In order to understand the events resulting from Till’s murder, one must examine the murder, the court case, and the pervading attitude of the time. Till was murdered for either whistling at or touching Carolyn Bryant, thereby proving that any perceived threat from an African American to a white person would be met with brutal force in that time period. Till, for example, was kidnapped and tortured before being shot and dumped into a river (Stanley, The Murder of Emmett Till). Soon afterwards, Bryant and Milam were then acquitted by an all white jury (Metress, 2003), even though all of the evidence presented in the trial strongly suggested their guilt. (Trial Transcript.) Taking a black life was not deemed to be a serious crime, showing the disregard towards African Americans amongst the white populace. Such an attitude’s prevalence among the people was most likely one of the causes of the Montgomery Bus Boycott.…show more content… Most reacted with outrage to the acquittal, however, others still applauded the decision. J.S. Connelly’s letter insinuated that Till was the one at fault (Primary Sources), but the numerous sympathizers of Till, such as Lester Banks, considered the justice system was a “hollow mockery” for its refusal to punish the two men, expressing disgust and anger in the trial’s outcome (Primary Sources). This rift in ideology led to further division among the people, eventually pushing the conflict for racial equality to a boiling point. Based on the content of the letters in Primary Sources, the black community was enraged by what they saw as direct permission from the court for a white person to lynch an African
