Fourteen year old Emmett was brutally murdered and mutilated on August 28 by white supremacists Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam in Drew, Mississippi. His body was dumped into the Tallahatchie River and was found three days later with a cotton gin tied around his neck. Roy Bryant's wife, Carolyn, alleged Emmett had touched or flirted with her when he stopped in the Bryant's store. Roy and J.W. then kidnapped him from Emmett's grandfather's house where he was staying and committed this horrendous crime. An all white jury later acquitted the men. These two then later admitted to the crime in a paid interview with Look magazine. They were never punished.
Carolyn recanted her testimony in 2017 and then denied she had done so. J.W. died in 1981, Roy in 1994, and Carolyn in 2023.
The Chicago History Museum had a small Emmett Till exhibit last year.
Medgar Evers was a pivotal figure in the investigation of Emmett's murder and a crucial voice in publicizing the murder and calling for justice. Evers was a Civil Rights Activist and NAACP's first field secretary in Mississippi. As an attorney, the Till murder was his first case. He was later assassinated in his driveway by KKK member, Byron De La Beckwith. After two earlier trials, Beckwith was finally convicted of murder in 1994 and died in prison in 2001. Justice arrived for Evers but never did for Emmett Till.
Emmett's mother insisted on a open casket at the funeral so people could see her son's mutilated body. That horrid sight helped galvanize the Civil Rights Movement.
Emmett is buried in Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois, and we stopped to pay our respects in June, 2026.
Medgar Evers is buried in Arlington National Cemetery and we found his gravesite in October, 2024.
In 2023, President Joe Biden signed legislation commissioning the three Till sites as a National Monument.
Rest in Peace, Emmett Till and Medgar Evers 💔
No comments:
Post a Comment