The Emmett Till Case: Time To Jail Carolyn Bryant

 

More than 60 years have passed since 14-year-old Emmett Till was murdered in Money, Miss., after reportedly whistling at a white woman. His murderers were never convicted, despite testimony against them and a later confession.

In 1955, Emmett Till, a Chicago native, was sent south to Mississippi to visit his uncle Mose Wright on a summer visit to the hometown of his mother, Mamie Till Mobley.

At the time, the town of Money was controlled by a white minority and much of the black population, including Wright, were sharecroppers. Before leaving Chicago, his mother reportedly warned Till, “to be very careful… to humble himself to the extent of getting on his knees,” as TIME originally reported in the immediate wake of the case. During the trial she would tell the jurors that, as the son of a working-class family from Chicago, he wasn’t really prepared for the full brunt of the segregated south and the violence it could hold for him.

FAST FORWARD TO NOW 

Carolyn Bryant Donham has admitted she lied when she testified that Till touched her — a lie she repeated to the FBI a decade ago.

“Nothing that boy did could ever justify what happened to him,” Donham was quoted as saying.

Bryant admitted her lie to Tim Tyson, author of the new book, The Blood of Emmett Till, but she never gave a reason why.

“There needs to be a revisiting of the evidence in light of this revelation,” said Till’s cousin, Deborah Watts of Minneapolis.

In 1955, an all-white jury acquitted Donham’s then-husband, Roy Bryant, and his half-brother, J.W. Milam, of murdering Till — only for them to confess months later to Look magazine they had indeed beaten and killed the 14-year-old teen from Chicago.

So far, Mississippi and federal authorities aren’t commenting.

Alvin Sykes of Kansas City, president of the Emmett Till Justice Campaign, whose work helped lead to the FBI reopening the case in 2004, said Wednesday, “We have engaged in communications with appropriate authorities and are waiting for the appropriate response at the appropriate time.”

Immunity is one possible option, he said. “Sometimes you can get further in the pursuit of truth outside of a prosecution than you can inside.”

You can read the full and complete story by clicking here. 

Many people have started talking about this case but then they stop. Where are all of the celebrities who rallied to have Bill Cosby put in prison? Are they going to keep that same energy and go just as hard for Emmett Till? Probably not. Carolyn Bryant needs to be charged, his family deserves that much, and Emmett Till definitely deserves justice. Where is everyone at? I'm just a small blogger and I want answers to how come this white woman is not in jail for her role in having an innocent Black child killed? It breaks my heart, especially when I look up to see what petitions have been started and there are many with 0 signatures. 

Thankfully, I found one petition that is currently sitting at 572 signatures, and I am asking that everyone click here and sign the petition. Emmett Till and his family deserves justice.