The murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till in 1955 is considered by some to be the event that sparked the Civil Rights Movement. Each year during the third quarter, students in my eighth grade communication arts classes do a research project on some aspect of the Civil Rights movement. Invariably, Emmett Till's murder is the topic chosen by many students.
Five Baytown, Texas students have written a play about Emmett Till that has enabled them to reach the finals of the annual National History Day competition:
The students said they identified with Till, a 14-year-old from Chicago who was visiting Mississippi when he was killed. His mother insisted on an open casket, and grisly photos of Till's face intensified the civil rights movement.
All in advanced classes, the students consulted books, the Internet and newspapers. They interviewed two of Till's cousins by phone.
The group decided to convey Till's story through two older women sitting on a veranda and reminiscing about the summer of 1955. The gray-haired ladies are played by Olivia Richard and Imani Lee, both 13.
DeMontrey Mitchell plays both Mose Wright, the uncle Emmett Till came south to visit, and the mortician who discusses the boy's body with his mother, Mamie Till. The experience has encouraged him, the 14-year-old said, "by knowing that I have done something good."
"What I do is actually show the bond that Mamie and Emmett Till had," said Khrystopher King, 12, who plays Emmett. He said the project "gave me an idea of how bad racism was back then and more about my black history."
Candice Archangel, 13, portrays Mrs. Till, "the love she had for Emmett" and her courage in insisting on an open casket at his funeral.
"She wanted the world to see what they did to her son," Candice said.
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