The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till

The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till

2005, History  -   125 Comments
7.76
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Ratings: 7.76/10 from 62 users.

The Untold Story of Emmett Louis TillSimple yet riveting, The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till articulates the madness of racism in the South of the 1950s. Combining archival photos and footage with deeply felt interviews, this documentary tells the harrowing story of what happened when a mischievous 14 year old black boy from Chicago, visiting his relatives in Mississippi, whistled at a white woman in the street.

The lynching that followed was so gruesome that a media circus surrounded the trial--and what stunned the nation was not only the crime, but the blithe unconcern the citizens of a small Mississippi town felt toward the brutal murder of a black teenager.

The interviews suspensefully unveil the story, moving from the viewpoint of Till's mother to the perspective of his Southern cousins to actual film of Till's uncle, who had the astonishing courage to accuse the two killers in court. Till's mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, addressed the entire country in news footage, begging that something be done so that her son did not die in vain.

The awkward, un-media-savvy quality of the 1950s interviews may seem to come from another world, but the harsh truth of what happened sprang all too clearly from America's still unresolved racial conflicts. A passionate, compelling documentary.

Directed by: Keith Beauchamp

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BigBoi
BigBoi
5 years ago

lmao what even is this comment section??

Hailsoup
Hailsoup
7 years ago

@assbackwards
To be honest, I would help others before I would help myself, regardless of race, creed, etc.; but to think that it is normal at all to help someone from a different race as the last option on your list, is so twisted. We all need to help each other, because in the end we are all the same. Love everyone man. E v e r y o n e.

Chels
Chels
8 years ago

If only he knew what a ripple of change his young and short lived life would have in his country and the impact globally.

I honestly don't know why people watch documentaries like this to just post hateful racism.
To quote the ever so eloquent Jim Marsh who decided to post above, 'I voted for Obama but I wouldn't let my daughter marry a black man. So what...it's my right.', your hatred was not overlooked. Deplorable are the views of a righteous, sexist racist. I can't even begin to argue on how his daughters decision is his not right.

On particular pages, comments should require heritage, colour, and country to be able to post to weed out people who have nothing but foolishness in their heads and hatred in their hearts.

Black Lives Matter.

assbackwards
assbackwards
8 years ago

i love reading comments before watching a doc.
most docs have comments related to the docs; the exception is "racist" docs...
which always have race vs race arguments.
I fell strongly that all people are good and bad, racist and not....
Because all of these things are inherent in all beings and key to survival in some fashion.

I think you all would agree that if you had to help someone, your order would be.
1. Yourself
2. Family
3. Friends
4. Associates
5. Elderly / Children / Needy
6. Your race
7. Other races

And if you had to harm someone the order would be reverse

Therefore, everyone, when push comes to shove is a "racist" or whatever label you deem.
If you think you are not , then your lying to yourself or are an exception to normality.
So please quit pretending your not, because its worse then calling people "racists".

I have to add that in general, no race is superior we are equal
but whomever has authority over you..they are truly your master and you their slave.
If you let them

Doris
Doris
8 years ago

Im ashamed at my own race and felt deep hatred towards those ignorant whites in Mississippi. Who the hell did they think they were? It shows the type of people they are in being able to do something like this to a child and their families who stood beside them. But guess what? There's one fact you have to live with. Your hatred for anyone with darker skin means you hate God. BECAUSE GOD WAS BORN IN THE MIDDLE EAST!!!! AND EVERYONE IN THE MIDDLE EAST IS BLACK!!!!! I hope these two lowlifes who murdered this child suffer and burn for eternity in hell and all those with the same ignorant and hateful mindset! God don't like ugly and Karma always gets you back! We might not have the enjoyment of seeing people like these whites suffer but rest assured when their day comes? They'll suffer forever!

RCPoland
RCPoland
8 years ago

Part of me wants desperately to view this film; the other part is just sickened at the thought. The mind boggles at the complete disregard for humanity that was foisted on this young man, who died far too soon for such a ridiculous reason. Racism is a cancer; it needs to be excised. It's disgraceful that we're still fighting the Civil War in 2015.

