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Emmett Till is born
Emmett Louis Till was born in Chicago Illinois' Cook County Hospital to his parents, Louis Till and Mamie Carthan on July 25, 1941. -
Louis and Mamie seperate
Emmett's parents separate when Mamie finds out that Louis had been unfaithful and cheated, leaving Mamie to care for Emmett with her mother. -
Emmett contracts Polio
At the age of 6, Emmett contracts polio, leaving him with a stutter. -
"Pink" Bradley
Mamie and Emmett move to Detroit, where Mamie meets and marries "Pink" Bradley in 1951. Emmett wants to live in Chicago, so he goes back to live with his grandmother. His mother and stepfather came back as well later that same year. Their marriage doesn't last long, however, ending about a year later. -
The Day Before
The day before Emmett leaves to go to Mississippi to visit his great Uncle Mose, Mamie gives Emmett a ring of his father's initials, L.T. -
Till Arrives in Mississippi
On August 21, 1955, Emmett arrives in Money, Mississippi to visit his great uncle Mose. -
Emmett and his cousin visit Bryant's
On August 24, 1955 Emmett and his cousin Curtis Jones skip church and join some local boys to Bryant's Grocery and Meat Market to buy some candy. While the events of what took place in the store are highly disputed, it is said that Emmett at least talked to Carolyn Bryant. -
The Murder of Emmett Till
Between 2 and 2:30 AM on August 28, 1955, Roy Bryant and J.W. Miliam take Emmett from his uncle's house after threatening Mose that he wouldn't live to see 65 if he told anyone. They proceeded to tie him up in the back of a truck and brutally beat him in a barn. Afterwards, they took him to the Tallahatchie river, shot him in the head, and pushed his body in the river. -
Emmett's body is found
2 days later, a couple of boys fishing find Emmett's dis-configured and unrecognizable body in the river. Mose Wright is able to identify his body by the L.T. ring on his finger. -
Emmett's funeral
Emmett Till's body is brought to Chicago's Roberts Temple Church of God to have an open casket funeral. Mamie Till's reasoning for this is so everyone can "see what she's seen". Thousands of Chicago residents lined up to see his body. -
The Trial
The trial of Emmett's killers started on September 19, 1955. Moses Wright was able to identify Till's killers from the witness stand, and after 4 days of testimony, an all white male jury acquitted the killers. Protected by double Jeopardy laws, they couldn't be prosecuted any further.
