Similarities Between Emmett Till And The Scottsboro Trial

The Emmett Till murder shined a light on the horrors of segregation and racism on the United States. Emmett Till, a young Chicago teenager, was visiting family in Mississippi during the month of August in 1955, but he was entering a state that was far more different than his hometown. Dominated by segregation, Mississippi enforced a strict leash on its African American population. After apparently flirting with a white woman, which was deeply frowned upon at this time in history, young Till was brutally murdered. Emmett Till’s murder became an icon for the Civil Rights Movement, and it helped start the demand of equal rights for all nationalities and races in the United States.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, one of the leaders of the local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People [NAACP] refused to give up her seat to a white person on a segregated city bus in Montgomery, Alabama, despite being reprimanded by the driver (Schulke 166). Montgomery, Alabama was known for its terrible treatment of blacks. The buses in particular had been a source of tension between the city and black citizens for many years (Schulke, 167). As a result of refusing to give up her seat, Rosa Parks was arrested. Rosa Parks' popularity among the black community, proved to be the spark that ignited the non-violent Civil Rights Movement (Norrell 2).

A theme for the Mississippi Trial 1955 is justice. African Americans wanted justice and equality throughout the book. The trial of Emmett Till represented justice even though Roy and J.W were convicted not guilty because the African American witnesses were able to participate in the trial. This unfair trial will be told throughout history, which will prove the racist acts that were convicted on African Americans. Emmett Till’s mother had an open casket for her son, because she wanted

The death of a young African American male in 1955 haunted the south and the African American society. Images of Emmett Till hanging in a tree were plastered on television and in newspapers for Joseph McNeil, Ezell Blair Jr., Franklin McCain, and David Richmond to see while attending North Carolina A & T College in 1960. These four African American men would soon become known as the Greensboro Four after instigating a sit-in at a Woolworth’s store in Greensboro, North Carolina. Their courage and determination ignited a movement to end segregation not only in their state but across the nation. History was being made that day as the young men sat at the counter, customers inside watching as the events unfolded, and the impact of this incident permeating across American’s eyes.

Emmett’s story brought attention to the intense racism in Mississippi. His impact on black america was even greater than that of the Brown decision. He prompted national outrage and sparked the Civil Rights Movement . Just 100 days after Emmett’s death, Rosa Parks decided not to give up her seat on the bus, which started the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Emmett's death should be remembered by the Civil Rights Movement. He was a very inspirational figure that let people know that people should be treated equally regardless to their

The two white men’s justification for killing Emmett Till was a single moment when Emmett located a white woman in a grocery store and began to talk with her in a flirtatious manner. Emmett’s death took place a year after the Brown v. Board Of Education where the Supreme Court’s decision was to outlaw segregation. The true story of Emmett Till influenced me because it informed me of how times of changed from back when segregation was allowed and even after it wasn’t allowed and how violent whites were to blacks. It made my view of the world more aware to myself about how to treat people and others around you. I’ve read stories discussing segregation in the past that have influenced me just as Emmett Till’s story has. A quote interprets a little bit about how I feel and how angry I feel about the death of Emmett Till, “I think the picture in Jet Magazine showing Emmett Till’s mutilation was probably the greatest media product in the last forty or fifty years because that picture stimulated a lot of interest and anger on the part

In the year 1955, white men in the Mississippi Delta lynched a fourteen-year-old from Chicago named Emmett Till. His murder was part of a massive wave of white terrorism in the wake of the 1954 Supreme Court decision that declared public school segregation unconstitutional. Five years later, Black students launched sit-in campaigns that turned the struggle for civil rights into a

Write three paragraphs explaining how the case of Plessy v Ferguson affected race relations in the South and North.

2. "How have your ideas about African-American history in particular and history in general been shaped by the contexts in which you encountered these histories?"

In 1906, Ed Johnson was convicted after witnesses claimed he sexually assaulted white female by using a leather strap. Although Johnson provided numerous alibis about his part in the sexual assault, he was still convicted for the crime and sentenced to death by a jury of only white people. While in jail, Johnson was brutally murdered by a mob that broke in. Twenty-five years later, the Scottsboro Boys were convicted for gang rape of two white women while traveling on a train. Of the nine Scottsboro boys accused in this case, eight of them were sentenced to death. This conviction raised public awareness and was one factor that saw the birth of the Civil Rights Movement. Just a few years later, three African American men, Ed Brown, Arthur Ellington and Henry Shields were all beaten and tortured into confessing for the killing of a white farmer in Mississippi. This incident became the well known Supreme Court decision titled Brown v. Mississippi (Grimsley). These were just average African American men living average lives when suddenly they are accused of crimes they did not commit. Earl Smith and Angela J. Hattery says in their journal that “many of them were at least twenty six years old when incarcerated whereas, some were sent to prison while they were still in their late teens and early 20s.” Before they were incarcerated, many of them were still getting their education and building careers and relationships. While these men were accused of their crimes based on their race, there are other factors that play a role in a wrongful conviction.

Till was a 14-year-old boy from Chicago living in a single-parent household with his mother, Mamie Till. Emmitt came from a family of hard workers and achievers as his father enlisted in the army and his mother shined both professionally and academically. She was only one of four black students to graduate from Chicago’s predominantly white Argo Community High School and the first to make the school’s “A” Honor Roll (Bio). Upon Graduation, she worked as a clerk for the Air Force handling confidential files on a regular basis. They were knowledgeable to the struggle that African Americans face living during the 1950’s however, they remained blind to the plights of those who resided in the south. When Mamie sent Emmett to Money, Mississippi, she did not take into account that the south would yield a different breed of racism that they were used to. Emmitt Till’s impending destiny would meet him three days after arriving in Mississippi. On August 24th, 1955, Till and a group of teenagers went to Bryant’s Grocery and Meat

On the 28 of August, 2 white men came to visit my house at around 2:30 am. They pounded on the door and asked to talk to the boy, Emmett Till. Emmett admitted days before that he was scared that they would visit the house because he talkd to a white shop owner and had asked to leave, however, my wife Elizabeth Wright decided there was nothin’ to worry about and the situation had just been blown out of proportion. It is now the 29th of August at 7:30am and I haven’t heard nothin’ about my nephew, Emmett.

On August 28th, 1955. A young, African American, fourteen year old boy, Emmett Louis “Bobo” Till, was murdered in Money, Mississippi after flirting with a white woman (“Emmett Till”, 2014). Emmett Till’s story brought attention to the racism still prevalent in the south in 1955, even after attempts nationwide to desegregate and become equal. Emmett’s harsh murder and unfair trial brought light into the darkness and inequality that dominated the south during the civil rights movement. Emmett’s life was proof that African American’s were equal to whites and that all people were capable of becoming educated and successful even through difficulties. Emmett’s death had an even greater impact, providing a story and a face to the unfair treatment

The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. caused racial tensions to escalate even more. “Many whites openly celebrated the murder.” (Westheider 97) “The feeling of anger and frustration did not

On December 1st 1995 a thursday evening Rosa decided to refuse her seat to an American. Her refusal was casted as an act of bravery because she knew there would be consequences. Mrs.Parks bravery lead to the Montgomery bus boycott.