Eisenhower key events - The murder of Emmett Till 1955

Question 1

Who was Emmett Till?

Answer 1

-an AA 14 year old boy who was brought up in Mississippi was murdered for flirting with a white woman (Carolyn Bryant) on August 28th 1955, early in the morning, in Chicago whilst visiting family

Question 2

What happened to Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam (the murderers)?

Answer 2

-weren’t prosecuted as the white jury explaining they believed that the state had failed to prove the identity of the body

Question 3

What was Emmett Till known for?

Answer 3

-he was known for pulling pranks and was boasting to his friends about having a white girlfriend

Question 4

What did Emmett Till do?

Answer 4

-his friends told him to go and flirt with a white woman in a nearby store
-shopkeepers reported that he grabbed her and made lewd comments and then ‘wolf-whistled’ as he walked out

Question 5

What was the impact of his murder?

Answer 5

-outraged many people in the country by the Jury’s decision not to induct Milam and Byrant on separate charges of kidnapping
-the murder of Emmett Till also gave impetus for AAs and highlighted the brutality of Jim Crow laws