Emmett Till

Birthday July 25, 1941

Birth Sign Leo

Birthplace Chicago, IL

DEATH DATE Aug 28, 1955 (14)

#5,639 Most Popular

About

African-American youth who was beaten and murdered for talking to 21-year-old Carolyn Bryant, a white woman, in 1955. His murder and subsequent trial were pivotal events in the instigation of the African-American Civil Rights Movement and were covered heavily in the 1987 Emmy award-winning series Eyes on the Prize.

Before Fame

He attended McCosh Elementary School.

Trivia

Carolyn's husband, Roy, and his half-brother Milam abducted 14-year-old Till, removed one of his eyes, and shot him before tying a 70-pound cotton gin fan to his neck with barbed wire and dumping him in the Tallahatchie River.

Family Life

His mother Mamie Elizabeth Till insisted that he had a public funeral with an open casket to publicize his death.

Associated With

Bryant and Milam were acquitted of his murder, although they admitted to killing him in a magazine interview. The trial added momentum to the Civil Rights Movement, which was led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.