Jim Crow Laws / Emmett Till

Emmett Till

14-year-old boy who was murdered for whistling at a white woman.

Conductor

A code word used by people involved in the Underground Railroad to talk about a person who helped slaves escape.

corpse

A dead body.

Constitution

A document stating the basic laws of a nation or state.

Emancipation Proclamation

A law passed in 1863 that ended slavery in the Confederate states.

Jim Crow

A white man who dressed up and acted like a black man for entertainment before the Civil Rights Era.

Chicago

Emmett Till's home

Mamie Till

Emmett Till's momma

Moses Wright

Emmett Till's uncle who he was visiting in Money, Mississippi.

perseverance

Never giving up

fugitives

People who are running away.

Lynching

Public murders carried out by mobs.

Jim Crow Laws

Racial segregation laws that existed between the Civil War and the 1960's.

harsh

Severe or cruel

abolitionist

Someone who aided those slaves into freedom, even at risk of being caught.

catalyst

Something that causes a change.

$4,000

The amount of money paid to Bryant and Milam to tell how they murdered Emmett Till.

Money, Mississippi

The home of Emmett Till's uncle and the place where Emmett was murdered.

5

The number of days Emmett's momma kept his body on display.

Tallahatchie River

The place Emmett's body was found.

Found not guilty

The result of the trial of Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam.

Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam

The two half-brothers who murdered Emmett Till.

Carolyn Bryant

The white woman at whom Emmett Till whistled.

acquit

When a court finds someone not guilty.

Double Jeopardy

You cannot be retried for a crime in which you have already been found not guilty.