My Graded Historical Essay (My Revisions)

8/2/2019 My Graded Historical Essay (My Revisions)

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RaShawn Thurman

ENG 1102

Mr. Borero

Historical Analysis Paper

Lynching at its Finest

August 28, 1955 to some people is just another day in the past. This specific date might

not even ring a bell to some people, but to those who are educated on that specific date know

how traumatic August 28, 1955 truly was. Everyone is aware that during this time period racism

played a huge part in everybodys live whether you were African-American, Caucasian or even

Hispanic. Our ancestors were all racist towards each other for idiotic reasons that started

unwanted problems. Racism is hurtful in many ways than one. People do not like to be

discriminated against for any reason and it shouldnt be like that. Although racism was a huge

factor in the early 1900s, it still serves a purpose today. Several people have lost a lot due to

acts of racism, including their lives. Although it more frowned upon these days, this special case

of Emmet Till did not get so lucky. The Emmet Till case was the starting foundation of the civil

rights movement and will always be remembered as one of the most respected hate crimes to

date.

Emmet Till, born July 25, 1941 was an African-America boy who was born and raised in

Chicago, Illinois by Mamie Till (Whitfield 1). Mamie admitted that she had struggled in the past

to have children. To her, Emmett was truly her miracle child and losing her only son broke her

heart more than the average mother. On August 21, 1955, Emmett and his cousin arrived in

Money, Mississippi to spend some quality time with some of Mamies extended family,

specifically Emmetts Great Uncle, Moose Wright. Mamie did not think anything that something


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would happen to her son, Emmet, solely because he was only to be in Money, Mississippi for a

short two weeks (Whitfield 1). Little did she know, sending Emmett to Mississippi would be that

last time she would see her son alive. The 1950s were known to be a time when racism was at

its highest point, also known as the spark for the civil rights movement. Although it is not okay

for anyone to be murdered, Emmett Till was the victim of both racism and jealousy.

Emmetts murder was something that even today is still frowned upon. Young fourteen-

year old (14) Emmett entered a grocery store in Money, Mississippi, down the street from his

Great Uncles house. According to The Lynching of Emmett Till, Emmett was overly confident

with his relationships with his white friends back at home in Chicago, Illinois (Metress 14). His

southern cousins dared Emmett to go into the Bryant Grocery Store and say something to the

white woman, Carolyn Bryant, which was working the register (Metress 15). Emmett willingly

accepted that challenge and moments later found himself making a purchase just to speak to the

woman at the counter. Although it is uncertain about what was actually said, some would say

that Emmett wolf whistled to Carolyn, but we do know that whatever was exchanged between

Emmett and the cashier changed how we view the world when it comes to race (Metress 17).

Although Emmett was close to the Caucasian race back in Chicago, people treat you different

when you enter a different part of the world. Even in todays society, it is often said that how you

get treated in the northern part of the country is different than how people in the south will treat

you. No matter your ethnicity, gender or any other stereotype, the average person will get

judged. Jealousy is something almost everybody will encounter at some point in their lifetime. It

is how you deal with jealousy that makes you the person you are. To most people, Emmetts

action seemed small and even slightly charming, yet this small act is something that angered

southerns so much that it cost a young man his life. But what was the real reason Roy Bryant


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got so angry over this innocent boy? Roy Bryant and Carolyn might have some other underlying

issues and the fact that Emmett wolf whistled at Carolyn might have added fuel to the fire.

Although no one is certain about what words were exchanged, it resulted in the brutal

murder of Emmett Till. Several nights after Emmett spoke to the Carolyn Bryant, her husband

Roy and his half-brother J. W. William arrived at Wrights residence (Emmett Tills Uncle) and

abducted Emmett Till. From there, the pair of them took Emmett to a barn where the brutally

murdered the young boy by beating Emmet, gouged out one of his eyes, and shot him in the head

(Whitfield 6). If that wasnt enough torture for Emmett, Roy Bryant and his brother, they tied a

seventy (70) pound weight to his neck with barbed wire and disposed of the body in the

Tallahatchie River where there the body was discovered and retrieved three (3) days later as it

surfaced in the river (Whitfield 8). Both Roy Bryant and J. W. Milam were immediately re-

arrested when the body appeared. Emmett Tills defenseless body was soon returned back to

