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70 years after his murder, Emmett Till’s legacy lives on in Bronzeville
Seventy years ago today, 14-year-old Emmett Till from Bronzeville was kidnapped, beaten, and lynched in Mississippi.
CHICAGO - Seventy years ago today, 14-year-old Emmett Till from Bronzeville was kidnapped, beaten, and lynched in Mississippi.
What we know:
People gathered at Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip on Thursday to lay flowers on his grave and his mother Mamie’s.
In 1955, two white men dragged Till from his bed, tortured him, shot him, and dumped his body in the Tallahatchie River with a cotton gin fan tied around his neck. An all-white jury set them free.
Mamie Till insisted on an open casket, so the world could see what had been done to her son. Thousands packed Roberts Temple Church in Bronzeville for his funeral, a church that is now a national landmark.
What they're saying:
One speaker said Mamie’s courage is what keeps her son’s memory alive.
"When the casket came open, and she saw how bad he was, how terrible he looked, how he had been tortured and shot in the head, she could have said, 'No, I don’t want anyone to see my son like this,'" said human rights advocate Cheryl Gathings.
"But she didn’t. Because of her courage, strength, and faith, she said, 'I see my son.' When the funeral home asked if she wanted him fixed up, she said, 'No. Let America see what I see. Open the casket.' And that’s why we are here today."
What's next:
The Friends of Burr Oak are now pushing to make these graves a national historic site, with a state hearing set for Oct. 24.
The Source: This story was reported during an episode of First at Four on Fox 32 News.