Emmett Till’s Story Resonates 65 Years After His Killing

On the 65th anniversary of Emmett Till’s death, Reset talks to a family member about how his legacy still resonates today.

By Meha Ahmad
emmett till grave marker
The grave marker of Emmett Till has a photo of Till and coins placed on it during a gravesite ceremony at the Burr Oak Cemetery marking the 60th anniversary of the murder of Till in Mississippi, Friday, Aug. 28, 2015, in Alsip, Ill. Charles Rex Arbogast / AP Photo
emmett till grave marker
The grave marker of Emmett Till has a photo of Till and coins placed on it during a gravesite ceremony at the Burr Oak Cemetery marking the 60th anniversary of the murder of Till in Mississippi, Friday, Aug. 28, 2015, in Alsip, Ill. Charles Rex Arbogast / AP Photo

Emmett Till’s Story Resonates 65 Years After His Killing

On the 65th anniversary of Emmett Till’s death, Reset talks to a family member about how his legacy still resonates today.

By Meha Ahmad
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In an impassioned speech in Kenosha, Letetra Widman, invoked the name of Emmett Till 65 years after his murder. Her brother, Jacob Blake, was shot by police Sunday, sparking several nights of civil unrest and looting.

In 1955, a 14-year-old Till was abducted from his relatives’ home in Mississippi. He was beaten, tortured, shot and killed before eventually being tossed into the Tallahatchie River. What happened to Till served as a catalyst that propelled the civil rights movement forward, but the painful story and lessons of Till’s killing still resonate today.

On the 65th anniversary of Till’s death, Reset talks to his cousin and co-founder of the Emmett Till Legacy Foundation about their decades-long search for justice.

GUESTS: Deborah Watts, executive director of the Emmett Till Legacy Foundation, and Emmett Till’s cousin

Mikala Barrett, youth organizer with VOYCE