This document provides a timeline and details of the events surrounding the murder of Emmett Till in 1955. It describes how Till, a 14-year-old black boy from Chicago, was visiting family in Mississippi and was kidnapped and murdered after reportedly whistling at a white woman. The document highlights Till's courage in the face of racism and danger through various anecdotes and suggests he embodied American values of free speech.

1. Getting Away With Murder By Chris Crowe Emmett “Bobo” Till Zach Miller

2. Timeline 1946 Emmett catches polio and survives, fighting through the stutter it gave him. Even though he may have been teased about his speech, he became a popular kid. It’s very brave for someone to overcome physical challenges like that. 8/21/1955 Emmett arrives in Mississippi. It’s a very racist and segregated state, especially for young black men, but he doesn’t worry. He’s always fine… Emmett with his mom. 8/24/1955 Emmett takes his friends’ dare and tries to go and get a date with Carolyn Bryant, the local beauty queen. He is breaking an important Jim Crow law, and could get severely punished. 8/24/1955 Emmett walks up to Ms. Bryant and is “very rude” according to her. That action alone was punishable by a whipping in those days.

3. Timeline Carolyn Bryant, the reason for all of the trouble. 8/24/1955 Emmett reportedly put his hands on Ms. Bryant’s hips and said “You needn’t be afraid of me, baby. I been with white women before.” Afterwards, as Ms. Bryant came out of the store, he supposedly whistled at her. Those actions were punishable by death in some parts of the South, so this was particularly brave. 8/25/1955 Emmett owns up and tells his great-uncle, Mose Wright, what happened, knowing that Wright would probably punish him. Owning up to Something is much more courageous than shying away from it. 8/25-8/27/1955 Emmett and his folks consider sending Emmett home on the next train to Chicago,expecting white retaliation for his ‘talking’, but seeing none, they let him stay.

4. Timeline Emmett’s mutilated body. 8/28/1955 Emmett is kidnapped, but he does not cry or grovel as he is being taken away. I think that takes a particularly courageous person to look danger in the face like that and not flinch. 8/28/1955 Emmett takes the beating from J.W. Milam and Roy Bryant, and is still defiant after being cruelly mistreated. That shows a lot of courage to not at least try to run. 8/28/1955 Emmett talks back to Milam, reportedly responding that he was still as good as him. Milam shoots Emmett through the head. I don’t think that I could laugh in the face of danger like Emmett could. Knowing that saying something like that could very well kill you, then saying it anyway? One of the bravest things I’ve ever heard.

5. Character Traits Impulsive-Red Emmett knew he was breaking a Jim Crow law when he went up and talked to a white woman. He then supposedly whistled at her, a worse offense. He knew the unspoken law was being broken, but he impulsively took his friends’ dare anyways.

6. Character Traits Courageous-Red Emmett was courageous to go up and try to get a date with Carolyn Bryant, talking “smack” to her and risking the wrath of these two men, just to prove that he could. Just to talk to a white woman could provoke these kinds of people, and Emmett went much farther than that. That is a very, very courageous act.

7. Character Traits Enthusiastic-Red In the book, it says, “Emmett loved jokes… He would pay people to tell him jokes.” He was very popular among his friends for his fun-loving and outgoing personality, and he would never pass up a wisecrack or story.

8. The Emmett Till Freedom Of Speech Badge America’s First Amendment has always been freedom of speech, and Emmett wanted nothing more than to say what he wanted to say and do what he wanted to do. He grew up in the relatively un-segregated Chicago, where for the most part white people and black people got along well. If all of America was like that, Emmett wouldn’t have been murdered and he might still be living today. It was Freedom of speech that got him murdered, and it’s freedom of speech by which he will be remembered.

9. Emmett Till’s Ideal Room Party time! All access! In need of girls and jokers! Black or white, it doesn’t matter! Emmett loved good jokes and it was flirting that got him killed. He believed that he was the same as everyone else, and he laughed in the face of racism. Above all, he wanted to have a good time, and whoever loved to have fun was a friend of his. I think the party and the sign signify that.

10. Welcome to the Emmett Till Snack Shop! Joker Juice With this crazy beverage your friends will think you’re the funniest person alive! Fun-loving Fajitas With this spicy food, you’ll be just like Emmett, asking out every local beauty queen. Daring Dogs With a bite of these extreme confidence- boosters, your friends won’t find a dare you can’t take! Speak-out Sandwiches Everything $1.99! With this ‘food for thought,’ go out and speak your mind on how you want to be treated. Courageous Crackers Take one bite of these and you’ll be going crazy with your newfound bravery. You can go anywhere, talk to anyone, and stand up for your rights!

11. Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light, What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight, O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming? And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there. O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? Our National Anthem Emmett Till’s Musical Introduction I picked this music because Emmett was the example of what America defines, a free-speaking person who isn’t afraid to say what they want. He broke a Jim Crow law by talking, and he was murdered. He was what the constitution says, an equal of all men, no matter their race. He deserves to be introduced by the national song of the U.S.A.