Free Essay

Lilmama

In:

Submitted By nannypooh16
Words 373
Pages 2
Emmett Till was a 14 year old colored boy from Chicago, IL. He lived there with his mother who grew up in Mississippi, a very segregated state. His father was not around much because he was in the service, but he left his mother a ring that had his initials engraved into it. One of Emmett's family members who still lived in Mississippi wanted Emmett to come stay with him for a little bit. Emmett's mother was nervous because she knew of the segregated ways of the south, nothing like Chicago. She warned him of what happens down there and he felt she was over exaggerating so he didn't pay too much attention. After Emmett took the train to Mississippi with his fathers ring his mother gave him before he left he stayed at a house with many other boys of his age from his family and was watched over by their uncle. They would all pick cotton for the first half of the day and then go swimming the second half. On a Wednesday after working in the cotton fields Emmett and the other boys went to a convenient store close by called Bryant's, owned by whites. The boys got their refreshments and exited the store. The owner, Roy Bryant's wife was standing outside of the store as they left and Emmett decided to turn around and whistle at the white woman. The other boys told him it was a very bad idea to do that. They were all scared for what might happen. Days went by of the normal routine and nothing happened so they stopped their worrying, but four days later after the incident on Sunday night as everyone was in bed there was a knock on the door. As their uncle, Mose, opened the door he saw two very big white men standing there with a pistol looking for Emmett. One of the men was Roy Bryant, the white woman's husband. They searched through the house for Emmett until they found him and violently took him out of his bed. Mose was begging for them to just give him a whipping because he was from the north and was only a little boy who didn't know any better.

Similar Documents