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[Malyse]

The historical sign marking where Emmett Till’s body was found in the Tallahatchie River in 1955 has been riddled with bullets.

Since the Emmett Till Memorial Commission put up eight markers in Tallahatchie County in 2008, the sign near the river has been a repeated target of vandals.

It’s one of a number of civil rights markers and symbols that have been vandalized in Mississippi over the past decade.

“These are easy targets, a low-risk outlet for racism,” said Dave Tell, an associate professor at the University of Kansas who is part of the Emmett Till Memory Project.
Some people mistakenly see “civil rights monuments as a form of reverse discrimination, a threat to their own well-being,” he said.

On Sept. 23, 1955, an all-white, all-male jury acquitted half-brothers Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam of Till’s murder.

Months later, the two men confessed to Look magazine they had indeed killed Till.
Four days after Rosa Parks heard a speech on Till, she boarded a bus in Montgomery, Ala., on Dec. 1, 1955, and refused to give up her seat to a white man.

“The Emmett Till case propelled the civil rights movement,” said Devery Anderson, whose book on the case is now being made into an HBO miniseries being produced by Jay-Z, Will Smith, Casey Affleck and Aaron Kaplan.

After Emmett Till Memorial Highway was dedicated along a 32-mile stretch of U.S. 49 East in 2006, vandals painted “KKK” on the Emmett Till highway sign.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...-marker-mississippi-riddled-bullets/92577674/

In came you don't know, Emmett Till was an African-American teenager who was lynched in Mississippi at the age of 14 after reportedly flirting with a white woman.

Till was from Chicago, Illinois, and visiting relatives in Money, a small town in the Mississippi Delta region. He spoke to 21-year-old Carolyn Bryant, the married proprietor of a small grocery store there. Several nights later, Bryant's husband Roy and his half-brother J. W. Milam went to Till's great-uncle's house and abducted the boy. They took him away and beat and mutilated him before shooting him and sinking his body in the Tallahatchie River. Three days later, Till's body was discovered and retrieved from the river.

His mother had an open casket funeral to show how badly they mutilated her son.

 

[Zombine]

Utterly fucking disgraceful.

 

[mariachi507]

Oh my god

 

[M52B28]

I'm not surprised, but this is shameful regardless.

 

[Mortemis]

fuck man, fuck

 

[Gattsu25]

While unfortunately not surprising, this is still utterly disheartening.

Will Mississippi restore the marker?

 

[jph139]

I won't say I'm shocked there's a lot of people in Mississippi who'd see "memorial to gruesomely murderered black child" as a target, unfortunately.

 

[echoshifting]

Look how far we haven't come.

Just makes me sad.

 

[dramatis]

While unfortunately not surprising, this is still utterly disheartening.

Will Mississippi restore the marker?

Should put up a new sign next to the original that also notes how the original sign was shot up in 2016.

The vandals are being stupid, in the end repairs/additions to these monuments come out of their tax money.

 

[AGoodODST]

That is utterly shameful. What a disgusting thing to do.

 

[entremet]

I wonder what cause them do this now all of sudden?

 

[Imm0rt4l]

I read that the killers home or grave has flowers.

 

[Vincent Alexander]

My first reaction is to laugh because of how pathetic these people's lives must be. What the hell is going on in their heads? Do they think they're making a strong political statement? Or that "we sure showed them?" What a bunch of sad little assholes.

 

[echoshifting]

This didn't just happen. If I'm reading the article correctly, this has been going on for years.

 

[alleyezonme]

Whoever did that is a coward

 

[Skellig Gra]

Didn't know about this Till story. Glad I know about it so I can tell it to my son when he is a little older.

 

[Hagi]

I wonder what cause them do this now all of sudden?

This isn't a new thing per the article. I'd be surprised if it was undisturbed in it's first week to be honest.

 

[Mass Effect]

pathetic and cowardly

 

[Wiseblade]

The "list of states not to visit on a trip to America" grows ever longer.

 

[Tinfoilhatsron]

I hope they catch the fuckers. What the honest fuck.

 

[Skellig Gra]

The "list of states not to visit on a trip to America" grows ever longer.