Nancy Vail
Nancy Vail
9 years ago

Monster people

Nancy Vail
Nancy Vail
9 years ago

Am so sorry for what happened...so, so sorry

heidi
heidi
9 years ago

Look around now, we are just as bad and to OUR OWN colour, white selling white for sex trade in the European area and for shittist lowest wage paid workers employment can get away with and it still goes on.

Black bitching about if your not black enough or too much of a lighter shade. which i actually witnessed and found that extremely hurtful for the poor guy and got my help thrown back in my face and got hugely abused by the other end for trying to help the victim.

From the start of time, white people have been bastards to our own colour, so it's not all about just black people being picked on. I'm sick of the colour racial thing going on, as now it's just an excuse to win an arguement. I'm a white person fed up listening to ALL SPECTRUM of colours going on about skin tone, it has been a violent discussion from past, which we SHOULD NEVER FORGET about any slavery of any kind through time, although it was the northern state of a lot of white people in the america tried to abolish slavery, (that gets forgotten easily) but we can't move forward and stop all this hate if any colour white/black stop bitching and learn that it will never stop if we keep causing a rift between it all.

Colour of skin is just a colour to me. I have a friend and colleague i work with who is the complete opposite of me. im milk bottle white and his the darkest skin tone. We get on great and not once has the skin colour come up, because it does not need to. We get on with life and thats all that matters.

Kimberly Gardner
Kimberly Gardner
10 years ago

I just watched The Untold Story of Emmett Till with my 16yr old son and 12yr daughter. Afterwards we had really, really, good conversation about racism, equality and people's rights then and now. I told my kids this is why your great grandfather would get upset with disrespect and not doing your best in school because its like a slap in the face to the blacks that had to endure all that they endured for you to have what you have now. I cold tell this documentary had a strong impact on my son.

Mobetta Jenkem
Mobetta Jenkem
10 years ago

Lying shits!! Completely and conveniently hiding the TRUTH about this incident.

Blacxican
Blacxican
10 years ago

I tell myself when it will be justice for Emmet and other thing that was wrong what they did to emmet .R.I.P EMMETT LOUIS TILL now you are in better place

Eric J. Wickes
Eric J. Wickes
10 years ago

It's disgusting how those red neck toads hid behind their babies in court. As if they were human or something. Gutless sheep. You know there had to be white people who knew this was wrong. (I'm white). My God, was the entire south riddled with brain dead r*tards back then? Gutless F#@King pigs. F**k the South for what they did and allowed to happen back then. F**k them all, north and south for the bigotry and aggression towards another race, who never wanted to be here to begin with! If i hear one more person from the South tell me apologetically that, "Oh, well, that's the way it was." without offering any statement of remorse for their complicity, then maybe they should've succeeded from the Union after all, because we don't need that s*it in our United States. Northerners had slaves too, but we don't talk too much about that, now do we? Maybe it's because the Civil War had nothing to do with slavery to begin with. What a bunch of pu**ies. Our Congress and Senate were infested with KKK members for quite some time, so WTF did you think they were going to do about it? Your tax dollars at work...as always...just getting screwed in new ways now.

Tunisia Collins
Tunisia Collins
11 years ago

I think back in those days only whites has rights. It did not matter if you knew the person was wrong no one said nothing and its wrong then and now I thank God that i was not in those times when it was really bad for blacks cause I speak my mind and don't hold back. May God bless his family.

Jamaal Harris
Jamaal Harris
11 years ago

that was wrong

MaxFenster
MaxFenster
11 years ago

When will there be justice for Emmitt?

Lucas Dawkins
Lucas Dawkins
11 years ago

Its weird how god works without being seen, its always humans that do everything. Its almost as if he doesn't exist.

