Emmett Till Sparks the Civil Rights Movement

PIVOTAL

• What does pivotal mean?

• Come up with 3 synonyms (similar meaning, different word)

• What is the root word (word it is based off of)? Once you find the root word, give 2 examples when you would perform/do the root word.

Pivotal: something that is important to the development or

success of something else.

PIVOTAL

Describe an event that was PIVOTAL

• In your life, there have been PIVOTAL moments, both minor and major. Write about a time/experience in your life that was pivotal, based upon the definitions we came up with earlier.

• Describe a current PIVOTAL moment that has happened, and explain why it is PIVOTAL (what happened, how it has or could change our lives).

• The events of September 11th, 2001, was a pivotal moment in the history of our country. After 9/11, the travel industry in the United States of America changed drastically. Travelers now have to go through security gates to get to their departure area, whole body scans are common to check for bombs and other weapons, and the fear of flying has increased in our country. Like 9/11, the death of Emmett Till was a pivotal moment in the US. Emmett, a 14 year old boy, was kidnapped, brutally tortured, and murdered in a small Mississippi town. His lynching and subsequent death gave African Americans the confidence and anger they needed in order to fight for their civil rights.

LYNCHING

• Many lynchings were death by hanging. However, the definition of lynching does not refer to a particular method of violence. Rather, lynching is punishing a person (usually to death) by mob action without due process of law

• Commonly, what happened to Emmett Till, is more of a LYNCHING, than a murder.

Quotes on the impact of the lynching of Emmett Till

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

• Why was the murder of Emmett Till a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement?

• What factors contributed to making this a turning point in civil rights history?

Vocabulary

• Perpetrator – an individual or group who chooses to act in ways that are unjust

• Victim – an individual or group who is wronged. An individual or group who receives unjust treatment

• Bystander – an individual or group who is aware that injustice is occurring but chooses not to intervene; someone who “stands by” while injustice happens

• Upstander – an individual or group who chooses to act in ways to prevent or stop unjust or violent acts

Emmett Till Murder

THESIS STATEMENT: The death/murder/lynching of Emmett Till was

pivotal to the Civil Rights Movement.

THESIS