[CONTENT NOTE: racially motivated kidnapping and lynching of a Black minor. No violent images appear in this post, however such image(s) can be found in at least one of the links contained herein. This post contains an image of the victim’s mother and others mourning at his funeral.]

Today we’re going to STFU and listen to a cousin of Emmett Till, a 14-year old boy who was kidnapped, tortured and murdered 66 years ago. A particular excerpt I wish to highlight is this:

The past has not passed. Lynchings like Ahmaud Arbery’s, Breonna Taylor’s, and George Floyd’s are very much reflective of what happened to our cousin Emmett. There is a clear connection between past injustices and the injustices that continue to this day. We won’t stop fighting. It is our duty to not allow the lives of those stolen by hate to be in vain.

Of all of the images I looked at in learning about Emmett Till, one struck me the most. It is a photo of griefstricken mourners at Emmett Till’s funeral, including his extraordinary mother Mamie Carthan Till-Mobley. I believe the reason it resonated so strongly with me is that I have seen that grief in the faces of friends and relatives of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and many, many more.

The video for HELL YOU TALMBOUT by Janelle Monáe, Deep Cotton, St. Beauty, Jidenna, Roman GianArthur, and George 2.0 is over six years old, years before the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. It is at least as relevant today as it was then, and it mentions Emmett Till.

#sayhisname

The photo taken at Till’s funeral, the HELL YOU TALMBOUT video and the rest of the message from Deborah Watts, Emmett Till’s cousin and co-founder of the Emmett Till Legacy Foundation below the cut.

1955 photo of griefstricken mourners at Emmett Till’s funeral, including his mother Mamie Carthan Till-Mobley.
(image: public domain)

via MoveOn email (all emphasis in original):

From: Justice for Emmett Till Alert (via MoveOn)
Date: Tue, Jan 25, 2022
Subject: Add your name: Demand justice for Emmett Till!
To: Iris Vander Pluym

Sign the petition: Charge Carolyn Bryant Donham, the only known surviving accomplice in our cousin Emmett Till’s 66-year-old open murder case, now!

Content warning: This email contains details about racially motivated hate crimes, violence, and murder. It is important that you read this in order to demand justice for Emmett Till and his family.

Dear MoveOn member,

Here we are, 66 years later, and there still hasn’t been any justice for our cousin Emmett Till, a Black boy who was just 14 years old when he was dragged out of bed, kidnapped, brutally tortured, lynched, killed, and dumped into a river by Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam during a racially motivated hate crime.¹ Bryant and Milam were tried before an all-white, all-male jury in 1955, where they were unsurprisingly acquitted of all charges.²

They eventually confessed to kidnapping and killing Emmett, but due to double jeopardy protections in our justice system, they weren’t charged or convicted for these heinous crimes.

The pain is still raw for our family, but our push for justice is not over.

Carolyn Bryant Donham is the only known surviving accomplice and she has yet to be charged for her role in the kidnapping and murder of Emmett Till. Our family urgently needs your help because we are not giving up. Together, we can keep fighting to ensure that she is brought to justice.

Will you join over 100,000 MoveOn members and add your name to the petition?

Emmett’s murder case was reactivated by the United States Department of Justice in 2017 when the only known accomplice, Carolyn Bryant Donham, appeared to admit that she lied to her husband Roy Bryant (one of Emmett’s killers), and during Emmett’s murder trial, by falsely claiming that Emmett made sexual advances and physically touched her.³

Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that they closed their investigation into his death.⁴ We were hopeful that the DOJ decision to shut down their investigation would have been different, but the work doesn’t end and stop here. We need to keep the pressure going.

Emmett Till’s case still remains open in Mississippi, where Attorney General Lynn Fitch and W. Dewayne Richardson, district attorney for the 4th Circuit Court District, can decide to move the case forward by charging and indicting any known accomplices, including Carolyn Bryant Donham.

Emmett was adventurous, full of life, and such a joy. He didn’t get a chance to fulfill his childhood and teen years, become an adult, get married, or have children of his own. He should be alive today. That’s why we can’t stop demanding truth, justice, and accountability. And justice for Emmet Till is now in the state of Mississippi’s hands. They must act now.

Sign Emmett Till Legacy Foundation’s petition

And the worst part is, this is not an isolated incident. It happens more often than you would imagine. Black communities and communities of color suffer every single day at the hands of brutal systems designed to protect white supremacy and the status quo above all else.

The past has not passed. Lynchings like Ahmaud Arbery’s, Breonna Taylor’s, and George Floyd’s are very much reflective of what happened to our cousin Emmett. There is a clear connection between past injustices and the injustices that continue to this day. We won’t stop fighting. It is our duty to not allow the lives of those stolen by hate to be in vain.

And there is so much work still left to do. Join me by demanding that the state of Mississippi do the right thing by charging Carolyn Bryant Donham in Emmett Till’s open murder case now!

Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to your friends.

Thanks!

—Deborah Watts, Emmett Till’s cousin and co-founder of the Emmett Till Legacy Foundation

Sources:

1. “‘We suffered for 66 years’: US ends latest Emmett Till murder investigation without charges,” The Guardian, December 6, 2021. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/06/we-suffered-for-66-years-us-ends-latest-emmett-till-investigation-without-charges

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

4. “Emmett Till’s cousin: Accuser in case is still alive and must be brought to justice,” USA Today, December 13, 2021. https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/policing/2021/12/13/emmett-till-accuser-justice/6423209001/

Please sign and share the petition if you are so inclined. For more information about the legacy of Emmett Till, please visit The Emmett Till Interpretive Center at emmett-till.org, and if you are able to do so consider making a donation to help continue the Center’s work.

UPDATE:

via Roots Action email:

Convicted murderer Jason Van Dyke, the Chicago police officer who shot unarmed seventeen-year-old Laquan McDonald 16 times, [has been] released from prison today. RootsAction’s allies in Chicago condemned the release of Van Dyke, who served less than half of his 81-month sentence.

More at NPR about the release and protests.

__________
Day 1 of Black History Month 2022 is here.
Day 2 Black History Month 2022 is here.