Chicago, Illinois to be re-united with his distraught mother, Mamie. Mamie insisted on having a

public funeral to show the world the brutality ofher sons murder and to bring justice for

Emmett. According to PBS,tens of thousands of people attended Tills funeral where it was an

open casket funeral (PBS par. 2) In this casket laid a disfigured, innocent, little boy who was

brutality murder for no reason. This incident rose awareness all through Chicago to bring justice

for Emmett and his family who had to live with the pain and suffering. Soon after the incident,

Emmetts open casket pictures ended up being published in the newspaper and stirred up more

controversy. Black rallies and white support groups swept the nation all for Emmett Tills

justice.

September 24, 1955, Emmetts case finally had the jury members to go to trial,

but everyone was able to agree that it already started off as unfair trial. Tills trial consisted of


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all-white Mississippi jury that only last sixty-seven (67) minutes. In these sixty-seven (67)

minutes of deliberation, both Rob Bryant and J. W. Milam were acquitted for the murder of

Emmett Till (Metress 86). The many weeks that lead up to the trial, newspapers and all forms of

media shared their voice on the case. It seemed as if everyone knew these two were guilty of

murder and just knew that Emmett would get justice, but when they were acquitted, it only made

the media share their voice more. There were several unanswered questions that arose after the

trail had ceased. Author Christopher Metress ofThe Lynching of Emmett Till, raised quite a few

questions that got the public thinking more about the case.

For instance, what really had happened that afternoon in the Bryant grocery? Moreover,

how did Milam and Bryant find out about the alleged transgression? Who else besidesMilam and Bryant drove out to Mose Wrights cabin that night, and who were the othermen spotted with Milam at the barn the next morning? Were there really black men in

Milams pickup that evening? If so, who were they and what had happened to them?

Finally, how long did Emmett Till remain alive that night, and exactly when, where, why

and how did his murder take place? (Metress 90)

Reporters and even those who nothing about the legal system knew that because these specific

questions hadnt been answered in full, no one knew the truth about Emmetts murder.

Around this time, the Brown v. Education was in high demand in the media that had

everyone feeling as though the system had made a few questionable decisions. At this time, it

took a little while for people to fully cope with the idea that someone had gotten away with the

murder of a young African-American boy just because insufficient evidence (Crowe 6). Little

did everyone realize that this case was never going to officially close. Years even decades later,

people still search to get justice for Emmitt. In 2004, the court system decided to re-open the

Emmitt Till murder case. Although racism isnt as bad as it was back in the fifties, people still

feel sorrow for the Till family. Unfortunately, the re-opening of the case in 2004 came to a dead


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end as well. At this point, there wasnt enough evidence to stand in trial and once again had to

dismiss the case. At this point, Roy Bryant had already passed away so in a sense, nothing got

answered. An innocent boy was murdered and the murder got away with it. In the earlier trial,

both Roy and J. W basically had nothing to say. It was recorded that they simply said that had

nothing to do with the murder and the jury made their decision within an hour.

Emmett Tills murder served as a catalyst for a lot of the racism that took place. After the

world realized that Emmet Till wasnt served justice, other influential people took a stand in the

world. It is said to believe that this particular case influenced Rosa Parks to not give up her seat.

There are so many unanswered questions that need to be resolved before this case can be put to

rest. It isnt okay for someone to get away with murder whether they are black, white, or any

other race. It is never okay to commit murder and those who do should be punished according to

their crime. Emmett Till will get his justice. It may not be today or even tomorrow, but his case

has impacted more lives then he will ever know. i


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Works Cited

Whitfield, Stephen J.A Death in the Delta: The Story of Emmett Till. Baltimore, Maryland: The

John Hopkins University Press , 1988. Print.

Metress, Christopher . The Lynching of Emmett Till: A Documentary Narrative. The University

of Virginia Press , 2002. Print.

"The Murder of Emmett Till ."American Experience: PBS. PBS, Web. 10 Feb.

.

Crowe, Chris. Getting Away with Murder. New York, NY: Dial Books, 2003. Web. 10 Feb.

Bradford, William. "Approved Killing in Missisppi ." Web. 10 Feb.

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My Graded Historical Essay (My Revisions)