Back in the 1950s, racism was really terrifying. Even today, racism is worse due to skin color and religion. Emmett Till is a prime figure on racism back in his early days in the 1950s.
Emmett Louis Till was born on July 25, 1941; in Chicago Illinois. He went to James McCosh Elementary School. And His parents were Mamie Till, Emmett's mother, and Louis Till, His father. Emmett and his mother, Mamie Till lived together in a busy neighborhood in Chicago's South Side, near distance relatives. Emmett was stocky and muscular; he weighed about 150 pounds and stood 5 feet 4 inches tall. He was a natty dresser and was often the center of attention among his peers.
In 1955, Till arrived in Money Mississippi, on August 21; to visit his great-uncle Mose Wright. Emmett and his cousin Curtis Jones skipped church and join some local boys as they went to Bryant's Grocery and Meat Market to buy some candy. The local boys were children of sharecroppers and had been picking cotton all day. The boys dared Emmett to talk to Carolyn Bryant; a white woman who was also in the store that day. According to the boys, Till made a wolf-whistled at Carolyn. After Till whistled to Carolyn, Carolyn went outside to her car and left immediately. After that one of the other boys ran across the street to tell Curtis Jones what happened in the store. Curtis was playing checkers at the time. The other gentlemen whom Curtis was playing checkers with; told all the boys to quickly leave. Later that day when Roy Bryant; Carolyn’s Brother, was informed of what happened, he aggressively talked to several young black men who entered the store. That evening, Roy; somehow learned that Emmett Till was from Chicago and was staying with his uncle.
In the morning around between 2:00 and 3:30am on August 28, 1955, Roy Bryant and his half-brother, J.W.Milam drove to Emmett’s uncle's house. Milam was armed with a pistol and a flashlight. He asked Emmett’s uncle if he had three boys in the house from Chicago. Till was sharing a bed with one of his cousins; there were eight people in Emmett’s uncle’s house. Milam threatened Emmett’s uncle to bring Emmett outside or he would be killed if he refused. Emmett came outside and the two men marched Till to their truck. They tied Till in the back of their truck and drove towards Mississippi. The two men drove Till to a barn in Drew; They pistol-whipped him on the way and knocked him out unconscious. Till was shot and tossed over the Black Bayou Bridge in Glendora, Mississippi; near the Tallahatchie River. The two men drove back to Roy’s home in Money, where they reportedly burned Emmett’s clothes.
Three days later after his abduction and murder, Till’s disfigured body was found by two boys who were fishing in the Tallahatchie River. His head was badly beaten, he had been shot near the right ear, an eye was popped out from the socket. There was evidence that he had been beaten on the back and hips, and his body weighted by a fan blade, which was fastened around his neck with barbed wire. He was nude, but wearing a silver ring with the initials “L.T.” and “May 25, 1943” carved in it. His face was unrecognizable due to the beaten and having been submerged in water. The silver ring Till wore was removed and returned to his uncle and next passed onto the authorities as evidence. Days later Roy and Milam were arrested for kidnapping and murder.
The trial was held in the county of courthouse in summer, The western seat of Tallahatchie County, because Till’s body was found in that area. The trial was held in September 1955 and lasted for five days. The courtroom was filled to capacity with 280 spectators; black attendees sat in segregated sections. In November 1955, a grand jury declined to indict Roy and Milam for kidnapping and murdering, despite their own admissions of having Till taken. About 68 minutes later to the courtroom to announce their verdict of “Not Guilty.” Six weeks after the muder trial, Leflore County grand jury refused to indict Roy and Milam on kidnapping and murdering charges, and both men were released from custody.
Till’s murder gain attention because of the brutality of the killing, the victim’s young age, and the two men who later admitted killing him. It became a symbol of the injustices suffered by black people in the south. Emmett Till will always be remembered in black history, and his story will never be forgotten.