A Wreath for Emmett Till
- Written by Sierra Horsey
- Published in Blog
- Permalink
February 7, 2022
When Grades 5-8 Librarian Mrs. Wallace started gathering Coretta Scott King Award winners to highlight for Black History Month, she came across a book of poems called A Wreath for Emmett Till by Marilyn Nelson.
Emmett Till was a 14-year-old Black boy who was brutally murdered (lynched) by two white men for allegedly whistling at a white woman.
After talking to a couple of students, she realized they had no idea who Emmett Till was. So, after reading an excerpt from A Wreath for Emmett Till to her 5th and 6th Grade students, she came up with the idea to make a wreath to display in the 500 Building Library. But before reading the excerpt, Mrs. Wallace was nervous about how the students would take in what they were hearing. She said, “At times, I was worried about the content, especially the language used to describe what happened to him, but then I realized that social media and the news have exposed many atrocities in our country.”
To make the wreath, Mrs. Wallace gave all of her students a piece of paper. She told them to write one word that stood out from the excerpt and then put it in a jar. Later, the pieces of paper were assembled into a wreath based on the book of poems about Emmett Till.
Mrs. Wallace thought this project was a worthwhile connection to our country’s current issues, including the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. Many unheard stories came to light after BLM, which is imperative to enact change. Emmett Till’s mother made sure people knew what happened to her son and how severe the problem was so people would listen and promote change.
One 5th Grade student said, “It’s important to know because there was that much violence against a 14-year-old boy.”
Often, 5th and 6th Grade students may feel like they can’t do anything important at their age when in reality, they are the future. Learning and participating in activities like the Wreath for Emmett Till can help students grow into responsible and active members of society. They just need to see the importance of truth.