Till, Emmett, 1941-1955
Biography:
In August 1955, Emmett Till , a fourteen year old African American boy from Chicago, went to visit relatives near Money, Mississippi. While he had experienced racial discrimination in his hometown of Chicago, he was unaccustomed to the severe segregation he encountered in Mississippi. Soon after talking in too friendly a manner with a young white woman in a store, he was kidnapped in the night at gunpoint and brutally murdered by two white men. He was badly beaten before being shot and thrown into the Tallahatchie River. His corpse was nearly unrecognizable. His mother insisted on an open casket funeral in Chicago and news of Emmett Till's murder shocked America and the world. An all-white jury failed to convict the accused murderers, adding a further sense of injustice. The case is viewed as a turning point in the civil rights movement because of the notoriety it gave to the plight of African Americans in the South. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library & Museum WWW site.
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Archival Collections and Reference Resources
- Citizens' Council Collection (John Davis Williams Library (University of Mississippi))
- Civil Rights-- Emmett Till Case (Dwight D. Eisenhower Library)
- FBI Freedom of Information Act Collection (Federal Bureau of Investigation)
- Freedom Riders' 40th Anniversary Oral History Project, 2001 (John Davis Williams Library (University of Mississippi))
- Freedom summer digital collection (Wisconsin Historical Society)
- Allen--Freedom School mimeo materials 1963-64 (Pamela P. Allen papers, 1967-1974; Archives Main Stacks, M85-013, Folder 1) (Press releases)
- Belfrage--Miscellaneous COFO and SNCC material, 1963-1964, n.d. (Sally Belfrage papers, 1962-1966; Historical Society Library Microforms Room, Micro 599, Reel 1, Segment 6) (Reports)
- Bowie--Freedom Schools, 1964, Jan. 14 - Dec. 2 (Harry J. Bowie papers, 1964-1967; Archives Main Stacks, Mss 31, Box 1, Folder 4) (Correspondence)
- CORE--Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party - Memoranda and reports, 1964-1966 (Congress of Racial Equality. Mississippi 4th Congressional District records, 1961-1966; Historical Society Library Microforms Room, Micro 793, Reels 2-3, Segment 37) (Reports)
- CORE--Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party Newsletter, 1965 April, June (Congress of Racial Equality. Mississippi 4th Congressional District records, 1961-1966; Historical Society Library Microforms Room, Micro 793, Reel 3, Segment 40) (Newsletters)
- CORE--Violence and harassment summary reports (Southern Regional Council, COFO, SNCC, CORE), 1963-1965 (Congress of Racial Equality. Mississippi 4th Congressional District records, 1961-1966; Historical Society Library Microforms Room, Micro 793, Reel 4, Segment 94) (Clippings (information artifacts))
- Goodman--Condolences from the general public, 1964-1967 (Carolyn Goodman papers, 1964-2000; Historical Society Library Microforms Room, Micro 482, Reel 1) (Correspondence)
- Goodman--National clippings and loose clippings (Carolyn Goodman papers, 1964-2000; Historical Society Library Microforms Room, Micro 833, Reel 1b) (Clippings (information artifacts))
- Goodman--New York newspaper clippings (Carolyn Goodman papers, 1964-2000; Historical Society Library Microforms Room, Micro 833, Reel 1a) (Clippings (information artifacts))
- Goodman--News releases, newsletters, and miscellaneous publications, 1964-1965 (Carolyn Goodman Papers, 1964-2000; Archives Main Stacks, Mss 192, Box 1, Folder 1) (Legal documents)
- Hodes--William Hodes papers , 1964 (Archives Main Stacks, SC 3080) (Correspondence)
- King--Pre-1964 WATS Line calls (Mary E. King papers , 1962-1999; Archives Main Stacks, Z: Accessions M82-445, Box 1, Folder 1) (Reports)
- Kinoy--Legal documents re: COFO v. Rainey, 1964 (Arthur Kinoy papers, circa 1930-2003; Z: Accessions, M2010-031, Box 9, Folder 19) (Legal documents)