It should have been on the list a loooong time ago

 

[NastyBook]

LMAO @ these butthurt fuckboys taking their frustrations out on a sign.

 

[kswiston]

My first reaction is to laugh because of how pathetic these people's lives must be. What the hell is going on in their heads? Do they think they're making a strong political statement? Or that "we sure showed them?" What a bunch of sad little assholes.

People (especially young people) are assholes. Why do teenagers tip over grave stones? The people shooting the sign are racists who probably thought they were being edgy bad asses.

If you go to Florida, the state Fish and Wildlife service puts up signs telling people that there is no unauthorized hunting allowed on state land. Most of these signs are shot up by redneck locals.

 

[echoshifting]

It should have been on the list a loooong time ago

Was gonna say. Mississippi shoulda been the top of that list

 

[Malyse]

Didn't know about this Till story. Glad I know about it so I can tell it to my son when he is a little older.

This is why I hate how history gets covered. This should be common knowledge for everyone, especially considering how it literally started the Civil Rights movement.

LMAO @ this butthurt fuckboy taking his frustrations out on a sign.

It you look close, you'll see the bullet holes vary in diameter which implies that multiple people were shooting. And given the number of holes, that makes more sense.

 

[LegendofJoe]

This is why I hate how history gets covered. This should be common knowledge for everyone, especially considering how it literally started the Civil Rights movement.

Yep, Emmett Till's story has historical significance. It should be taught in schools.

 

[echoshifting]

Yep, Emmett Till's story has historical significance. It should be taught in schools.

It is. I am sure it's inconsistent but I learned about Till in a public high school.

 

[Baron von Loathsome]

My first reaction is to laugh because of how pathetic these people's lives must be. What the hell is going on in their heads? Do they think they're making a strong political statement? Or that "we sure showed them?" What a bunch of sad little assholes.

I want to say that it's intended to be intimidating.

 

[Fhtagn]

Truly revolting and sad.

 

[kswiston]

This is why I hate how history gets covered. This should be common knowledge for everyone, especially considering how it literally started the Civil Rights movement.

You mean, the Civil Rights movement was more than Rosa Parks refusing to give up her bus seat, and Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech?

Kidding aside, I learned about Emmett Till in High School, and I live in Canada. I'm pretty sure the modern curriculum has social justice units covered in the intermediate grades that go over the civil rights movement, and various humanitarian issues worldwide. I don't remember what class Till came up in for me (I graduated over 15 years ago), as I never took American History.

 

[Brazil]

Mississipi is one of those places I'll be sure to never, ever set foot upon.

 

[andthebeatgoeson]

His mom was a goat with the open casket. I have to remind myself that was not the body of an old man. That was a little kid.

I'm hoping someone else uses that tactic. Small details, like forgetting that is a child, really helps you understand why it propelled the movement. Stop allowing society to be polite and show them the full abuse.

I get infuriated when people ask why we 'always make things about race'.

Because it's easy for you to forget.

It wasn't enough that her child was killed in a horrible fashion. She had to bear all this shame. She saw the body. She knew America. And she knew America wouldn't care. We can't even post the picture without warnings and that was her reality and still our reality today.

 

[Escape Goat]

The "list of states not to visit on a trip to America" grows ever longer.

Mississippi would still be on the list even without the racism.

 

[Vincent Alexander]

You mean, the Civil Rights movement was more than Rosa Parks refusing to give up her bus seat, and Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech?

Sadly, you just summarized everything I was taught in school. Ah wait. Underground railroad! Covered so poorly in my class that I legitimately thought there was a train underground the first time I heard it.

 

[Escape Goat]

This is why I hate how history gets covered. This should be common knowledge for everyone, especially considering how it literally started the Civil Rights movement.

It you look close, you'll see the bullet holes vary in diameter which implies that multiple people were shooting. And given the number of holes, that makes more sense.

Lets not forget Claudette Colvin, the first Rosa Parks.

 

[kswiston]

Sadly, you just summarized everything I was taught in school. Ah wait. Underground railroad! Covered so poorly in my class that I legitimately thought there was a train underground the first time I heard it.

