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Remembering Emmett Louis Till
by Charese McLean-Davis
reseydavis@excapethematrix.com
I am the mother of two African American sons, ages 12 and 9. Raising them has been an interesting experience, to say the least. It is my goal to raise them to become decent, God-fearing African American men. The exploration for answers is endless, as I am always seeking new adventures and lessons to broaden their minds, hearts and spirits.
Our latest journey began when a documentary based upon Emmett Louis Till’s life and death aired on television. I knew that is was the opportunity of a lifetime to teach them why their ancestry is so powerful. Of course they had no idea who Emmett Till was or what he represents, as is the case for many of today’s youth.
Emmett Till, of course, was the young 14 year old black Chicagoan boy that was murdered in Money, Mississippi in the summer of 1955 while visiting family. At the store buying bubble gum, Emmett talked to and may have whistled at Carolyn Bryant, a white woman. Witnesses said that Emmett’s action was innocent enough, but by the time the story circulated, Emmett was portrayed as a monster that had violated the woman’s safety and rights. Days after the alleged incident, Roy Bryant (the husband of the accuser) and J. W. Milam (his half-brother) came to the family’s home and took Emmett away, intent on teaching him a lesson about the inferiority of his "kind." The men brutally beat Emmett until he was unrecognizable, cut off one of his ears and finally shot him with a .45 caliber pistol. To cover their crime, the men weighed Emmett down with a seventy-five pound cotton gin and threw his body into the Tallahatchie River. When found, Emmett was identified only by a ring on his finger that his father had given him.
The story made major headlines across the nation for several reasons, the first being that while there were witnesses to both Emmett’s removal from the home and the murder, both men were found not guilty due to lack of evidence. In an astounding act of bravery, Emmett’s mother allowed her son’s transformed body to be viewed by all at his funeral services. In a disturbing twist, Bryant and Milam later confessed to the murder, knowing that they could not be tried again for the same crime. Milam informed an interviewer that the two men became increasingly angry with Emmett when he refused to show fear and instead maintained a defiant attitude. At one point, Emmett told the men that while he was black, he was just as good as they were! The men felt it was their duty to make an example of Emmett.
After Emmett’s murder, the two men continued to live normal lives up until their deaths years later. Carolyn Bryant continues to live in southern comfort, refusing to speak about the incident. Up until her death, Emmett’s mother maintained that she did not want any harm to come to those that had killed her son but simply wanted an apology. Sadly, she never received her wish.
After the documentary, my sons were speechless (a rarity!). They simply could not believe that Emmett’s life was taken for "nothing." I explained to them that despite Emmett’s short time here on earth, his life was indeed purposeful. His death was not in vain, for today he is a part of their make up, their history, their culture and their strength. Emmett’s memory should make them stronger, prouder, better. In fact, his memory should do the same for us all.