In the year of 1955 (only 62 years ago!) in racially segregated Money Mississippi, Emmet Till was brutally murdered at the hands of two white men for whistling at a white woman. Those men believed that he was guilty of a crime worthy of death. Now, what is to be said if that story didn’t need to happen? That the brutal murder of 14-year-old Emmit Till occurred over something that didn’t even take place… because it was ALL A LIE! Carolyn Bryant who accused Emmit of the supposed crime has only just admitted to lying about what took place that August evening in the store. Bryant spoke to Timothy Tyson author of the new book ‘The Blood of Emmit Till’ admitting that her testimony against Till was ‘not true’ in regards to claims of Emmett grabbing and verbally abusing her, the most damaging part of her testimony. According to Vanity Fair, Carolyn Bryant testified that Emmett “had grabbed her and verbally threatened her. She said that while she was unable to utter the ‘unprintable’ word he had used ... ‘he said [he had]’—done something—‘with white women before.’” “That part’s not true,” Donham reportedly told Tyson about her claim that Emmett made verbal and physical advances toward her. Vanity Fair also stated that Donham was the one to approached Tyson because she was writing her memoirs. Her daughter had reportedly admired Tyson’s earlier book Blood Done Sign My Name, which is centered on another racially charged murder committed by someone known to Tyson’s family. Carolyn said the loss of her own son helped her to understand and feel a ‘tender sorrow’ for Emmett's mother, who died in 2003 after decades spent advocating for her son and civil rights. Though his murder was a catalyst for the American civil rights movement, it was an act that cost the life of a 14-year-old child. A child kidnapped and brutally murdered for supposedly whistling at a white woman. Funny…he may not have even whistled; he was said to have a lisp.
This unsettling revelation only further proves the amount of work that is left to be done to tackle the issue of racism.
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