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Emmett Till

I think the most important event in African American history since Reconstruction is the aftermath of the murder of Emmett Till.  Till was only 14 years old when he was tortured and killed by two white men in Money, Mississippi after flirting with a white woman at a store.  Till was beaten severely, shot and dumped into the Tallahatchie River, tied to a cotton gin fan.  African Americans were killed often in the South, many times by lynching.  The violence in the South towards African Americans was so prevalent that the two men that killed Till felt they were in the right and had no fear of being punished for this horrific crime.  When Till’s body was sent back to his mother in Chicago, she was shocked and horrified at how horrible her son’s body looked, due to the savage way Till was treated before and after he was killed.  Mamie Till Bradley made the decision to have an open casket funeral and to allow media to photograph his body before and during the funeral.  She wanted the world to see what had been done to her son.  The reason I chose this event in African American history is that the photos of Emmett Till’s corpse upset and angered people across the nation, black and white alike.  The two men were found not guilty by a jury of white men after only about an hour of deliberation.  After the men were cleared of all charges, they both spoke openly about and admitted to murdering Till.  Media from foreign countries also reported on the Till murder and court case.  The response of foreign nations was disbelief that a country so “democratic,” that wanted to spread democracy to other countries around the world would not punish such a devious crime.  Till’s death was near the beginning of the Civil Rights movement and I think Mamie Till Bradley’s decision sparked the Civil Rights movement into full gear.

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