Jonathanthomas
Jonathanthomas
11 years ago

I don't feel sorry for him. Boo hoo. Y'all all seem to be a bunch of liberal pussies or black radicals on this thread. No, I am not politically correct. No, I do not want to hear about how "we all came out of Africa." Spare me that PC tripe...Even if we did, it's clear that evolution worked its magic while the races were separated. More propaganda to increase white guilt and pacify the white population is all that this movie is. He shouldn't have been a trashy animal and whistled at her...

docjuncky
docjuncky
11 years ago

R.I.P Emmett Louis Till
Since when does it take the American justice system to realize murder is a crime. From 1955 to 2003, WTF is the problem America with the American justice system. I have never been so disgusted in the way non-white america is treated!! Im so glad i found this documenty, Emmitt you will not be foegotten!! I believe "an eye for an eye" I sure hope those men who murdered that young man receive what they deserve!! Its no dam wonder poeple are becoming Vigilantes, can't always depend on the law for justice!!

David Foster
David Foster
12 years ago

Can't ya just FEEL the LOVE?!

fisham222
fisham222
12 years ago

I think we should bring retribution back. Look at our society now. Ninty percent of all crimes are commited by minorities. Watch the television shows Cops, Bait Car, The First 48, ect..ect..ect... We need to bring back fear, Our prisons don't seem to be getting the job done. But, they do put a huge strain on our economic system, much less welfare,section 8 housing, black school system corruption, ect..ect..ect.. The future of this country after a national crisis will look a lot like New Orleans after Katrina. Whites tend to help one another in times of crisis. Blacks turn into animals. There going backwards, not forward.

fergy111
fergy111
12 years ago

transparency still did not work in the south

people in belfast watched (catholic ) schoolchildern get urine threw at them ...porn photos shoved in their faces on way to school a day later 9/11 happened.............i want the transparency shown in every human right violation until justice is done to neocons'righr wing politics the world over

Tammy Ousley
Tammy Ousley
12 years ago

HOW VERY SAD! I WOULD NOT WANT TO BE THOSE TWO KILLERS ON JUDGEMENT DAY,

Lucky
Lucky
12 years ago

For one...the president is bi-racial. I'm in your face you racist. Now that felt really good. Ignorance shown is a guarentee of stupidity. Imagining how a race hates is simply a gratification of your own hatred!

magarac
magarac
13 years ago

Just imagine how much these people must hate that there is a black president.
Must admit that really feels good.
In your face racists!

And @ lucy:
Your just a wonderful human being!
Btw what´s that thing called when you mean the opposite of what your saying?

michelle
michelle
13 years ago

i feel the flim just showed of all how the laws were back then look in your bible and remember this ' the frist shall be last ,and the last shall be frist ,sit back and let GOD do his work
,

Billy Bob
Billy Bob
13 years ago

@ Lucy
If your grammar and reasoning are anything to go by then you have just stepped out of the primordial soup and have actually turned your stupid racist argument against yourself. Well done. I assume you're a troll.

Lucy
Lucy
13 years ago

First of all the little boy shouldn't be whistle at white woman in back in old days. it wasn't proper back then as you view as nowadays are totally major different.
Don't blame on whites.blame on little black boy who start whistle at her in the first place. nowadays very sad to see some type of low self esteem plague on whites people that Africa America people NAACP have overpower and be the king of the world that sort of authority command.. don't appreciated it and it wasn't right. back then was proper and moral and nowadays it isn't likely proper and moral where respect? it is true back then whites bathroom was very clean before civil rights came along..and now the bathroom isn't really clean like long time ago.. do you know what so odd? white girl should honor their mother and father as God said..the trick is girl did not honor mother and father why because she end up with black guy. it sound like not honor their parent's ancestry. well really whites females should have known better not to fall in catering where society easily acceptable with blacks in nowadays..thinking blacks and whites are much of same.oh please the cultures are way different and why have to get it mix all up? to have bi racial children..it still no honor or respect toward ancestry. this time no blaming on whites people and to make guilt trip it a brain washing by blacks want to say white's bad or faults geezers..enough of Bull..
whites invent a lot of things back then and black people should thank them..so don't overstep on whites no more..leave whites alone.

Elisa
Elisa
13 years ago

I am so disheartened by watching you all argue in text. Why must you try to best each other?

Some good points were made, some ignorance proven, and some completely irrelevant information shared.

Can we not just mourn the loss of this boy together?

Can we please now fight hate with love?

