65 years ago, Emmett Till was brutally murdered and his tragic legacy became engraved into American history.
On Aug. 28, 1955, Emmett Till was brutally murdered after a White woman falsely accused him of inappropriate behavior. Sixty-five years later, his lynching stands as a harrowing example of the evils of racism, still alive today.
He would, could, and should be a 79-year-old man telling his grandchildren stories of traveling from Chicago to Mississippi as an adolescent. Instead, Emmett Till was murdered at age 14. The arduous tale of his kidnapping and murder helped to ignite protests and helped fuel the civil rights movement, similar to modern uprisings.
First Black Woman Astronaut To Join International Space Station Crew Next Year
“Emmett Till was my George Floyd. He was my Rayshard Brooks, Sandra Bland, and Breonna Taylor. He was 14 when he was killed, and I was only 15 years old at the time,” said the late Representative John Lewis in a posthumous op-ed published by The New York Times.
While visiting family, Till was hunted down by racist White men after accusations of “whistling” at a White woman. He and a group of children went to Bryant’s Grocery and Meat Market after a long summer day. According to PBS, the market was frequently shopped by Black customers, and owned by married couple Roy and Carolyn Bryant who would later be responsible for the teenager’s death.
Mrs. Bryant claimed Till engaged with her inappropriately, Mr. Bryant and his brother J. W. Milam, decide to kidnap him and kill for his behavior. The men beat the young teenager beyond recognition and shot him in the head before dumping his body in the Tallahatchie River.
Three days later, a bruised and bloated corpse was recovered from the water, only identified as Emmett Till by a ring with his initials. His mother Mamie Till-Mobleyrequested his body be transported to Chicago for a funeral service and burial.
Source: Remembering the lynching of Emmett Till 65 years later
