Jackson Free Press

The Chicago Sun-Times reports today:

The FBI will order the exhumation of the body of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old Chicago boy who was taken from a Mississippi farmhouse in 1955 and killed for whistling at a white woman, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned. Till's body, which is buried next to his mother's at Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, will be exhumed within the next few weeks, and an autopsy will be conducted by Cook County Medical Examiner Ed Donahue, according to a source. "The FBI wants to know who killed Till, and due to the brutal beating he received, an exhumation may provide the evidence they need" to make a case, said the source. The murder of Till, an unsolved case standing at the center of the American civil rights movement, gave meaning to the term "Mississippi Justice." [...]

The U.S. Justice Department reopened the case following a documentary by African-American filmmaker Keith Beauchamp, 32, who claimed to have uncovered new evidence. The documentary, "The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till," chronicled Till's nightmare death and the sham trial of his alleged murderers.

It was the lack of convictions in the face of overwhelming evidence that lead Beauchamp to make his startling documentary, which took nine years to research and produce.

Beauchamp believes five people who are still alive could lend new insight into the case and that as many as 10 people either observed or took part in the slaying.

Previous Commentsshow

I saw Keith Beauchamp's documentary last year at JSU after we brought the "Without Sanctuary" exhibit here; it was part of a series of panel discussions and such held in conjunction with the exhibit. It was really powerful, as was this young black man who is determined to see justice done in the case. It was heartwarming, and I'm so pleased to see that his creative work seems to be making a difference. Also, I sat next to Till's cousin during one of the discussions; he was with Emmett when he was abducted. He's an older man now, but this familly still so wants justice. It's never too late to set things right if you can. I'm very proud to be back home in a Mississippi during a time when we're startin g to face some old injustices that our society's has overlooked for way too long. Very, very proud.

DonnaLadd

May 4 2005

... "we," by the way, meaning a committee of Jacksonians, not the JFP alone, for goodness sake. Wanted to clarify ...

DonnaLadd

May 4 2005

God works in mysterious ways but he's always on time.

Black Man

May 5 2005

"Justice delayed is essentially justice denied" I don't know if I'm alone in feeling this way, but it makes me very angry that it has taken Mississippi this long to take action. They've waited until the perpetrators have either died or have gotten so old that they are dead and don't know it. Well, if you want to find the rest of those involved. The first place to start looking is in the churches. The Philadelphia, MS case is proof of that. Wasn't Killens a preacher now or something?

El Canario

May 5 2005

The sad thing is that Mamie Till died before seeing this case brought back up. And she worked so tirelessly for justice. Remember her opening the casket so that the world, through the media, could see what bigotry, hate and ignorance is capable of doing to human beingsóturning them into vicious monsters. It's probably helpful to remember that the people who killed Till, in their world and their context, believed that the young man was guilty of a heinous crimeóflirting with a white woman.

DonnaLadd

May 5 2005

Ladd, I wonder sometimes if there is something wrong with me that I can't understand how people can hate people for no reason. I hear people say that well, that's just the way it was back then or that's the way I was taught. I just don't understand that way of thinking and maybe that's a good thing.

El Canario

May 5 2005

It probably is a good thing, El. But, remember that people always think they have a good "reason." This is part of the reason I try so hard to remind people right now that the crime rhetoric of today here in Jackson is very similar to that of the past, which was used to justify some horrible stuff against black people. It's used now to justify different thingsócertainly not lynching, but gutting of public schools, for instance, and criminal-justice policies that actually increase recidivismóbut it's still used. Perhaps worse, and my most hated thing, is how fear is used by politicians, including black ones, in order to gain power. I'm thinking a whole lot about that these days. Never forget: Ignorant fear killed Emmett Till. Fear of young black men, and the need to "send a message" to others who might step out of their place. That justifies nothing, of course, but it might put it in context. And the lack of justice brought over the years over crimes against young black men (and their friends in the case of Neshoba County) has helped keep us from moving past a lot of those fears that hold the state back. We have to face them before we can exorcise them.

DonnaLadd

May 5 2005

This is part of the reason I try so hard to remind people right now that the crime rhetoric of today here in Jackson is very similar to that of the past, which was used to justify some horrible stuff against black people. ^This is main reason I didn't vote for Cowboy Melton

Black Man

May 5 2005