Introduction | The Task | Resources | The Process | Evaluation | Conclusion
One summer, an African American kid named Emmett was shipped "down south" to spend part of a long awaited summer vacation with relatives. The small town back roads awaiting his visit were a long way from the tough, unforgiving avenues of Chicago, Illinois. The world would soon learn, however, there were few things in the world of that time more dangerous than being black and unaware of the laws and customs of Money, Mississippi. After a trip to town shortly after his arrival, Emmett found himself accused of the ominous incivility of talking rudely to, or possibly whistling at, a 21 year old white woman. There is still a question as to what was actually said or done that day, but whatever the boy did or did not do, he stood accused and convicted by the men who chose to travel late into the night to the home of Emmett's relatives to find him and teach him the ways of Money. Dragged from his bed with gun pressed to temple, the terrified fourteen year old was yanked screaming into the night. He was subsequently beaten, tortured, and finally, shot point blank in the head before being unceremoniously bound and tossed into the Tallahatchie River. He was found some time later, floating, disfigured and bloated beyond the recognition of even those who knew him well. The year was 1955.
In order to obscure the nature of his death, the body was quickly buried by local authorities, only to be exhumed for both a proper autopsy and and a funeral that may have awakened much of the world to the continuing brazen brutality of white southern justice. Mamie Bradley's decision to have an open casket viewing of her son, displaying the untouched handiwork of his murderers before the press and the thousands who stood on line for hours to pay homage, may have been the one of the first serious blows in the struggle for equal rights for people of color in this country. The great irony and perhaps the most profound lesson of all was that, despite the outrage, eyewitness accounts and confessions as to who killed Mr. Till and how, no one was ever convicted of his murder.
This type of crime has been described as a form of lynching. How could this have happened in America as late as the year 1955? It will be the job of you and your team to begin to make some sense of the possible causes of this and similar cases in our history. You will examine the the nature of these events with an eye to illuminating how we, as a culture, might explain such events and how we might prevent them from recurring today or in the future.
The time is today. The United States Congress has determined that the murder
of Emmett Till qualifies as a hate crime and has chosen to form a commission
with the stated goal of bringing justice to his memory. However, before
the commission begins the process of determining the innocence or guilt of the
conspirators, extensive background information must be gathered. That
will be the job of you and your
team.
Emmett Till was lynched. Your team will seek to answer these questions as they relate to this specific type of crime.
Use these internet resources to complete your task.
We will divide the commission into 5 job categories: (2) Lead investigators, a statistician, a biographical investigator, (2) cultural investigators and a journalist.
1. The Lead Investigators will lay the groundwork for the others on the team. Using the web sites The Murder of Emmett Till, The History of Jim Crow, The History of Lynching, and The Lynching of Women and The Duluth Lynchings, 1920, the lead investigators will answer the following:
a) What is the definition of lynching? What methods were used?
b) What is Jim Crow?
c) How was Jim Crow used with lynching to maintain the status quo?
d) What were some of the political and social reasons for the long tenure of Jim Crow?
d) What are some of the lasting effects of Jim Crow today?
e) What did you find to be the greatest tragedy involving the victims of lynching?
2. The Statistician, using the web sites Lynching in the U.S. from 1882 to 1868 and The Lynching of Women, will execute the following:
a) Using either a spreadsheet program or preparing by hand, create a pie chart from the graph entitled The Causes of Lynching between 1882 and 1968. What was the most surprising statistic to you? Why?
b) Create a chart comparing the numbers of whites lynched between 1890 and 1935 vs. blacks during the same period of time. What is your theory, based on what was happening in the country at that time, on why the numbers appear as they do?
c) Create a bar graph comparing the number of lynchings in the state of Mississippi vs. the average number of all of the other states combined.
What percentage of lynchings in America, according to kept statistics, took place in Mississippi in the years 1882 to 1968?
What rank does the state of Mississippi have in the number of lynchings committed during that period. Given the size of the state of Mississippi, what conclusion can you draw regarding the overall lynching rate in Mississippi as compared to larger states?
What was the ten year period following 1890 that saw the largest cumulative average rate of lynching in Mississippi? Was Emmett Till lynched during that period? How do you think that era in which he was killed added to the outrage over his death?
3. The Biographer, using web sites about Ida B. Wells, Walter White, and Joseph Shipp will examine:
a) What in Ida B. Wells background prepared her for life as an outspoken critic of lynching?
b) Walter White, a very light skinned black actually chose to identify himself as black. Why did he make that choice, given the racial climate of the time? How did he use this circumstance to his advantage?
c) Compare and contrast the manner in which Ida B. Wells and Walter White chose to fight for the case against lynching.
d) Did either Ms. Wells or Mr. White have more to risk than the other? How did the difference in their backgrounds effect the manner in which they faced this issue.
e) What was the significance of the case of Joseph Shipp? Why was he considered a hero by many in his community and why do you think his court case turned out the way it did? How was this a good example of justice in the time of "Jim Crow"?
f) Given the circumstances as you understand them, what should have happened to Sheriff Shipp?
