Extra Credit: Emmett Till

The story of Emmett Till is a tragic one; probably one of the hardest stories I have had to hear. I was unaware that this was the main cause of the civil rights movement. If I would’ve known that a mere child’s death was the cause of such revolution, I would have had more of a grander interest in the expansion. Emmett Till was sent to Mississippi to visit his family for a break. He got on the train and headed south. When he got off the train he was mystified by the beauty of the south. Emmett and some of his cousins went to a corner drug store to get something. When they entered the store Emmett was being a little “fresh” with the woman at the counter. When they walked out, that’s when the trouble began. Emmett whistled at the woman and that was the end of that. A few days later, Emmett’s body was found floating the Tallahatchie river. He had been severely beaten, shot, mutilated and tied to a 70 pound cotton gin fan. Emmett’s mother and the police could barely identify the body because of the state of his face. When looking at the pictures of what he looked liked, I was in complete and utter disbelief. He barely looked human. His face looked like melted leather and his body was in terrible condition. I have no idea how a human being could be so cruel and rotten. Emmett was only 15 years old. He was barely a man. It’s scary how three grown men could do that to a child. It is like they didn’t have a heart to begin with. At the trial, they looked like they could care less about what they did. They smirked and smiled at camera because they already knew that a white southern man would never be convicted for killing a nigger. The way they spoke about the blacks in the community, was like they were speaking about worthless cattle. Emmett’s mother would write letters to the Supreme Court and even to the president of the United States and would get no reply. It’s as if the world didn’t care about a little black boy who “fell” into the Tallahatchie. But one good thing came out of this case. Because of the courage Emmett’s mother had, other African Americans raised their voices and forced people to listen. This was the beginning of the civil right movement. I feel such disgust when I think about those murders. The injustice in this case is clear. I hope the world will learn from this mistake. This story should inspire all people to change their racist ways because this can happen to anyone. I hope that when people read about Emmett Till, they think twice about treating different people with detestation.