Power Point Presentation on Emmett Till

1. Melissa Campbell EDU 290 11am Emmett Till

2. Who was Emmett Till? An African American 14 year old boy Born July 25th 1951 in Chicago Illinois Was visiting Mississippi in 1955 for the summer Overall lived an average teenage boy life.

3. Emmett

4. Emmett’s Story While Emmett was visiting Mississippi he visited a store. In the store he made a comment to a woman worker. The woman and her husband did not like this comment Later on that day he walked by the house of this couple This is where he was abducted. When Emmett was found his whole body was severely beaten and bloated from the water.

5. The White Men’s Story An African American walked into their store and made a ‘fresh’ comment to the lady worker and whistled at her. The store owner who was this woman’s husband was upset with this comment. Told Emmett to leave the store. Later that night, Emmett was trespassing

6. How this incident was Viewed by Whites During these days, African Americans were not even supposed to look at white women. For Emmett to make a comment and whistle at this white woman was a huge deal The comment and whistle were seen as more than disrespectful Whites saw the husband and the woman as right and had every right to be upset.

7. How the Incident was Viewed by African Americans African Americans did not believe that Emmett had made this remark to the woman. They saw him as a young boy who just caused some mischief every once and awhile Believed the couple had no reason to be upset with what the boy had supposedly done.

8. The Story According to Text Stories printed in text now, say that it is unclear if Emmett did or did not make a comment and whistle to the white woman. Printed text does say that there was a misunderstanding and that in the long run, Emmett paid greatly for it.

9. Emmett’s Death Emmett’s death was horrid in the time period it took place in and in today’s society. He was beat and shot by two white men, one man being the husband of the woman from the store and the other being his half brother. Once they had done this they tied a rope with a weight around his body and threw him in the river.

10. The Court Case The jury was all white The judge was all white Rare for a case of white men lynching an African American to even be brought to trial The two white men, where acquitted of all charges and set free.

11. The White Men After the Case They were set free with no restrictions put in place and not even a slap on the wrist. Immune to any further prosecution The two men sold the actual true story of what happened to Emmett to the news for money This story was how they brutally killed Emmett and could not be re-tried for this case.

12. The African American’s View of the Case What was done to Emmett and his family was seen as unfair African Americans realized how much of a real accomplishment it was just to get these two men to trial African Americans saw this as an opening for them in the Civil Rights Movement.

13. The White’s View of the Case The whites saw these men as some sort of hero to their race. Felt they had accomplished something to push back the Civil Rights Movement. The whites believed these men should have never even seen the inside of a court room.

14. Emmett’s Mother

15. Emmett’s Mother Emmett’s Mother decided she wanted to let the world know what happened to her son. So, to accomplish this she held an open casket funeral for Emmett. There was not anyone who was not invited. She wanted everyone to see him so she could show people what a gruesome death was put upon her child.

16. How the Case Affected the Civil Rights Movement This case brought the generation of this time to make a social change. Emmett’s death helped get the Civil Rights Movement off the ground and brought it to a new level. Emmett’s story was used by many activists to show people what was wrong with the way society was.

17. Emmett’s Story Today Emmett’s story does not stop in 1955 50 years after the case, police reopened Emmett’s death. The FBI re-examined Emmett’s body In 2006 the FBI decided that there would not be any charges brought. When Emmett’s Mother died in 2003 she was still holding out hope for her son’s case to be re-opened. After Emmett’s body was exhumed, Emmett’s Mother published a book titled,Death of Innocence: The story of a hate crime that Changed America. Emmett’s headstone has been vandalized many times throughout the years.

18. Work Cited Picture of Emmett Till’s Mother http://www.flickr.com/photos/whsimages/4194826329/ Picture of Emmett Till http://www.flickr.com/photos/11304375@N07/2534273093/?reg=1&src=share The History of Jim Crow http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/resources/lessonplans/hs_es_emmett_till.htm Answers.com Reference Answers http://www.answers.com/topic/emmett-till q Facing History and ourselves http://www.facinghistory.org/resources/units/a-pivotal-moment-civil-rights-move?_kk=emmett%20till&_kt=60234d61-d597-4980-8193-ede6f2b39e71&gclid=CP-JtO7IrqcCFcfe4AodEysnVg