4. Using the web sites about songs, poems, political cartoons and photography, the Cultural Investigators will address the following issues:
a) Of the two political cartoons presented here, one is an early (1912) comment on lynching, while the second uses imagery of lynching to make a different point. Examine the imagery in the two cartoons and explain why the two are related, or not. Be specific about all of the clues provided by the respective cartoonists as they present their points of view.
b) In the web site entitled The Press and the Lynchings of African Americans, several arguments are made regarding the relationship between lynchings and the way they are reported in the press. Your job will be to comment on the various points made by the author and determine whether you agree or disagree with his point of view.
c) Billie Holiday was a very famous singer who took a great risk in recording Strange Fruit. Examine the lyrics and explain why singing this "protest song" presented such a problem for her career. What images do you see in your mind when reading the lyrics? How do they make you feel?
d) Bob Dylan's song about Emmett Till has been accused of being factually incorrect. After reading about the Till case, can you find any discrepancies? How important are these inaccuracies to the actual purpose of the song? Why do you think that so many years after the murder, someone chose to write a song about this case?
e) Many educators and parents think that images as shown in the American Lynching Photos web site should not be shown to children of a certain age. Do you agree? How soon should young people be exposed to these images? Defend your position fully, detailing as much as you can, the political, social and historical reasons for your position.
5. The Journalist will tackle issues pulled from today's headlines:
a) James T. Byrd, Jr suffered from what many viewed as a modern day lynching. Examine the facts in the case of Mr.Byrd and explain how one might come to the conclusion that he was, in fact, a lynching victim.
b) The web site on the lynching of homeless persons presents another view of the lynching issue? Are these truly lynchings and if so, can you think of other examples here and around the world that may qualify as lynchings?
c) Compare the cases of Mr. Byrd and those of the homeless as described in the provided web sites. Can they be compared at all?
c) Can you imagine a lynching taking place in your community? Why or why not?
6. A committee of members from each group will organize a panel discussion to present their findings. The panel will include at least one representative from each group. A moderator will be chosen to manage the discussions, introduce topics and handle questions from the audience. The organizing committee will also create a brief program to be distributed to the audience before the event. The program will include a title for the event, a brief summary of purpose, panel member names and jobs, and the sponsoring group. The sponsor will be the committee itself using a name they all decide on together. Each panel member will give a brief report on their findings and the moderator will preside over a question and answer period.
Grading Rubric: this is how you will be evaluated in the completion of your tasks:
| Basic | Satisfactory | Exemplary | Score | |
| Lead Investigator | Present an incomplete selection of facts | Presented all the basic facts with a limited synthesis of facts into strong arguments. | Presented all the basic facts and provided a high level of personal insight and synthesis of ideas | |
| Statistician | Occasionally incorrect and/or incomplete presentation of facts in graphs and charts | Complete presentation of facts but only a general understanding of their meanings | Complete set of facts with a good synthesis of facts into coherent ideas and conclusions | |
| Biographer | Less than adequate understanding of the historical significance of the people profiled | Good grasp on the historical importance of the persons profiled, nice job of synthesizing information | Excellent grasp of importance of persons profiled and a demonstration of a deep understanding of their historical importance | |
| Cultural Investigator | Demonstrates a limited understanding of the cultural significance of this topic | Was able to have explain the cultural aspects of the topic and draw some basic conclusions | Demonstrated an ability to take information and provide well detailed and impressively argued conclusions | |
| Journalist | Was able to explain basic concerns about the news of lynching today | Was able to draw some valid correlation between the past and present | Was able to show a impressive understanding of the complexity of the issues involved with comparatives and leaps in insight. |
Conclusion: The case of Emmett Till is currently being revisited on several fronts. Two new documentaries and a book have been released presenting old and new evidence regarding the case and trying to place the Till case in its proper context in the Civil Rights struggle. The government has also announced a reopening of the case in an effort to prove Mr. Till's civil rights were violated by his murder. Perhaps his family will yet experience some form of justice in this long-fought and symbolic case. His mother, however, will miss any such solace. She passed away in 2003.
You studied here the results of hatred gone unchecked. It is our hope here that you may have been moved to better appreciate the importance of being aware of these injustices as they arise. Our world must never condone such actions again. By staying alert to the manifestations of racism and other forms of hatred, we may just yet develop the means to subvert its power.
Last updated: January 28, 2005