Emmett Till: A Turning Point in Civil Rights
This worksheet explores the life and tragic death of Emmett Till, examining its significance as a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement.
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Emmett Till: A Turning Point in Civil Rights
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Read each question carefully and answer to the best of your ability. Use complete sentences for short answer questions.
Emmett Louis Till was a fourteen-year-old African American from Chicago, Illinois, who was brutally murdered in Mississippi in August 1955. Till was visiting relatives in Money, Mississippi, when he reportedly whistled at Carolyn Bryant, a white woman who was a cashier at a grocery store. Several days later, Bryant's husband, Roy Bryant, and his half-brother, J.W. Milam, abducted Till from his great-uncle's home, beat him, mutilated him, and shot him in the head. They then sank his body in the Tallahatchie River. Till's mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, insisted on an open-casket funeral in Chicago so that the world could see the brutality inflicted upon her son. The images of Till's disfigured body were published in magazines and newspapers, galvanizing public opinion and sparking outrage across the United States and internationally. The subsequent acquittal of Bryant and Milam by an all-white jury further fueled the Civil Rights Movement.
1. What was Emmett Till doing in Money, Mississippi, when he was abducted and murdered?
Attending school
Visiting relatives
Working at a grocery store
On a family vacation
2. What was the primary reason Mamie Till-Mobley insisted on an open-casket funeral for her son?
To show the world the brutality inflicted upon her son
To honor his memory privately
To protest segregation laws in Chicago
To raise money for his burial
3. Emmett Till was murdered in August in the state of .
4. The images of Till's disfigured body were published in magazines and newspapers, public opinion and sparking outrage.
5. Explain how the murder of Emmett Till and the subsequent trial impacted the burgeoning Civil Rights Movement in the United States.
6. The men accused of Emmett Till's murder were found guilty by an all-white jury.
True
False
7. Emmett Till was from Money, Mississippi.
True
False
8. Examine the image of the Emmett Till Memorial Highway sign. What does the existence of such memorials signify about the enduring impact of Emmett Till's story on American society?