- Kinoy--Legal documents re: COFO v. Rainey, 1964 : Brief, 1964 (Arthur Kinoy papers, circa 1930-2003; Z: Accessions, M2007-010, Box 8, Folder 21) (Legal documents)
- Lipsky--Holly Springs, 1964-1966 (Michael Lipsky and David J. Olson papers, 1935-1981; Archives Main Stacks, Mss 851, Box 1, Folder 5) (Correspondence)
- Lipsky--SNCC, Mississippi, New Jersey (Michael Lipsky and David J. Olson Papers, 1935-1981; Z: Accessions, M96-024, Box 1, Folder 6) (Clippings (information artifacts))
- Lynd--Printed material, February 1963-October 1965 &undated (Staughton and Alice Lynd papers 1938-2008; Archives Main Stacks, Mss 395, Box 5, Folder 1) (Press releases)
- Lynd--Printed material, February 1963-October 1965 &undated (Staughton and Alice Lynd papers 1938-2008; Archives Main Stacks, Mss 395, Box 5, Folder 2) (Press releases)
- Lynd--Printed material, February 1963-October 1965 &undated (Staughton and Alice Lynd papers 1938-2008; Archives Main Stacks, Mss 395, Box 5, Folder 3) (Press releases)
- MFDP--General papers, 1963-1965, part 1 (Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party records, 1962-1971; Historical Society Library Microforms Room, Micro 788, Reel 1, Segment 2, Part 1) (Pamphlets)
- Montgomery--Mississippi Summer Project, Robert Moses, director (Lucile Montgomery papers, 1963-1967; Historical Society Library Microforms Room, Micro 44, Reel 2, Segment 23) (Correspondence)
- Moore--Correspondence Of Others, Collected by Moore, 1952-1970 (Amzie Moore papers, 1941-1970; Archives Main Stacks, Mss 551, Box 2 Folder 3) (Correspondence)
- Robinson--Miscellaneous, 1964-1965 (Jo Ann Ooiman Robinson papers, 1960-1966; Archives Main Stacks, Mss 191, Box 1, Folder 9) (Periodicals)
- SAVF-Council of Federated Organizations (COFO) papers (Social Action vertical file, circa 1930-2002; Archives Main Stacks, Mss 577, Box 16, Folder 6) (Pamphlets)
- SEDFRE--Schwerner Application to CORE (Copy), 1963, and Clippings, Press Releases, and News Summaries, 1964 (Scholarship, Education and Defense Fund for Racial Equality records, 1944-1976; Archives Main Stacks, Mss 546, Box 1, Folder 10) (Clippings (information artifacts))
- Starobin--Miscellaneous clippings, reprints and other ephemera,1964-1967 (Robert S. Starobin papers, 1960-1967; Archives Main Stacks, Mss 428, Box 2, Folder 10) (Clippings (information artifacts))
- Starobin--SNCC 1963-1966 (Robert S. Starobin papers, 1960-1967; Archives Main Stacks, Mss 428, Box 2, Folder 3) (Minutes (administrative records))
- Werner--COFO and SNCC pamphlets, newspaper clippings, conference proceedings, and press releases, 1963-1965 (Hank Werner papers; Z: Accessions, M71-358, Box 2, Folder 6) (Pamphlets)
- Isaiah DeQuincey Newman, (1911-1985), Papers, 1929-2003 (University of South Carolina)
- James W. Silver Collection (John Davis Williams Library (University of Mississippi))
- Oral Histories: Interviews with Sam H. Bowers, Jr. (Mississippi Department of Archives and History)
- Rosa Parks Papers (Library of Congress)
- Voices Across The Color Line Oral History Collection, 2005-2006 (Atlanta History Center)
- Voices of Civil Rights (Library of Congress)
- Emmett Till and his mother, Mamie Bradley, head-and-shoulders portrait (Black-and-white photographs)
- Street rally in New York City, October 11, 1955, under joint sponsorship of NAACP and District 65, retail, wholesale and department store workers Union in protest of slaying of Emmett Till (Black-and-white photographs)
Educator Resources
- American Experience (Public Broadcasting Service (U.S.))
- Amistad Digital Resource for Teaching African American History (Columbia Center for Digital Research and Scholarship)
- Independent Lens (Public Broadcasting Service (U.S.))
- Unsung Foot Soldiers : The Foot Soldier Project for Civil Rights Studies at the University of Georgia (Foot Soldier Project for Civil Rights Studies at the University of Georgia)