The murder that changed the world Between 1882 and 1968, 4,743 people were lynched. Lynching is the execution of an offender by a mob without trial. Out of the 4,743 people lynched, 3,383 of those were black. One of the many victims of this crime was 14 year-old Emmett Till. While visiting his family in Money, Mississippi, Till was abducted from his home by two white men. These men beat Emmett Till and then shot him to death. Three days later, Till’s body was found in the Tallahatchie River. The death of Emmett Till helped forward the Civil Rights Movement by angering the nation which pushed many African Americans into the fight for civil rights. Emmett Louis Till, born on July 25,1941, was an only child who grew up in Chicago Illinois. …show more content…
Living in Chicago, Emmett Till didn’t quite understand the dangers of living down south. While there Till and his cousins visited a shop. When Emmett Till was walking out, he supposedly whistled at the white woman working the counter. A few days later, on August 28,1955, this woman’s brother in law and husband hunted down Till and abducted him from his uncle’s home. These two white men beat Emmett Till and then proceeded to shoot him to death. Three days later, Till was found in the Tallahatchie River. His body was tied to a cotton gin fan with barbed wire. Emmett Till’s body was so badly beaten that police could only identify it as him because of the ring, which his mother had given him, on his finger. As one may imagine, Till’s mother was devastated to hear the news about her son (“The murder of Emmett Till”). Police urged Mami Till to bury her son’s body as soon as possible. However, this heart broken mother decided to have Emmett Till’s body shipped back to Chicago so she could have a funeral. Mami Till decided to have an open casket funeral because she wanted to “let the world see what has happened.” Emmett Till’s body was on display for five days. Thousands came to the church to see the distorted face of this fourteen year old child. Jet magazine and Chicago Defender published images of Till to show the world the tragic event that had happened (Jennifer