1955: The Murder of Emmett Till
Emmett Till, a 14-year-old boy visited Mississippi to see family in August. He and a cousin visited a store to pick up some treats. His interaction with the 21 year-old white woman running the store at the time is still disputed, though some suggest he flirted with her, whether jokingly or not. Her husband gathered a group, and later that night, snatched Emmett from the house he was staying in. Emmett was not found until three days later. He had been killed with a gunshot, but his swollen body had obvious signs of prolonged trauma, and had been weighted down in the river to keep from being immediately found. The woman's husband, Roy Bryant, and his brother JW Milam were indicted for Emmett's murder. The trial was held in September. The defense used the fact that Emmett's body was so mangled that it was impossible to say that it was Emmett's to suggest the mens' innocence, implying that Emmett wasn't dead at all. At the end of a five day trial, it took the all white, all male jury 67 minutes to acquit the two men.
Sources:
- Wikipedia: Emmett Till
- PBS: The Murder of Emmett Till
- Library of Congress: The Murder of Emmett Till
- Biography: Emmett Till
- History: Emmett Till Is Murdered
- Guardian: Will Justice Finally Be Done for Emmett Till?
- Emmett Till Account
When we think of Till, most people know his name, and think lynching, even though the boy was never actually hung. The truth of lynching is that it is about white people taking their anger out on Black people's bodies, and killing them, whether or not the victim of a lynching is actually hung. We as white people must not forget this, and must push for justice in all these cases, including the case in my next post, about two young couples killed by more white rage.
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