in the South. It sparked the beginning of a flourish of both national and international media coverage of the Civil Rights violations in America.
“[Emmett Till's murder was] one of the most brutal and inhuman crimes of the 20th century,” according to Martin Luther King Jr. On August 28, 1955 in Money, Mississippi, a 14 year old boy named Emmett Till from Chicago was beaten and mercilessly murdered by two white men for flirting with a white woman. The death of this unknowing child shocked the nation and was undeniably an important catalyst for the civil rights movement.
The “Awakening”, part of the “Eyes on the Prize” series, addresses civil rights, or lack thereof, in the 1950’s. The film highlights two individual’s choices to take a stand against the white supremacy, and the ripple effect that acts cause. The first person featured was Mose Wright. His nephew, Emmett Till, was murdered by two white men. They were angered over the fact that Emmett had spoken to two white women in a flirtatious manner. Mose Wright made the decision to testify in court against the white men. This was a very dangerous act on Mose’s behalf. Speaking to, let alone, against the other race could easily cost him his life. At the end of a very long and public trial, the men were found not guilty.
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.
On August 28th, 1955. A young, African American, fourteen year old boy, Emmett Louis “Bobo” Till, was murdered in Money, Mississippi after flirting with a white woman (“Emmett Till”, 2014). Emmett Till’s story brought attention to the racism still prevalent in the south in 1955, even after attempts nationwide to desegregate and become equal. Emmett’s harsh murder and unfair trial brought light into the darkness and inequality that dominated the south during the civil rights movement. Emmett’s life was proof that African American’s were equal to whites and that all people were capable of becoming educated and successful even through difficulties. Emmett’s death had an even greater impact, providing a story and a face to the unfair treatment of African Americas and proof of the progress that still needed to be made in the civil rights of all people. (“The death of”, n.d.)
In America, the fortie s and fifties was a time of racism and racial segregation. The Declaration of Independence states “all men are created equal” and America is viewed as the land of equal opportunity. However, blacks soon found the lack of truth in these statements; and with the Montgomery bus boycott marking the beginning of retaliation, the civil rights movement will grow during the mid – sixties. In the autobiography, Coming of Age in Mississippi, Anne Moody describes the environment, the thoughts, and the actions that formed her life while growing up in the segregated southern state of Mississippi. As a young child, Moody accepted society as the way it was and did not see a difference in the skin color of a white person as opposed to that of a black. It was not until a movie incident did she begin to realize that the color of her skin made her inferior. “Their whiteness provided them with a pass to downstairs in that nice section and my blackness sent me to the balcony. Now that I was thinking about it, their schools, homes, and streets were better than mine.” Soon after Moody entered high school, Emmett Till, a fourteen-year-old boy from Chicago, was killed for whistling at a white woman. “Emmett Till’s murder had proved it was a crime, punishable by death, for a Negro man to even whistle at a white woman in Mississippi.” Although her mother refused to give an explanation of the organization, Moody learned about the NAACP from one of her teachers soon after the incident. It was at age fifteen that Moody really began to hate people. Not only did she hate the whites that committed the murders, but she also hated the blacks for allowing the horrid actions to occur. When there were rumors about black men having sexual relationships with white women, Negro men became afraid even to walk the streets. One of Moody’s high school classmates, Jerry, was beaten after being accused of making telephone calls to a white operator with threats of molesting her. Even more tragic was the Taplin fire. A whole family was burned in the Taplin family home and although the police tried to blame it on a kerosene lamp, the blacks knew it was purposely started with gasoline. To get away from all the horrifying things going on in her town, Moody leaves to stay with family members in Baton Rouge.
His mother had good grades and was the fourth African-American to graduate. When Till was 5 years old he was diagnosed with polio, but he got full recovery. He never got the chance to meet his father, because he was in the army in WWII. His family received word that his father had been executed for “willful misconduct” while serving in Italy. Louis, Emmett’s father, had raped two Italian women and killed the third.
The Supreme Court ruled, against President Eisenhower’s wishes, in favour of Brown, which set a precedent in education, that schools should no longer be segregated. This was the case which completely overturned the Jim Crow Laws by overturning Plessy vs. Ferguson. Up until 1955, many of the Northern, white Americans were unaware of the extent of the racism in the ‘Southern States’. One instance in 1955 changed that greatly. The death of Emmet Till became a vital incident in the civil rights movement due to the horrific pictures of the young boy that circulated throughout America.... ...
First of all, the decisions made by particular individuals, who were involved in Emmett Till's murder, contributed to the impact of this pivotal event, because the risky decisions made people aware of what they were capable of, especially for African Americans. Emmett's great-uncle, Mose Wright, was one of those who made an important decision. When the trial was held for Emmett's case, he decided to testify against the perpetrators, who killed Emmett. This contributed to the impact of Emmett's murder, because Wright was the first to courageously testify against whites in a court. In fact, this was a major thing, because at that time, blacks were afraid to testify. The reason was because they were afraid of being attacked by whites. They knew that if they testified a w...
Her name was “ Carolyn Bryant “ on ( August 24 th ). During the 1950’s, his body was found in a river that Bryant and Milam dumped him into. Bryant and Milam were found guilty of killing Emmett Till, who was beating to death on August 31st 1955. Bryant and Milam had made their way to Mr. Wright’s home and had Emmett at gunpoint. Emmett Till helped start the civil rights movement in the United States of America.
Emmett Till was a confident, daring, young boy from the North and not used to severe segregation. According to Linder Douglas, “Milam and Bryant described Till as defiant.” Therefore, when Till went down South to visit relatives, he had no idea what he was getting himself into. When Till was hanging out with other African Americans in the South, he bragged about the white girls he was friends with back in the North. He even claimed one for his girlfriend. The local boys, unable to believe this, dared Emmett Till to go talk to the white, female, clerk inside the store they were near by. Being the arrogant, rebellious boy Till was, he went into the store, bought a few things. As he left, he said "Bye baby" to Carolyn Bryant, the wife of the store owner (Cozzens.n.pag.).
The murder of Emmett Till ignited a spark in African Americans that was inevitable to go off. After the murder of Emmett Till, a 14 year old African American boy, American citizens were horrified. The civil rights movement soon came out of a dead period and rapidly emerged. Movements against white supremacists, boycotts, and marches were occurring all over the country. Many people involved thought of one person while they were protesting - Emmett Till. Emmett Till’s death was one of the major factors in the beginning of the Civil Rights movement because it provided people with a new outlook on the treatment of African Americans in the mid 1900’s.
07, October. "1955 Killing Sparked Civil Rights Revolution : Emmett Till: South's Legend and Legacy." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 07 Oct. 1985. Web. 30 Nov. 2013.
On August 28, 1955 A young boy named Emmitt Till was brutally murdered by some white men in the south. Emmitt Till lived up North where blacks had equal rights but he had to come stay with his Uncle that summer. Emmitt being from the North meant he didn’t know how blacks were treated in the South. So one day he went to the store to buy some candy. On the way out he whistled at the White Female cashier. The men that were outside heard the boy whistle at her and they didn’t like that at all. So that night the men went to Emmitt’s uncles house an...