How Did Emmett Till Influence The Civil Rights Movement

1465 Words6 Pages

Many African Americans during the 1940s and so on were being lynched and murdered for no other reason other than racism. Whites did not like Negroes. They thought we were just worthless, beneath them and just plain out dumb. They would call us out our name such as the “N” word and degrade us. Emmett till was one of those African Americans who was murdered in that time period. He was murdered, degraded and thrown out like trash, he was living during the Civil Rights Movement and part of racism. Emmett Louis Till was born on July 25, 1941, in Chicago, Illinois, the only child of Louis and Mamie Till. Emmett never knew his father, because he was a private in the United States Army during World War ll. His parents got a divorce in 1942, and then …show more content…

By 1955, African Americans around the United States, including the South, had begun the struggle for justice. Emmett Till's murder was a spark in the upcoming of activism and the civil rights movement. In April of1960, Martin Luther King hosted a pilgrimage of 300 students from sit-ins in nine states. Almost all of them were close peers of Emmett Till in age. During the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s, many African-Americans were mistreated and subjected towards violence. On March 7, 1965, participants participating in the voting rights march in Selma, Alabama were attacked by the state troopers with nightsticks, tear gas and whips after refusing to turn around. This whole incident was captured on national …show more content…

I agree because it did show the world what happens to those who have been a victim of racism. Who has been tortured and lynched because somebody mistook something you did for something else. She also states "However, these stories also are a part of a collective story for change, they contribute to the struggle for justice. Emmett’s death sparked change in this nation and his mother ensured that his legacy lives on for eternity. While Emmett’s voice was silenced, the strength and courage of so many in the civil rights movement allowed for their collective voice to be heard and heeded." This is true because people like Rosa Parks stood and spoke out. Martin Luther King was another activist who spoke out alongside with Malcolm X. These are all phenomenal people who had a voice that others did not have the courage to

Open Document