Marvel at the beauty of luminous black skin, sky blue eyes, or lustrous Asian hair.....

Be curious and learn about different cultures because ignorance is the root of fear and hate.

Love, DON'T JUDGE.

BTW
I am a blonde and blue eyed half first nations. I feel guilt because of my appearance.....guilt for my racist ancestors and guilt because I am not distinguishable as a native.

Chris
Chris
13 years ago

I find this thread to be disheartening. I read the comments before watching the documentary as a prerequisite and its sad to see that the very hatred that is responsible for this young boy's death is still very much active and fueled by the memory of his story. When will this stop? When will this young man's death and the deaths of those of the very nature no longer be in vain? What happened to this boy's life saddens me as a black man. I could not bare to even watch the video out of fear of seeing what he looked like after this brutal murder because i knew it would stir in me an anger, a bitter hatred for not only the people who did this to him but also for those people who look just like them. Don't let his deaths story be the reason that we continue to hate. Don't fuel your hearts with hate but let it powered by change, powered with love. His death has impacted the movement of equality for african americans. It evoked and coerced a change in this world.

Listen to his mothers words. She doesnt want his death to be in vain. She wants him in his story to be a hero and not a victim.

See it for the change that it made and not for the people who did this to him. LET THE HATRED DIE, LET THE VICTORY OF HIS DEATH TO RACISM IN AMERICA LIVE ON!

john
john
13 years ago

@Lee

I don't mind black Americans, its all the Asians comming here that get on my nerves. That is one f*&ed up race of people

Tamera Parker
Tamera Parker
13 years ago

this was the worst thing to happen in the 19 hundreds for grown men to actually senslessly beat a fourteen year old boy that is totally wrong then for those two men to get off for the murder and actually confess after the trial because they new they couldnt be trialed twice that was sum bs! R.I.P EMMETT LOUIS TILL AND MAY YOUR SOUL ALSO SAME GOES FOR U MOM.

raju
raju
13 years ago

Racists are cowards who don't dare live as individuals. Simple as that. Sad too.

patrick
patrick
13 years ago

lee i cant see how you are racist if you have read to kill a mockingbird. not everyone has a racist side to them i dont i fight for the people who are being treated unfairly i am white and proud of it racism will never end here in connecticut racism is comming back again i just yesterday i walked down the street to the shakespear theater and on the ground it had the kkk with kill the n****** burn the jews. connecticut still has kkk and so many things happened within the last 5 years here in ct that are all racist related. i will never never give sympothy to thoes who are racist and not being mean but you discgust me just because you have no problem with saying you are racist being a racists to me is the lowest possible thing you can ever be. if u have aids herpes i will welcome u into my home if you need help if you say your a racist i will make sure that door hits your ass on the way out. if african americans didnt come to this country the u.s wouldnt be anything look at history and all the good and all the first things african americans did and still accomplish. as people say god made al of us god made hatred and love people took that and turned into this. a 14 year old black male had to be killed for the civil rights movement to be started how sad is that?

Alexandrea
Alexandrea
13 years ago

I am THOROUGHLY disgusted by the antics of this "trial" and how these men escaped earthly justice. I can only find solace in my belief that they were subject to justice by the Ultimate Vindicator.

Though it's hard watching this and it makes me extremely upset; I admire the family of Emmett Till for their unimaginable courage. The quote that still cuts through me is from Emmett's mother in regards to having an open casket, "I want the world to see what they did to my baby." I can't imagine seeing my son bloated and disfigured lying in a casket and holding it all together. She is my hero (or at least one of them)

@Golden_Standard, I agree with you.

RIP - Emmett Till

One More Astronaut
One More Astronaut
13 years ago

@ Golden_ Standard

So it would seem you have a few dispositions about "white" people huh? That's not prejudice at all is it? I would highly suggest that you re read your post from say a neutral position, and pretend you are not of any race or particular "color" - then ask yourself how a "white" person might interpret your views...

