On August 28, 1955, a 14-year-old child visiting family in Money, Missis-sippi, was kidnapped at gunpoint, as his relatives stood by, helplessly beg-ging for his life.
This child, frightened and terrified, was taken to a barn and beaten almost to death by grown men. His eye was gouged out. Half-dead, he was killed by a bullet to his head. Then his body, tied to a cotton gin fan with barbed wire, was thrown into the river.
This was the murder of Emmett Till.
On August 28, 2005, Deborah Watts, a former congressional candidate and a member of Emmett Till’s fami-ly, co-founded the Emmett Till Legacy Foundation, a nonprofit, 501 C3 orga-nization whose main focus is to educate the masses, while preserving the legacy of Emmett and his mother Mamie, and demanding justice for Emmett Till.
Emmett Till was brutally murdered 66 years ago, and no one has ever been convicted of the crime. And as the fam-ily cries out for justice, the silence of his hometown of Chicago is deafening.
Yes, Chicago named a portion of a street after Emmett Till. Yes, Chicago named the school he attended, McCosh Elementary School, the Emmett Louis Till Math and Science Academy, and yes, Chicago will soon have an Emmett Till Museum.
But two racist white men were ac-quitted of his murder by an all-white jury, and both died without ever having to account for the cold-blooded murder of a 14-year old. The one last accomplice, who is still alive, has never been charged, although a warrant was sworn out for her arrest 66 years ago. She’s alive and may soon have the luxury of dying without ever having to answer for the lie she told that led to Emmett’s kid-napping, torture, and murder.
There is some confusion as to whether this accomplice, Bryant-Donham, recanted her original accusation. She originally stated Till not only whistled at her, but put his hands on her hips and made lewd remarks. In the book, The Blood of Emmett Till, by Timothy Tyson, Tyson claims that Carolyn Bryant-Donham recanted. Bryant-Donham’s family disputed that claim.
“It’s not a myth,” says Deborah Watts. “This is an OPEN federal case, in the hands of the District Attorney, DeWayne Richardson in Mississippi and the United States Department of Justice.” Ms. Watts is passionate, “Why isn’t justice being served? Carolyn Bryant Donham is still alive.”
The 1955 trial of Roy Bryant and JW Milan was a mockery of justice. The brothers admitted kidnapping Till, but claimed the body that was retrieved from the Tallahatchie River was a grown man, not Till. And based on that lie, the all-white jury acquitted.
In 2005, FBI Agent Killinger received permission from the family to exhume Emmett Till’s body to confirm it was indeed him, through DNA tests.
In 2006, Joyce Chiles, a Black woman who is the elected District Attorney for Delta County, Mississippi, where Emmett Till was killed, began gathering evidence about the case. DA Chiles convened a grand jury in 2007. The grand jury’s ultimate decision was “no true bill.” No charges would be brought.
“Mississippi has a dark cloud,” says Ms. Watts, “They’ve got his blood on their hands.”
And the silence emanating from the City of Chicago for its native son is overwhelming. When this horrendous murder took place in 1955, the nation responded. African Americans throughout the country began to stand up to the injustices of Jim Crow. Rosa Parks sat down. The Civil Rights Movement was born. The late U.S. Congress-man John Lewis said Emmett Till was his George Floyd.
We know how to speak up, stand up, march, and protest for justice. In response to George Floyd’s murder, Chica-go joined the world in outrage with marches, speeches, editorials, and more. A knee on the neck of a 46-year-old man for nine minutes was horrendous, and George Floyd received justice. Chauvin’s conviction allowed the country to exhale. With Emmett Till, we are still holding our breath, waiting for his justice to come.
Many say it was the image of George Floyd under Chauvin’s knee for nine minutes and 29 seconds, while calling for his deceased mother, which drew the world’s attention. It took more than nine minutes for a 14-year-old child to be beaten, mutilated, shot in the head, and thrown into the Tallahatchie River, and the world – especially Chicago– needs to continue to fight for his justice.
Emmett Till was murdered on August 28, 1955; the March on Washington was held on August 28, 1963; Senator Barack Obama accepted his nomination for the U.S. presidency on August 28, 2008. On August 28, 2021, annual events will be held to commemorate the 66th anniversary of Emmett Louis Till as the nation rallies on this historic day to restore and demand federal voting rights protection. We stand in solidarity and ask all to remember Emmett Till by wearing black and white and posting a photo of yourself with Hashtags #EmmettTill66 and #Jus-ticeForEmmettTill.
Deborah Watts says, “I know there’s a lot going on in Chicago and surrounding areas to remember Emmett Till. Preserving and memoralizing land where Emmett’s home once stood, also the church where his funeral was held, plans for his childhood home to become a museum, but we’ve got some work to do around demanding justice for your native son and welcome your assistance. We encourage Chicago residents to be more vocal and visible in this fight for Justice for Emmett Till.”
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For more information visit http://emmetttilllegacyfounda-tion.com, www.emmetttilllegacyfoundation.com, visit the Emmett Till Legacy Foundation Facebook Page, Twitter and Instagram and Sign the Justice for Emmett Till petition, text EMMETT to 243725 or go to https://sign.moveon.org/petitions/charge-surviving-accomplice-in-65-year-old-em-mett-till-open-murder-case-now-justiceforemmetttill.
