A United States Landmark

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Imagine having to put your child on a train and tell him to "be small". Black mothers had to teach their children to accommodate the hatred and ugliness of others so they wouldn't be treated in an inhumane way. This is what happens in the case of Emmett Till in 1955. He was accused of flirting with a white woman and was tortured and lynched by two white men in Mississippi. Carolyn Bryant said that Emmett whistled at her and that is what started the entire thing. She has still not admitted that she lied. His mother, Mammie had a premonition that something bad is going to happen to her son if she let him go further south to see family. The next time she saw her beloved son was his bruised and battered body in a coffin. She decides to hold an open coffin funeral for her son. She was asked if she wanted them to do something with his face and she says no. She wants people to see him and what happened to him. Mamie Till spent the rest of her life seeking justice for her son. The film, "Till" is the story of a mother's pursuit of justice and is in theaters now. Such things are still happening in America today. This happened 68 years ago. It took 67 years for the Anti-lynching Act to be enacted. President Biden signed the bill into law this year. A 2020 version of the bill called for a maximum sentence of 10 years. A memorial was set up in remembrance of Emmett Till and what happened. First, it was thrown in the river, second and third attempts at memorializing this are riddled with bullets. And the fourth time they had to put up a protective barrier around it.