Who & Why.......

Over the weekend I had an opportunity to go
and see "The Ballad of Emmett Till," which is
showing at the Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn.
The play centers around the August 28, 1955 murder of
the 14-year-old Chicago boy in Money, Mississippi,whose
body was found by fishermen three days after his death in the
Tallahatchie River. Till's killing at the hands of Roy Bryant and J. R.
Milam, is noted as a major factor for the beginnig of the Civil Rights
Movement.

Events that resulted in his death have been agured over. Some say
that he whistled at Bryant's wife, Carolyn only because of a stutter
that he suffered from due to contracting Polio as a child, but Carolyn
later stated that he uttered the words "Hey Baby," as he walked out
of the store. These events later lead to Till being beaten, shot in the
back and having a cotton gin fan tied around his neck with barb wire.
Bryant and Milam later confessed to the brutal killing but was eventually acquitted of all charges surrrounding the case. Till remains are buried at Burr Ridge Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois.

"The Ballad of Emmett Till," lasts until June 1st at the Goodman Theatre. Visit goodmantheatre.org for ticket and showtimes.