I grew up in Windsor/Essex county which was perhaps the largest Canadian endpoint to the underground railroad. That topic was probably covered better than it would be otherwise for me.

Conversely, Canada's treatment of First Nations people was barely touched upon when I was going through school. The stolen generation was never mentioned in my history classes, and the only First Nations group really covered were the Metis (Mostly French and Native mixed descent).

The curriculum is a bit more socially aware now though.

 

[Mr. Giggles]

They killed a kid because he had the nerve to talk to a married white woman?

Fuck you Mississippi

Fuck.

You.

 

[WedgeX]

Motherfuckers.

 

[Tripolygon]

Lets not forget Claudette Colvin, the first Rosa Parks.

Even before that, the Jackie Robinson refused to move to the back of the Bus and was court-martialed for it.

My first reaction is to laugh because of how pathetic these people's lives must be. What the hell is going on in their heads? Do they think they're making a strong political statement? Or that "we sure showed them?" What a bunch of sad little assholes.

I can bet same mofos would lose their shit if you sat for the national anthem or burnt the American flag as a means to protest.

 

[Lemaitre]

We still have such a long way to go.

 

[Shamdeo]

If you're unfamiliar with the Emmett Till story, here's a documentary produced by PBS in 2003.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb1UqdOSqJg

 

[Mammoth Jones]

Not shocked in the slightest. Truth is a great many people hate Black people and would love to kill us.

Not all of 'em willing to go full on Dylan Roof so they'll settle for shooting up civil rights signs. Then claim racism against Whites is the real problem in america

 

[jax]

Thanks trump.

 

[Meowster]

The case of Emmett Till was well discussed once I got to high school. It's such a heart breaking and disturbing moment. With this latest news, it seems we will never stop having such evil racist assholes. Makes me mad.

 

[echoshifting]

Thanks trump.

We cannot just shrug off all virulent and disgusting racism onto Donald Trump and his movement. Yes they flocked to him. But they were already there and they have been doing vile shit like this - acts intended to intimidate - since basically forever. Read the article. This has been going on for years.

 

[Zantetsuken]

Fucking cowards.

 

[andthebeatgoeson]

They killed a kid because he had the nerve to talk to a married white woman?

Fuck you Mississippi

Fuck.

You.

The facts of what took place in the store are still disputed. According to several versions, including comments from some of the kids standing outside the store when Till walked in,[22] Till may have wolf-whistled at Bryant.[23] A newspaper account following his disappearance stated that Till sometimes whistled to alleviate his stuttering.[24] His speech was sometimes unclear; his mother said he had particular difficulty with pronouncing "b" sounds, and he may have whistled to overcome problems asking for bubble gum.[25] According to other stories, Till may have grabbed Bryant's hand and asked her for a date, or said "Bye, baby" as he left the store,[12] or "You needn't be afraid of me, baby, I've been with white women before."[26]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmett_Till

I'm supposed to believe a 14 year old black kid, in Mississippi, flirted with a white woman? Or someone misinterpreted a situation?

Till's cousin, Simeon Wright, writing about the incident decades later, challenged Carolyn Bryant's account.[28] Entering the store "less than a minute" after Till was left inside alone with Bryant,[28] Wright saw no inappropriate behavior and heard "no lecherous conversation."[28] Wright said Till "paid for his items and we left the store together."[28] The FBI noted in their 2006 investigation of the cold case that a second anonymous source, who was confirmed to have been in the store at the same time as Till and his cousin, supported Wright's account.[21]

From the same link.

He may have died due to a normal interaction and they made up a story. Then plotted to kill him. And judging from recent events shown on camera, i can believe that theory.

Oh man, that lady was a piece of work.

 

[F0rneus]

I don't like to paint a group of people with a wide brush, but somehow I'm convinced that a Donald Trump voter did that. Not sure why. Just a feeling.

 

[ryutaro's mama]

Trump's America

 

[LifEndz]

The image of his face after they pulled his body from the water will stick with me for the rest of my life. Still can't believe I didn't learn about him and many other tragedies committed against blacks in America until I went to college.

This election. If any of you are POC and live in Mississippi, please be safe.