Emmett Till

  • Emmett Till was born.

    Emmett Till was born.
    Emmett was born in Chicago's Cook County Hospital to Louis and Mamie Till.
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    The Story of Emmett Till

  • Emmet was diagnosed with Polio.

    When Emmett was five he was diagnosed with Polio.
  • Emmett's school.

    Emmett attended the McCosh School in Chiago.
  • The day before Emmett leaves.

    The day before Emmett leaves.
    Mamie Till gives Emmett the ring once owned by his father, Louis Till. It is inscribed with the initials L.T.
  • Emmett Till arives in Mississippi.

    Emmett Till arives in Mississippi.
    Emmett arrives in Money, Mississippi, and goes to stay at his great uncle Moses Wright's house.
  • Emmett visits the store with some of his friends.

    Emmett joined a group of teenagers to go to Bryant's Grocery and Meat Market for refreshments to cool off after a long, hot day. Bryant's Grocery was owned by a white couple, Roy and Carolyn Bryant. Emmett went into the store to buy bubble gum. It was said that Emmett whistled at and talked to Carolyn Bryant.
  • Emmett Till is murdered.

    Emmett was taken from his uncles house at 2:30 a.m. Roy Bryant, and his half brother J. W. Milam, kidnap Emmett. They brutally beat him, took him to the edge of the Tallahatchie River, shot him in the head, then fastened a large metal fan used for ginning cotton to his neck with barbed wire, and pushed his body into the river.
  • Emmett Till's body was found.

    Emmett Till's decomposed body is pulled from the Tallahatchie River. Moses Wright identifies the body from the ring with the initials L.T.
  • Emmett Till's funeral.

    Emmett Till's funeral.
    Emmett's body was taken to Chicago's Roberts Temple Church of God for viewing and funeral services. Emmett's mother wanted to have an open casket funeral. She said, “Let the world see what I have seen.” Thousands of Chicagoans waited in line to see his terribly beaten body. Newspapers and magazines aimed at African American readers published photographs of the funeral.
  • Emmett's body is buried.

    Emmett's body is buried.
    Emmett is buried at Burr Oak Cemetery.
  • Emmett's murderers were taken to court.

    A Mississippi grand jury charged Roy Bryant and his half-brother J. W. Milam with Till’s murder. The murder trial began on Sept. 19, 1955, in Sumner, Mississippi. Several days later, a jury of 12 white males acquitted Bryant and Milam. After that neither of them faced further prosecution.