Social Media Remembers Emmitt Till on 60th Anniversary
Last week, users of the social media website Twitter, commemorated the 60th anniversary of the murder of 14 year-old Emmitt Till. Till’s gruesome death is widely known as the incident that sparked the Civil Rights Movement.
Till was visiting relatives in Mississippi when he alledgedly whistled at a white woman who worked at a nearby store. The men who were related to the woman, later kidnapped Till. Those men brutally beat him, shot him and threw his body into a nearby river. The men who killed Till were acquitted of all wrongdoing.
Twitter users remembered Till by using the hashtag “#EmmittTill.” Many of them tweeted messages such as “When I think of #EmmettTill I think of how violence stops black people from returning the gaze. Racism is directional. Learn it.” And “#EmmettTill's mother wanted the world to know what had been done to her son. She forced the world to bear witness.”
Others tweeted messages comparing the circumstances behind Till’s death to the recent shootings of unarmed African-Americans by police officers such as “As we remember #EmmettTill please take time to reflect on the fact that 12 yr old #TamirRice was executed on video & still no charges” and “60 years ago today, a Chicago native, #EmmittTill was murdered for whistling at a white woman. Times have changed. Right? #libertyforall”
Elected officials such as Ill. Congressman Mike Quigley (Dist. 5th) weighed in tweeting, “A moment to remember: Today marks 60 years since #EmmittTill was murdered at age 14. Let us continue to fight against racism and inequality.”
The Mamie Till Mobley Foundation, which was founded in 2009 to honor Mamie Till Mobley, Emmitt Till’s mother, and to preserve the memory of Emmett Till, recognized last weekend as the official 60th year, commemorative event of his death. The Mobley foundation released the following statement on their website:
Civil rights legends, social justice activists, entertainers, philanthropists, artists, educators, families victimized by racial violence and youth from across the globe will unite for a weekend of recognition and education about the impact of Emmett Till’s murder on our community, country and the world; honor and recognize influential leaders, family members and organizations involved during the kidnapping, funeral and trial of Emmett Till; create solution-powered and engaging dialogues for youth; and unite families victimized by racially motivated crimes.”
Last weekend, scheduled events included a procession from Robert Temple Church of God in Christ in Bronzeville where Till's funeral took place, to Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip where Till was laid to rest. Also, a memorial dinner was attended by the mothers of Oscar Grant, Trayvon Martin and Sandra Bland.
Aricka Gordon-Taylor, a cousin of Till, and co-founder of the Mamie Till Mobley Memorial Foundation, believes that social media will allow the younger generation to keep Till’s name alive.
“I think that the more #EmmittTill trends, I start to feel good about seeing it trending. My goal was to have his name trend,” Gordon-Taylor says. “We want it to continue to trend. I want to continue to educate people on who Emmitt Till was on what his death meant to our people in 1955. It sparked the civil rights movement. “
Gordon-Taylor went on to say that reaching out to families who have experienced similar tragedies helps them cope better.
“That’s why it’s important to include the families in our celebration of Emmitt. We want to celebrate their lives. We want to show the world that we are united. We can work together,” she says. “You remember when Lil Wayne used Emmitt’s name is a song? People started using Emmitt’s name as if he wasn’t a person. He was a family member. A human being.”
For information, log on to http://emmetttill60th.com/.
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