Guest Speaker and His Movie Leave a Lasting Impact

In August 1955, a fourteen-year-old black boy whistled at a white woman in a grocery store in Money, Mississippi. Emmett Till, a teen from Chicago, didn't understand that he had broken the unwritten laws of the Jim Crow South.

Three days later, two white men, Roy Bryant and John W. Milam, dragged him from his bed in the dead of night, beat him brutally and then shot him in the head. Although his killers were arrested and charged with murder, an all-white, all-male jury acquitted them both. Shortly afterwards, the defendants sold their story, including a detailed account of how they murdered Till, to a journalist.

On Oct. 7, guest speaker Keith Beauchamp brought Till's story to Jamesville-DeWitt High School. As students filed in to the Large Group Room, a low humming came from the speakers and the screen displayed the menu to the film "The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till."

Mr. Beauchamp introduced himself and gave a bit of background on his inspiration for the Emmy-nominated film "The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till." "When I was younger," said Mr. Beauchamp, "I saw a picture in a magazine of Emmet Till. He looked so angelic and bright. But next to it there was another picture. This picture was of a horrific monster. This picture has stuck in my head until this day." The picture Mr. Beauchamp is referring to is one of Bryant and Milam on the cover of Look magazine.

These pictures were not the only inspirations for Mr. Beauchamp. As he grew older, he began to see discrimination in action. "In high school, I was assaulted by police officers," said Mr. Beauchamp. "This sparked my interest further into civil rights and from there I wanted to pursue a career as a civil rights attorney. While furthering my interests in civil rights, I became interested in film."

As Mr. Beauchamp explored his newfound fascination for film, he decided to make an impact not just in words, but also visually through film. "The story of Emmett is a story of passion," said Mr. Beauchamp, "something all of us here have today. If you have that passion, if you have that perseverance, your dream will come true."

A part of the audience, Jessica Kramer, a senior at J-DHS, found the story of Till to be more important than she thought. "The presentation, was very eye-opening and interesting." said Kramer. "I found that Mr. Beauchamp was really inspirational. We can't ignore such an event, it's just not right," she said.

Bridget O'Grady, also senior at J-DHS, found Mr. Beauchamp to be very informative and passionate. "The movie was very emotional and saddening," said O'Grady, "It made me realize that the case of Emmet Till is very serious. Justice needs to be served despite the fact that the case is old. It is truly important that others know his story."

To learn more about Emmett Till visit The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till.