Golden_Standard
Golden_Standard
13 years ago

Wow! There are some really insightful comments on this thread and some really dumb ones too. I am a young black woman from Bimingham, AL. My uncles marched w/ Dr. King and had the hoses and dogs unleashed on them. My grandaddy worked for 41 years at Tenesee Coal and Iron, a subsidiary of U.S. Steel and was a barber on the weekends. He was able to provide a fairly comfortable life for his wife and kids, despite being the oldest of 10 children, growing up in rural Alabama, and having to quit school in the 8th grade in order to work & because they didn't let blacks go very far in school at that time. I read "Slavery by Another Name" during my final year of law school and was hurt to my core. The same company my granddaddy worked for "leased" black "convicts" (the book documents evidence showing that most of these men were not criminals at all and that local officials arrested them on trumped-up charges or for owing debts they never really owed--during that time if a white man whom you'd never met said you owed him $10, you owed him $10, black people couldn't even be witnesses in court and no way were they on juries.) This lasted up until World War II, when our great country realized that it needed all of its citizens (blacks, included) to help fight the Japanese. I think the convict lease system, which was the birth of the chain gang, is when Americans started associating blacks with crime--befor the convict lease system prisoners were usually white & people didn't really go to prison all that often, it was only after states & companies started getting free labor from black men that the prison syste started to expand.

That being said, I do think that we have come an very long way in race relations, but I am tired of white people saying that we should be content. We will not be content until we are afforded the same humaness as you. For example, studies have shown that black kids in school are suspended and expelled at a much higher rate than white kids for the same behavior. I think this is because their is a bias in our brain that black people are violent (despite the evidence in our history that white people have been much more violent) so the same behavior done by a black child is INTERPRETED differently, violently.

When I go home to Birmingham, I'm not blatently discriminated against but I can still feel it and some people treat me differently. For example, when I graduated from college and people asked me what I was going to do, I would tell them that I was going to law school. EVERY SINGLE white person who I told this to always asked "have you been accepted?" I was so troubled about this I talked to my white friends at law school about it, their response when they told people they were going to law school..."congratulations" "which one are you going to"

The racism in America is systematic and instutionalized. It's not so much affirmative discrimination as it is latent white privlege.

White people think about what advantages you have just because you're white? Better loans, lower interst rates, lower rates re: life insurance, and most importantly the freedom to be an individual. For all of the negative stereotypes about black people, I can show you a white person who has that same behavior. The difference b/tw being white and black is if Bob (white) is a drug dealer then Bob is a drug dealer. If Tyrone is a drug dealer then black people are drug dealers. If Molly gets food stamps, then Molly gets food stamps, but if Shaniqua gets food stamps, then black people get food stamps.---It's always the negative stereotypes, b/c if Tyrone is a doctor, then Tyrone is a product of Affirmative Action, never Tyrone worked hard and is just as smart as Bob (gasp) or black people are doctors.

Just my young opinion.

Ben
Ben
13 years ago

I find it disturbing to see have easily people starts to argue on this comment board. How do you think wars are started? The past, is the past. Let us look forward and learn from history, and change our behavior instead of feeding on hate and ignorance and instead of looking away and not act. Especially when we witness injusitce and evil.
Just the other night I was watching a doc in here, about Rwanda. Pure hate, but there was some true heroes involved also.
Peace!

Ras Khafila
Ras Khafila
13 years ago

I heard a rumor that Emmett Till's father was found guilty
of rape in WW2 and executed for the crime. Is there any
truth here or is it simply a rumor.

lucy
lucy
13 years ago

i would just like to say what happend to this boy is disgraceful ......bless his soul.

what is pherhaps even sadder is the ignorance of mankind to recognise themselves as one. There are numerous simmilarities amongst all religions including prophets and the belief in an almighty father/one god.what is happening is a minority uses religion a dictatoring tool to seperate and thus conquer different parts of the world . Interpretating different sermons out of context to fit with their own twisteed ideology. i personally dont follow any mainstream religoin but i believe in what i believe feel rights deep inside. humans are passionate beings who are willing to fight for injustices but you should fight for what you truly believe and not what 15 years of media propaganda has taught you to believe.
Whether your white, asian, black or blue you still and feel the sensation of living, you cry, you laugh , you love and you even hate together. it s abput time we all put our differencees aside and fight for a beter world for everyone. i believe in loving thy neighbour.......and that includes my brother and sisters off all colour.

