African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, American, founded 1821 Search this
Monumental Baptist Church, American, founded 1919 Search this
Medium:
ink on paper
Dimensions:
H x W: 8 3/8 x 5 3/8 in. (21.3 x 13.7 cm)
Type:
handbills
Place made:
Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States, North and Central America
Date:
October 9, 1955
Caption:
This flier, from a collection of documents related to the Boston chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), provides insight into the Northern reaction to the violence against African Americans in the American South.
On August 28, 1955, 14-year-old Emmett Till was brutally lynched in Drew, Mississippi. The murder and subsequent acquittal of the perpetrators were catalysts for a new determination among African Americans in the fight for civil rights. Emmett’s mother, Mamie Till-Mobley said, "The murder of my son has shown me that what happens to any of us, anywhere in the world, had better be the business of us all!!!"
In the same year, Lamar Smith, a farmer and World War I veteran, was shot and killed on the courthouse steps of Brookhaven, Mississippi, and George W. Lee, a grocery store owner and director of the local NAACP branch, was murdered in Belzoni, Mississippi, both in retaliation for encouraging Blacks to register to vote. The violence shocked the nation and inspired new action in the Civil Rights Movement across the country.
Description:
A printed handbill advertising a speaking engagement sponsored by the Boston Branch of the NAACP for Rev. Morris H. Tynes, Pastor of Monumental Baptist Church in Chicago, regarding the Emmett Till case at the A.M.E. Zion Church in Boston on Sunday October 9, 1955.
The flier is printed in black ink on off-white paper. The top half of the flier reads "Race Hatred Rampant In Mississippi, Rev. Morris H. Tynes, Pastor of Monumental Baptist Church in Chicago, Ill. Speaks on the Emmett Till Case, 14 Year Old Negro Boy and Others Murdered in Mississippi." The bottom half of the flier has the event sponsorship date, time and location information.
