Her Words and her actions |
After Emmett Till’s body was found in a river in Mississippi, his mother was devastated because she had lost her only boy. She had even warned him before he went that Mississippi was a more segregated place and he should be careful what to say and how to act around white people. He did not listen to his mother’s advice and the results were fatal. At the funeral, Mamie decided to keep the casket open because she wanted everyone to know what the white men had done. "I think everybody needed to know what had happened to Emmett Till” (Mamie Till).
"When I began to make the announcement that Emmett had been found and how he was found, the whole house began to scream and to cry. And that's when I realized that this was a load that I was going to have to carry. I wouldn't get any help carrying this load" (Mamie Till). After Emmett died, Mamie turned to the strength and faith of her friends and family. About 50,000 people, both white and black, showed up at the funeral to see what happened to this young boy. Many fainted at the smell or sight of Emmett’s body. Mamie Till was strong all through this horrible event but she and so many others will never forget the murder of Emmett Till. |