The family of Emmett Till held a press conference at the Mississippi capitol this morning to ask lawmakers to bring justice to the last accomplice in the fourteen-year-old’s lynching.
The African American male from Chicago was staying with relatives in Mississippi in 1955 when he allegedly whistled at Carolyn Bryant Donham.
When told of Till’s purported actions, Donham’s husband and his brother beat and tortured Till until he died from a gunshot to the head.
Till’s death has fueled a civil rights movement that has lasted for decades, with his renewed case being closed again in December 2021 and 88-year-old Donham free of any charges.
“We are gathered here today because Emmett Till’s family, supporters, and ambassadors are standing together in solidarity, calling for truth, justice, and accountability for fourteen-year-old Emmett Till’s death. Time is running out. It is long overdue. Emmett’s murder case remains unsolved,” covenant of Till’s Terri Watts explained.
More than 250,000 signatures were collected by Till’s family as they continued to pass out petitions to lawmakers in the capitol.
As H.R. 55, or Emmett Till Antilynching Act, has passed in both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, justice for those who experience lynching is still being fought for in the legal system.
The bill will make lynching a federal hate crime offense with a fine and/or prison term of up to 30 years, showing that the death of Emmett Till still impacts our nation today.
