#FMPolitics: Happy Birthday, Emmett Till!

Happy Birthday, Emmett Till! (July 25, 1941 – August 28, 1955)

A plaque of Emmett Till’s gravesite at Burr Oak Cemetery May 4, 2005, in Alsip, Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Today Emmett Louis “Bobo” Till might have been celebrating his 79th birthday at a backyard barbecue surrounded by family enjoying food warming to the soul with sips of his favorite beverage in hand. Between sips of what I’d imagine might be anything from a bourbon done neat to a green juice packed with spirulina, he’d almost certainly be reflecting on how he made it to such a senior age in a world obsessed with exterminating the Black body. He might have had a companion, been married with children – grandchildren, even. Sadly, we will have to continue on with our imagination of what this birthday would have been like for him, as the young brother was snatched from this earth at the blooming age of 14 a mere 65 years ago.

The Lynching of Emmett Till

An old photo of Emmett and Mamie Till (left to right).

If you’re not familiar with the lynching of Emmett Till, I am currently giving you hard side-eye from the corner of whatever space you occupy while reading this article. For the sake of journalistic integrity, Till was the son of Mamie Elizabeth Till-Mobley (colloquially referred to as Mamie Till) and U.S. Army Vet Louis Till, who was also executed 10 years before his son under eerily similar circumstances while serving in Italy. Emmett’s mother sent him down to Money, Mississippi to spend time with his great uncle Moses Wright and his extended family members. In a week, he would be menacingly tortured and killed at the hands of Roy Bryant and J. W. Milam for allegedly whistling at then Carolyn Bryant (sister of J. W. Milam and wife of Roy Bryant). An all-white jury – Black people and white women were not allowed to sit on the jury, for the record – would acquit Milam and Bryant of their kidnapping and murder charges. This is just a snapshot of all that transpired around this case, so please further enlighten yourself on the cases of events surrounding Emmett Till’s story (here’s a start). You will see that young Till is one name in a sea of many more Black males who were claimed as a victim to racist, white terror.

Mamie Till overlooking Emmett Till’s dead body.

Left with little-to-no options, Mamie decided to utilize the reach and influence of the media to bring widespread awareness and attention to her son’s murder. The Black populous of the United States of America was brimming with terror as photos of Emmett Till’s defaced corpse were published in Jet Magazine on September 15, 1955. It would take 30 years for the mainstream media, NBC’s Today show, in this case, to cover the lynching, finally making white America aware of this gruesome display of monstrosity.

With the Justice Department reopening the investigation into this case, there’s no telling whether any charges will be brought up against Carolyn Bryant Donham (and any other potential living accessories to this crime). And, while we have a movement of protesters who are in the midst of screaming for the abolition of a prison system dedicated to punishing and further perpetuating the harm caused in many instances, we have to reconcile what we see as the best mechanism(s) to hold people accountable for acts particularly as heinous as murder and the lot (that’s a series of articles best saved for another post). Out of respect for our fallen little brother Emmett Till, make sure you do your part to fight for an anti-racist society that condemns and vanishes anti-Black discrimination from the face of the planet. Go give the Black boys and men in your life a hug while you’re at it, too!

Steven “Flow” Pacheco | IG @flowlikeits89 | Twitter @flowlikeits89