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The Face of Emmett Till

  • David Barr III
  • Full Length Play, Drama, 1950s, New Millennium/21st Century
  • 7M, 3F
  • ISBN: F93

"The crime and the kangaroo court that followed -- with its verdict of not guilty for Bryant and Milan delivered by an all-white jury in a segregated courtroom -- were galvanizing events in the fight for civil rights."

Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times

  • Full Length Play
  • Drama
  • 135 minutes

  • Time Period: 1950s, New Millennium/21st Century
  • Target Audience: Teen (Age 14 - 18), Adult, Appropriate for all audiences
  • Set Requirements: Unit Set/Multiple Settings

  • Performance Group:
  • Community Theatre, College Theatre / Student, High School/Secondary, Senior Theatre
The Face of Emmett Till is a true-to-life dramatization of the death of 14-year-old Emmett Till, a Chicago teenager who, while visiting relatives in Money, Miss., in August 1955, was kidnapped, tortured and murdered by two white men who claimed they wanted to teach him a lesson for "allegedly" whistling at a local white woman.

The horror and the brutality of this crime were magnified even more when his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, made the fateful decision to invite the media to the funeral where she had an open casket. The shocking pictures were published by the American black press and were later republished around the world. The ramifications of this act are still being felt today. As retold for the first time within a creative, nonfictional genre by Mamie Till-Mobley, the play chronicles this tragedy, its aftermath, and her heroic crusade for justice.

The year 2005 commemorates the 50th anniversary of this incident, which has rightfully been called "the hate crime that changed America" and in fact sparked the Civil Rights movement; two months after the death of Emmett Till, Rosa Parks stood up against Jim Crow and helped spearhead the historic Montgomery Bus Boycott. She has often cited the tragic death of Emmett Till as one of a myriad of reasons she refused to give her seat to a white passenger. 

REVIEWS:

"The crime and the kangaroo court that followed -- with its verdict of not guilty for Bryant and Milan delivered by an all-white jury in a segregated courtroom -- were galvanizing events in the fight for civil rights."

 Hedy Weiss (Chicago Sun-Times)

  • Casting: 7M, 3F
  • Casting Attributes: Reduced casting (Doubling Possible), Minority casting
  • Casting Notes: Male characters can be 7 to 9.

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The Face of Emmett Till Script Order Now

The Face of Emmett Till is a true-to-life dramatization of the death of 14-year-old Emmett Till, a Chicago teenager who, while visiting relatives in Money, Miss., in August 1955, was kidnapped, tortured and murdered by two white men who claimed they wanted to teach him a lesson for eallegedlye whistling at a local white woman. The horror and the brutality of this crime were magnified even more when his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, made the fateful decision to invite the media to the funeral where she had an open casket. The shocking pictures were published by the American black press and were later republished around the world. The ramifications of this act are still being felt today. As retold for the first time within a creative, nonfictional genre by Mamie Till-Mobley, the play chronicles this tragedy, its aftermath, and her heroic crusade for justice. The year 2005 commemorates the 50th anniversary of this incident, which has rightfully been called ethe hate crime that changed Americae and in fact sparked the Civil Rights movement; two months after the death of Emmett Till, Rosa Parks stood up against Jim Crow and helped spearhead the historic Montgomery Bus Boycott. She has often cited the tragic death of Emmett Till as one of a myriad of reasons she refused to give her seat to a white passenger. Unit set. Approximate running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes.

$19.95