| Name: ______________________________ | Date: ______________ |
Instructions
- Read each question carefully and use evidence from the facts you have learned.
- Emmett Till’s story shows how racism and unfair laws affected people’s lives.
- Answer in complete thoughts when a question asks you to explain.
- Remember that studying painful history should be done with care and respect.
Example: In what year was Emmett Till murdered?
Answer: 1955
Part 1: Key Facts
Complete each sentence with the correct word or phrase.
1. Emmett Till was from __________.
2. He was visiting relatives in __________ when he was murdered.
3. Emmett Till was murdered in the year __________.
4. His mother, __________, insisted on an open-casket funeral.
Part 2: Remembering the Case
Choose the best answer for each question.
5. How old was Emmett Till when he was murdered?
| ○ A. 12 | ○ B. 14 |
| ○ C. 16 | ○ D. 18 |
6. Why did Mamie Till-Mobley choose an open-casket funeral?
| ○ A. To allow the public to see the violence done to her son | ○ B. To follow a law in Mississippi |
| ○ C. To celebrate Emmett’s birthday | ○ D. To keep reporters away |
7. What happened to Roy Bryant and J. W. Milam in their 1955 criminal trial?
| ○ A. They were found guilty | ○ B. They were acquitted |
| ○ C. They were never identified | ○ D. They apologized in court |
8. Which publication printed photographs of Emmett Till’s funeral that reached many readers?
| ○ A. Jet | ○ B. The New York Times |
| ○ C. The Saturday Evening Post | ○ D. Reader’s Digest |
Part 3: Justice and Society
Write True or False for each statement.
9. Emmett Till was killed in Mississippi while visiting family. True / False
10. The jury that acquitted Bryant and Milam was an integrated jury. True / False
11. The case helped draw national attention to racial violence in the United States. True / False
12. Mamie Till-Mobley kept the funeral completely private and away from the public. True / False
13. The men later admitted responsibility in a magazine interview after their acquittal. True / False
Part 4: Historical Meaning
Answer each question in one or two complete sentences.
14. Why did the photographs from Emmett Till’s funeral affect many people? |
15. How did the trial reveal problems in the justice system of that time? |
16. Why is Emmett Till’s story often connected to the Civil Rights Movement? |
17. What role did Mamie Till-Mobley play in bringing attention to the case? |
Part 5: People and Places
Match each person or place with the description that fits it.
| 18. | Emmett Till | __________ | A. Emmett’s mother who publicly demanded that people see what happened to him |
| 19. | Mamie Till-Mobley | __________ | B. The other man tried and acquitted for Emmett Till’s murder |
| 20. | Roy Bryant | __________ | C. Fourteen-year-old boy whose murder became a major civil rights case |
| 21. | J. W. Milam | __________ | D. One of the men tried and acquitted for Emmett Till’s murder |
| 22. | Money, Mississippi | __________ | E. The place where Emmett Till was accused of offending a white woman |
Part 6: Think Like a Historian (optional challenge)
Use historical reasoning to answer the question.
23. How can one family’s decision to make an injustice public influence a nation’s response to civil rights? |
24. Why should historians compare court records, photographs, news reports, and later interviews when studying this case? |
25. What does the Emmett Till case teach about the difference between a legal verdict and justice? |
Answer Key
| 1. | Chicago, Illinois |
| 2. | Mississippi |
| 3. | 1955 |
| 4. | Mamie Till-Mobley |
| 5. | B (14) |
| 6. | A (To allow the public to see the violence done to her son) |
| 7. | B (They were acquitted) |
| 8. | A (Jet) |
| 9. | True |
| 10. | False |
| 11. | True |
| 12. | False |
| 13. | True |
| 14. | They showed the public the terrible effects of racial violence and made the injustice impossible for many people to ignore. |
| 15. | The all-white jury acquitted the defendants despite the evidence and the public attention surrounding the murder. |
| 16. | His murder and the response of his mother helped expose racial injustice and encouraged people to demand civil rights and equal protection under the law. |
| 17. | She publicly showed the violence done to her son and spoke out so that people across the country would confront racial injustice. |
| 18. | C (Fourteen-year-old boy whose murder became a major civil rights case) |
| 19. | A (Emmett’s mother who publicly demanded that people see what happened to him) |
| 20. | D (One of the men tried and acquitted for Emmett Till’s murder) |
| 21. | B (The other man tried and acquitted for Emmett Till’s murder) |
| 22. | E (The place where Emmett Till was accused of offending a white woman) |
| 23. | A public response can turn a private tragedy into evidence of a larger problem, helping people recognize injustice, discuss it, organize, and demand changes to laws and institutions. |
| 24. | Different sources provide different kinds of evidence and perspectives, so comparing them helps historians check claims, identify bias, and build a more accurate account. |
| 25. | A legal verdict is the official result of a trial, but justice also requires fairness, accountability, and equal protection; an acquittal does not always mean that justice was achieved. |