28 Aug 1955 Jahr - The lynching of Emmett Till

Beschreibung:

In August 1955, Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African American boy from Chicago, traveled to Mississippi to visit relatives. While there, he allegedly whistled at a white woman, Carolyn Bryant, in a grocery store. A few days later, Till was abducted by Bryant’s husband, Roy, and his half-brother, J.W. Milam. The two men brutally beat and murdered the teenager before dumping his mutilated body in the Tallahatchie River.

The horror of Till’s death gained national attention after his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, insisted on an open-casket funeral in Chicago to expose the brutality of the murder. Photographs of Till’s disfigured body were widely published and shocked the nation. In a highly publicised trial, both Bryant and Milam were acquitted by an all-white, all-male jury despite overwhelming evidence. Protected by double jeopardy, the two later confessed to the killing in a paid magazine interview, further fuelling outrage.

Emmett Till's murder and the acquittal of his killers became a powerful symbol of racial injustice. It galvanised activists across the country and is often cited as a catalyst for the burgeoning Civil Rights Movement. Active supporters included protest singers such as Joan Baez and Bob Dylan, who both wrote songs dedicated to the cruel fate of Emmett Till. (Note that the 1968 Beatles song "Blackbird" is said to metaphorically address the contemporary Black experience as well, following the band's refusal to play to segregated audiences during their US tour in 1964.)

Zugefügt zum Band der Zeit:

Datum:

Abbildungen:

YouTube: