A Wreath for Emmett Till

By Marilyn Nelson, Philippe Lardy (Illustrator)

A boy's tragic fate ignites a movement against injustice.

4.2/5 Goodreads · 2,508 ratings

48 pages· 1,527 words· Est. 12 min read-aloud

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Bookroo's summary

In 1955, Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African American, was brutally murdered, sparking national outrage. His story, told through poignant poetry, challenges us to confront and speak out against ongoing injustices. How can one boy's tragic end inspire a fight for change?

From the publisher

2006 Coretta Scott King Honor Book In 1955, people all over the United States knew that Emmett Louis Till was a fourteen-year-old African American boy lynched for supposedly whistling at a white woman in Mississippi. The brutality of his murder, the open-casket funeral, and the acquittal of the men tried for the crime drew wide media attention. Award-winning poet Marilyn Nelson reminds us of the boy whose fate helped spark the civil rights movement. This martyr’s wreath, woven from a little-known but sophisticated form of poetry, challenges us to speak out against modern-day injustices, to “speak what we see.”

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