About a year ago, Stanley Nelson, a noted documentary filmmaker produced a documentary film on the Emmett Till case. It was released a week before Mamie Till Mobley's death, who was the mother of Emmett Till. I wrote a review of the film for a local magazine, and the film awakened interest in the Emmett Till case. It was just released on national media that the U.S. Justice Department is in the process of re-opening the Emmett Till case, even though that the original two men that were accused of the murder of Emmett Till are deceased. Does anyone remember when Emmett Till was murdered? What good, if any, do you think re-opening this case will do? God bless you!

-- Anonymous, May 10, 2004

Answers

Here is a link to a brief article on FOX News regarding the case, if anyone is interested: http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,119483,00.html

-- Anonymous, May 10, 2004

AJ -

Kudos on your review. Do you have any copies available? I believe Emmett Till was murdered during the Summer of 1955. Next year marks the 50th anniversary of this infamous, cowardly and barbaric act by a gang of white male hooligans against a 14 year old black boy. Initially, I had a real struggle about anything "good" which can come out of re-opening this case since many emotions, black and white, will be rekindled about Till's murder. 99% of most blacks (myself included) are immediately angered not only about the murder but the failed Mississippi criminial justice system which exonerated Till's murderers. Many whites today share the opinion, albeit with ambivalent convictions, that Mississippi justice in 1955 was capricioius and arbitrarily dispensed when it involved inter-racial trials. I suppose if the assassinations of Lincoln, ArchDuke of Austria (precursor to WW I), JFK and MLK are considered important significant historical events which changed the social landscape, Till's murder also has historical importance and for that fact alone it is equally cathartic like the others. QED

-- Anonymous, May 10, 2004

Sorry Bill, the article ran in a small local magazine. However, more information on the film is available at this PBS website, Thanks. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/till/

-- Anonymous, May 12, 2004