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“The murder of my son has shown me that what happens to any of us, anywhere in the world, had better be the business of us all.”
-- Mamie Till-Mobley, speaking at an NAACP rally in Ohio (1955)
24TH JANUARY 1956
24TH JANUARY 1956
LOOK MAGAZINE
William Bradford Huie's article The Shocking Story of Approved Killing in Mississippi was published in 1956 in Look magazine. The report features the murder of a young boy, the trial of his accused killers, and lays bare the deep racism and injustice of the Jim Crow south.
A BOY'S BATTERED BODY
A BOY'S BATTERED BODY
Emmett Till was brutally killed in the summer of 1955. At his funeral, his mother forced the world to reckon with the brutality of American racism. In this unprecedented exploration of 100 photographs that shaped the human experience, TIME goes behind each spectacular image to reveal how and why it changed the course of history.
TASK ONE - HE WAS ONLY FOURTEEN
TASK ONE - HE WAS ONLY FOURTEEN
In your book, write the heading He was only fourteen
Considering what you have learned so far, write the following questions - and your answers to them - in your book. You can click HERE to access a short written summary of the key events, to help you remember specific details.
a. Where and when was Emmett Till murdered?
b. When and where did the trial of Milam and Bryant take place?
c. Describe one outcome of the trial.
d. Describe why this trial is significant to at least one individual.
e. Describe why this trial is significant to at least one group.
3. Copy this table into your book -- though you should leave about five lines for each individual or group, i.e. the yellow spaces should be much taller than shown here. Complete the table, writing in complete sentences.
4. Click HERE to read excerpts from letters written to the editors of Look Magazine in response to their article The Shocking Story of Approved Killing in Mississippi.
5. Identify one letter that supports (encourages) the murder of Emmett Till. Copy the letter into your book.
6. Explain how your chosen letter demonstrates support for the murder. Write in complete sentences and use specific quotes from the letter to support your answer.
7. Identify one letter that condemns (disapproves of) the murder of Emmett Till. Copy the letter into your book.
8. Explain how your chosen letter condemns the murder. Write in complete sentences and use specific quotes from the letter to support your answer.
9. Referring to at least four sources (letters to the editor), write one paragraph that answers the following question: Did the readers of Look Magazine think Emmett Till’s killers should face criminal charges?
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