by Joshua Nguyen, Maiya Ortiz, and Zari Castaneda The Life of Emmett Till by Joshua Nguyen, Maiya Ortiz, and Zari Castaneda

Emmett and His Background Born on July 25, 1941 in Chicago, Illinois. Nickname: Bobo Only child to Mamie Carthan and Louis Till Raised by his mother and grandmother, without his father During WW2, Emmet's father joined the army, but died at 1945 in Europe. At the age of 5, he was diagnosed with polio He was matured at a very young age Attended the all-black McCosh Grammar School in Greenwood, Mississippi. Emmet Till, also known as "Bobo", was born on July 25, 1941 in Chicago, Illinois. Emmet Till grew up in a middle-class black neighborhood on Chicago's South Side. He was the only child to Mamie Carthon and Louis Till. At 1942 (During WW2), Emmet's father joined the army, but died at 1945 in Europe. Born without knowing his father, his mother and grandmother took care of him. At the age of 5, he was diagnosed with polio, which caused a stutter that remained for the rest of his life. Still, he recovered and lived his life healthy and normally. Since his mother works for more than 12-hours a day, he took full responsibility on housework at a very young age. Emmet Till attended the all-black McCosh Grammar School. His classmates describe him as a funny, chubby kid.

Leading Events Till was visiting relatives in Money, Mississippi when he spoke to 21 year old Carolyn Bryant, who was married. He met Carolyn at Bryant's Grocery and Meat Market when he went there to buy candy with other teenagers. Inside the store he was told by other boys to talk to her. Some people said he wolf-whistled at her, grabbed her hand, and flirted with her. Though the events in the store are still disputed. An alarmed Bryant ran to a car to retrieve a pistol. Once Till and others saw the gun they ran. Word quickly spread about the incident and Till wanted to return home. Once Bryant's husband, Roy and his half brother J.W. Milam found out they were furious. Emmett Till went into Bryant's Grocery and Meat Market where other teenagers told him to talk to a white woman. That woman was Carolyn Bryant whose husband owned the store. Till reportedly flirted with her and made sexual advances towards her. This frightened her so she went and got a pistol. Once all the boys saw the gun they ran. Soon word started to spread about the incident and later Carolyn's husband found out. When Roy Bryant found out he was not happy and neither was his half brother J.W. Milam.

Murder On August 28 1995, at approximately 2:30am, Roy Byrant and his half-brother went on a search for Emmet. They kidnapped him from his uncle's home, beat him up, and threw his body into the Tallahatchie River On August 28, at approximately 2:30am, Roy Bryant and his half-brother searched for Emmet. Byrant and his half-brother J.W. Milam wanted to get revenge for the incident that happened. As they found him in his uncle's home, they harshly beat him up, shot him in the head, gauged out one of his eyes, tied him, and threw his body into the Tallahatchie River.

After Murder On August 31, a fisherman named Robert Hodges found Emmet's corpse, pulled it out of the river. Emmet's uncle immediately recognizes the body from a ring with the initials "L.T." Emmet's mother requested for his corpse to be sent back to Chicago, and to be displayed in an open-casket Emmet's mother wanted to show the whole world what racist murderes did to her son. On August 31 1995, a fisherman named Robert Hodges saw feet sticking out of the river. He pulled Emmet's corpse out of the water, and loaded it into a boat. Emmet's uncle immediately recognizes the body from a ring with the initials L.T. This ring used to belong to Emmet's father. Before the day Emmet left to Mississippi, Emmet's mother gave him that ring. After the death of Emmet, Emmet's corpse was sent back to Chicago. Emmet's mother requested for his son's funeral to be an open casket, in order for people to see the damages of racism.

The Trial The Emmett Till trial attracted a lot of attention from the press. The trial was held on September 1955 and lasted for five days. Bryant and Milam were found not guilty by an all white male jury. This caused an intense outcry from around the world because later the two confessed to Look magazine that they had committed the murder. Problems with identifying Till's body was a reason Bryant and Milam were not found guilty. Even after they confessed to the murder because of Double Jeopardy they were innocent. Later in 2004 the case was officially reopened to see if the body was really Till's which it was. The trial for Emmett Till was a very popular one. Many people showed up to it and it got a lot of attention from the press. The trial did not last very long and it was even reopened a few times. Bryant and Milam were not found guilty which angered many people. Later they even confessed to Look magazine that they had murdered Till. But because of Double Jeopardy they were innocent.

Affects of Murder His murder was a catalyst because: Caused the Congress to make a decision in Brown v. Board of Education to end racial splitting in public school 100 years later, inspired Rosa Parks to stand her ground against moving seats in a bus in Alabama 9 years afterward, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, making racial splitting and discrimination outlawed 1 year after that, the Voting Rights Act was passed, letting people vote without racial discrimination His murder affects life today in a good, positive note and helped "open" the eyes of many; providing a catalyst for racial equality. His story inspired other Africans to fight for freedom. This resulted in Congress making a decision in the Brown v. Board of Education to outlaw racial segregation in public schools. 100 years after Emmett got murdered, Rosa Parks stood up to a person asking her to move to the back of a bus in Alabama, because she was African American. Inspired by Emmett, she still sat there and sparked a controversy. 9 years after that, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, outlawing racial discrimination and racial segregation. The Voting Rights Act was then passed 1 year afterward, stopping racial discrimination in voting.

Bibliography "Emmett Louis Till" TheBiography.com September 4, 2014 "Emmett Till" Wikipedia.org September 4, 2014 "The Death of Emmett Till." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 05 Sept. 2014. "The Emmett Till Murder Trial" law2.umkc.edu September 4, 2014