Emmett Till Was Killed 71 Years Ago. His Cousin Says the Lynchings Never Stopped.
Seventy-one years ago, 14-year-old Emmett Till was kidnapped, brutally tortured, shot and thrown into the Tallahatchie River by two white men who walked free — only to later boast about the murder. As the 71st Emmett Till Anniversary Commemoration Weekend kicks off in Mississippi, his legacy continues to confront the undeniable reality that systemic injustice is still alive and well today.
“The lynchings and racial violence occurring today demonstrate that white supremacy and systemic injustice continue to influence our communities and contribute to a deeply divided social climate,” founder of the Emmett Till Justice for Families Foundation, Priscilla Williams-Till, said, according to the Chicago Crusader. Williams-Till, Emmett Till’s cousin, said she has been investigating lynching cases since 2003.
Generations have passed since 1955, but the horror hasn’t stopped. It has only evolved. Black families are still burying sons found hanging from trees, including Tory Medley and Trey Reed, while police labeled their deaths suicides.
And in South Carolina, the cycle of violence hits even younger. Daryl Martinez Lowry, 13, was stabbed and held underwater until he died. A white 17-year-old has been charged with his murder.
Judge Greg Mathis compared the suspicious death of Nolan Wells directly to Emmett Till’s, The Root previously reported. After new autopsy findings uncovered unexplained body discoloration, Mathis said those findings left him concerned.
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“The forensic autopsy showed that there was what they called discoloration. No, I call them bruises, in the back of the head, appearing that someone has had their hand pressed at the back of Nolan’s head. That’s concerning to me,” Judge Mathis said in a July 28 interview with The Art of Dialogue.
“And quite frankly this is Mississippi, where in 1955 which sparked the civil rights movement, Emmett Till was killed for so-called whistling at a white woman,” Mathis added. “And now we’re hearing Nolan Wells stayed back to be with a white woman and he turns up dead with bruises behind his neck. It’s Emmett Till all over.”
That haunting history is precisely why civil rights advocates insist the fight to honor Till’s memory is far from over.
The Emmett Till Legacy Foundation invited people to join them for “a 3-day weekend of remembrance, reflection, and empowerment as they honor Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley’s undeniable legacy” during the Emmett Till 71st Anniversary Commemoration Weekend beginning on Aug. 28.
“Let’s come together to commemorate this important anniversary and stand in solidarity with other families and leaders to continue the fight for our rights, the truth, justice and accountability,” the foundation said.
Weekend events in Jackson will include a “TILL” movie screening, a candlelight vigil, Departure Till Trail of Tears and Terror Bus Tour, and a worship service at the Farish Street Baptist Church where attendees are encouraged to wear white.
“As we remember both Emmett & his mother, we’ll unite & commit to honor the past, vote, prepare the next generation for the future, stand in solidarity & vow to never forget,” the Emmett Till Legacy Foundation added.
While official 71st anniversary weekend events take place in Mississippi, the remembrance bridges directly back to Till’s hometown of Chicago. Local community members frequently mark the August 28 anniversary with tributes at the landmark Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ in Bronzeville, where Mamie Till-Mobley held her son’s historic open-casket funeral.
A new exhibition at Columbia College Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Photography will showcase 116 works from the museum’s permanent collection, “If Emmett Till Lived: Freedom on American Ground.” It opens September 10 and runs through December 19, 2026.
