Emmett Till

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/emmett-till

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. When was Emmett Till born?July 25, 1941
2. Where was Emmett Till born?Chicago, Illinois
3. What is the age at death?14 years old
4. What is the trial outcome?His killers were acquitted by an all-white jury
5. Who was Emmett Till?Emmett Till was a 14‑year‑old African American boy from Chicago who went to Mississippi in 1955.
6. Why was Emmett Till's death important?His death showed how cruel racism was and helped spark the Civil Rights Movement.

Jim Crow Laws: State and local laws enacted in the Southern United States from the late 19th to the mid-20th centuries that enforced racial segregation.
Lynching: The illegal and extrajudicial killing of a person by a mob, often through hanging, typically motivated by racial hatred.
Catalyst: An event or factor that causes or accelerates a significant change or action, in this case, the Civil Rights Movement.
Double Jeopardy: A legal principle that prevents a person from being tried again for the same crime after being acquitted or convicted.