Reflection on Emmett Till

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June 10, 2013 Reflection on “The Murder of Emmett Till” The 2003 documentary video “The Murder of Emmett Till,” depicts the story of the murder of a 14-year old African American boy in Mississippi in 1955. Emmett Till, from Chicago, was visiting his family in Money, Mississippi. Two white men, Roy Bryant, and J. W. Milam, kidnapped Emmett for whistling at Roy’s wife, Carolyn Bryant, a few days before at a grocery store. Emmett was then brutally beaten, shot and killed by Bryant and Milam. His body was later found in a river. Emmett Till’s mother, Mamie Till, held an open casket funeral for Emmitt so the world can see what was done to her son. Roy Bryant and J. W. Milam were charged with kidnapping and murdering Emmett Till, but were later found not guilty by an all white jury. The injustice of the event was significant in serving as a fuel for the African-American Civil Rights Movement. The story of Emmett Till’s murder is not new to me for I have learned about it in middle school and high school. However, I don’t remember the details. I only remembered Emmett Till was killed by a few white men who were angry that Emmitt whistled at a white woman. I also remembered Emmett’s mother chose to have an open casket at his funeral. Watching the documentary I learned a lot of new information and relearned the information I forgotten. Some information I learned or relearned from the documentary included: Emmett Till was from Chicago and is visiting down in Mississippi where there is segregation, the jury serving in the case was all white and from the same area the murderers were from, the jury found the defendants not guilty because the state couldn’t confirm the identity of the body as being Emmett Till, the Rosa Parks incident happened about 100 days after the murder, and Emmett’s murder help fuel the African-American Civil Rights Movement. I learned
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