A larger-than-life 9 foot bronze statue of Emmett Till was unveiled in Mississippi yesterday, in honor of the Chicago’s teen’s life and brutal lynching that spurred the civil rights movement forward.
The tribute will stand at Greenwood’s Rail Spike Park, which is just a short drive from the elaborate Confederate monument at the Leflore County Courthouse and also not far from the remains of Bryant’s Grocery & Meat Market, the store at the root of the case, where Till was accused of whistling at a white woman.
Emmett's cousin Reverend Wheeler Parker Jr., who is the last living witness of the abduction, was at the dedication yesterday and said “We just thank God someone is keeping his name out there… you know what his mother said: ‘I hope he didn’t die in vain.’”
He did not. And the movie “Till” that tells his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley’s relentless pursuit of justice for her son is in theaters now.