Emmett Till Persuasive Speech

Speaking Outline
Topic: The murder case of Emmett Till
Purpose: To inform the audience about how horrific Emmett’s murder was and how the case itself served as injustice.
Intro: Imagine living in the time where Jim Crow laws were at its peak. Just think, not being able to hold the door open for a lady who has hand full of groceries or even communicating with the opposite race. Imagine being a 14 year-old black male at this time. For those of you who don’t know what it’s like to be black in those days, it was pretty tough. I’m not here to speak to you about Jim Crow and its stupidity, but more a young man whose life was completely changed after what was a visit to his uncle’s house for a summer vacation. I. Emmett Till a. Born
He was a jokester and was known for making people laugh.
Transition: Let me take you down south to Money, Mississippi where Emmett and his friends were visiting his uncle Mose for the summer vacation. II. Money, Mississippi d. Emmett and his cousins were visiting his uncle in Money, Mississippi for the summer vacation. On August 21, Emmett and his “gang” arrived in Money, Mississippi. e. Emmett and his cousins were picking cotton that Monday morning. That following Wednesday, with the few pennies that they made, they decided to go to Bryant’s Grocery and Meat Market to purchases candy, soda pops, bubble gum, etc. (You know the usual a teenager would buy with his pennies.) f. By Emmett being from up North, he didn’t have a clue about Jim Crow and its laws. g. Emmett placed the money he had for the purchase into Mrs. Bryant’s hand, rather it being laid on the counter. h. When Mrs. Bryant followed Emmett outside, he made a whistle at her.
Transition: Seeing that the whistle was made on complete innocence, Emmett was faced with more than just a whopping and a
The “Kidnapping” and Murder i. Informed about the incident two days later, Roy Bryant (husband) and his half-brother began looking for Emmett. j. At 2:00am on August 28, 1955, they found Emmett in his uncle’s cabin and proceeded to make entrance. Once inside, they carried Emmett out to “teach him a lesson”. k. Three days later, Emmett was found in the Tallachie River with a 75-pound cotton gin fan bound to his neck, a bullet hole smack dab in the middle of his head (in which his mother said she could look directly through the hole and see daylight on the other side), his right eye laying midway to his cheek and his nose was completely flattened. l. Emmett was so dismembered that his mother only recognized him because he was wearing his father’s ring. m. His mother demanded an open-casket funeral because she wanted the world to see what they had “done to her son”.
Transition: Seeing that Emmett was killed for whistling at Mrs. Bryant, the case and the results shocked most of the world. IV. An Injustice Case n. On September 23, 1955, after 63 minutes of deliberating, an all-white male jury aquits Roy Bryant and his half- brother J. W Milam of the murder of Emmett