Emmett Till’s memorial in Mississippi has once again been vandalized. The memorial was restored just 35 days ago after being damaged two other times.
The sign stands at the Tallahatchie River where Till’s body was recovered three days after he was murdered. The initial sign which was erected in 2007 was stolen the following year and never recovered. Since then it’s been repeatedly vandalized with bullet holes until it was fully replaced in late June. This time, Till’s sign was desecrated with at least four bullets holes.
An Instagram user named “A Girl Has No President” shared a photo of the bullet-riddled sign with the caption, “63 years after he was butchered. Hate is real y’all. How many times will that sign have to be replaced? It took 52 years to get it. It’s already been replaced twice. “Never Forget” is just a bumper sticker.”
In 1955, the 14-year-old Till was visiting Mississippi from Chicago when he was accused of whistling and making sexual advances at a white woman identified as Carolyn Bryant. He was then kidnapped, tortured, brutally murdered and tossed into a river. Till’s case helped ignite the Civil Rights Movement.
The Department of Justice recently confirmed it’s reopening the case citing new information. It’s believed that Timothy Tyson’s book “The Blood Of Emmett Till” which includes a confession from Bryant was the impetus to reopen the case. “Nothing that boy did could ever justify what happened to him,” Bryant said in the book while revealing that Till never made advances toward her.