Sarge
Sarge
13 years ago

I haven't even watched this movie yet, but I understand what racism is. It's something that is taught, either by parents or friends or whatever culture you may have been exposed to in your formitive years. I lived in LA during the Watts riots, I was in the Army and deployed to LA during the Rodney King riots in 1992. The soldiers I served with there were of all different races and colors. we didn't see a persons race, we only saw innocent people and law breakers. I've lived in many places around the world. Racism is everywhere. My color? Red, white and blue. I have friends of many different ethnicities and I've seen racism rear it's ugly head from every ethnicity under the rainbow. there is a movie called South Pacific that takes place during WW II. In it a marine is falling in love with a polinesian girl and stops him self because of her skin color. He sings a song that says it all, the song is called You've Got To Be Carfully Taught. In other words he learned it growing up.

kenya
kenya
13 years ago

take the time and read and understand. was up set thinking and typing at the same time counld't type it as i was thinking it

kenya
kenya
13 years ago

After watching this doc and reading some of the comments,I literally had to get up and take my son up from his nap and just hold him and pray. There is a god, and soooo much belive. George B. you said you was poor and white had to fight when you attending black schools. Okay is that the reason you made those ignorant comments. Let me school you on some things, first of all there are just as many white people on food stamps and etc., but do you know what they call it subsidized. do you think that just because we can vote and are allowed to be treated civil like you because white men said okay now is the time blacks are treated equal and then its done but not to much because the system still is not far. Am and otheres just suppose say oh that happened a long time ago not have right to still feel angry and sad that these things happened. you say we have everything what do we have you just named things that every race has and benefits from. If black people as a whole unite as one we will be force to be reconned with. Black people take a stand, lets talk about repemands other people got theres what about us.
deuces
P.S. everybody is not gang baners and don't try to be. White people started not talking this is fact.

Milton Babb
Milton Babb
13 years ago

Milton Babb
Mob rule, murder and lynching have been around since before the American Revolution. White people were the victims for nearly one hundred years then "THEY" started on those black people who would speak up for themselves in moments or times of unfair treatment. This began after the "Civil" war when Black People were appointed to many government positions and were directed to raise confiscatory taxes on all land holdings. The Banks profited from the high evaluations and taxes when the lands were resold, this is the main reason for all wars the banks create the conditions that lead up to wars. The white land owners watched the Black People in Gov. sell their properties with growing anger and hatred, the KKK was formed then by a Confed. General Bedford Forrest and lynching started.

Milton Babb
Milton Babb
13 years ago

How old are you High Voltage? You may be old enough for this information. It is truly just as shocking as the evil death of very young Emmet Till. If you are old enough, and you wish, I will give you my email address or my home address so we can speak in private.

Milton Babb
Milton Babb
13 years ago

HIGH VOLTAGE; you musta got hit one too many times, everybody knows who "they" are,"THEY" are protected by a new federal law, "hate crimes", so just pretend you understand until you finally "catch on." Or just read John 8: 42-46 and Isaiah 14 pay special attention to verse 26 then watch David Ickes videos, and study current English history, financial history that is. Paranoia is necessary for survival in this world. Don't be afraid, it's all a bad dream for you.

High Voltage
High Voltage
13 years ago

Milton Babb you are funny! Is there any way you can find out who "they" are? Maybe dunk them in a lake, if "they" float they are guilty? If "they" drown they aren't? Keep hiding in your fog of paranoia but try not to infect everyone else.

Milton Babb
Milton Babb
13 years ago

If you consider that the verse 26 in Isaiah 14 is valid then the crimes described in Isaiah are premeditated therefore arrest warrants for the perpetrators could be issued by any judicial entity anywhere in the world.

Milton Babb
Milton Babb
13 years ago

There is no place in the world to run to safety, "they" own the world.

Milton Babb
Milton Babb
13 years ago

If you are in fact interested in living in a peaceful world.
"They" are well known. You are evasive and frightened.