10 GROUNDCOVER NEWS BLACK HISTORY In the summer of 1955 Emmett Till traveled to the town of Money, Mississippi, in order to spend time with his relatives. One hot Friday afternoon, after picking cotton in the fields, Emmett and his cousins borrowed Rev. Wright’s vehicle and drove to Bryant’s Grocery and Meat Market. The cashier was 21-year-old Carolyn Bryant, wife of the store owner. The cousins bought candies. Some of the cousins dared young Emmett to say something to get Carolyn’s attention. Eyewitnesses said that he did not utter a word, but he whistled. Carolyn was upset because Black males were not allowed to whistle at a white female. Carolyn Bryant Donham died of cancer on April 25, 2023. She was 88. Her accusations contributed to the abduction and murder of 14-year old Emmett Till of Chicago, Illinois. NPR reported that Bryant-Donham died in Westlake, Louisiana, at a hospice care. The Mississippi Today Newspaper carried a headline which read, “Woman at center of Till killing has died.” Writer Jerry Mitchell, author of the April 27, 2023 article, interviewed Devery Anderson, author of the book “Emmett Till: The Murder that Shocked the World and Propelled the Civil Rights Movement.” Anderson said, “Donham’s death marks the end of a chapter.” He noted that some people “have been clinging to hope that she could be prosecuted…She was the last remaining person who had any involvement … Now, that can’t happen.” Anderson continued, “For many, it’s going to be a wound, because justice was never done … Some others were clinging to hope she might still talk or tell the truth… Now it’s over.” A County Judge signed an arrest warrant for Carolyn Bryant in 1955. The Sheriff did not execute the warrant. It was found recently in a County Court basement. Mississippi Today Newspaper also interviewed Rev. Wheeler Parker who was sleeping in the same house the night Emmett Till was abducted and murdered. Rev. Parker said that he and his family send their sympathies to the Donham family, and “don’t have any ill will or animosity towards her.” Parker also told Mississippi Today that Emmett Till’s mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, “forgave her son’s killers.” On July 25, 2023, an article written by Kevin Liptak appeared on CNN with the title, “Biden honors Emmett Till and his mother amid debate over how to teach kids about painful parts of U.S. history.” A White House ceremony at the Old Executive Building featured President Joe Biden. Vice President Kamala Harris, some members of Emmett Till’s family and invited guests. At the ceremony, the President announced the naming of AUGUST 11, 2023 Why we remember Emmett Till’s lynching story WILL SHAKESPEARE Groundcover vendor No. 258 three new national monuments—one in Chicago at the site of the church that hosted Emmett Till’s open casket funeral. The second proposed monument will be located in front of the County Courthouse where the killers of Emmett Till were tried and acquitted. The third monument will be erected near the Tallahatchie river, a site where the tortured body of Till was dumped and later recovered. The monuments are intended to be symbols which honor Emmett Till and his mom, Mamie Till-Mobley, for their sacrifice, and for galvanizing the civil rights movement of the 1950s and ‘60s. President Biden made the following remarks at the podium: “In a time when there are those who seek to ban books, bury history, we’re making it clear, crystal, crystal clear: While darkness and denialism can hide much, they erase nothing. We can’t just choose to learn what we want to know,” Biden said from the Indian Treaty Room. “We have to learn what we should know. We should know about our country. We should know everything. The good, the bad, the truth. Who we are as a nation.” Vice President Harris echoed President Biden’s perspective when she remarked, ““Our history as a nation is born of tragedy and triumph. Of struggle and success. That is who we are. And as people who love our country, as patriots, we know that we must remember and teach our full history. Even when it is painful, especially when it is painful.” Emmett Till would have been 82 years old on July 25, 2023. The President recalled that he was 12 when Till was murdered. This is not ancient history. It happened within the lifetime of millions of Americans, and perhaps tens of millions of people across the globe today. His mom, Mamie, was right. Emmett did not die in vain. His brutal murder and Mamie’s decision to have an open casket funeral shocked the world and challenged America’s 14th Amendment principles of substantive due process rights, equal protection guarantees, and all the privileges and immunities of citizenship rights. We cherish our freedom, our liberty and our hope for equal justice! PUZZLE SOLUTIONS T O S H S H E S I D E A H E R E N E E M E A S T M A H L E R Left: Thousands of mourners in Chicago gathered for Till's funeral at the Roberts Temple. Right top: Emmett Till's corpse in an open casket. Right bottom: The memorial that marks the river site where Till's body was found has been vandalized many times since its establishment. C A D S L A T H I A R M O R I N A R T I C U L A T E A D O N I S E R A T O S T H E N E S D E V O N W O U N D C P A A N O N D I M L Y H O O P L A C A E R I E S E N S E R O B E R T R O L L E R S K A T E R L I V E R Y I R R I T A B I L I T Y L I A N A L O O P S A R I L E V E L O T T O E X A M S L E D G A I N T E M P -
11 Publizr Home