Emmett Till

How we covered Emmett Till’s murder and his mom’s decision to ‘let the people see what they did to my boy’

This year marks nearly seven decades since the 14-year-old boy from the South Side was killed in Mississippi. Here’s a look at how the Sun-Times covered his death in 1955, including Mamie Till Bradley’s decision to show the world the brutality he endured at the hands of white supremacists.

By Richard Cahan and Michael Williams

Columnists

8 things to know about Wheeler Parker Jr., Emmett Till’s cousin, eyewitness to his lynching

News

Now a national monument, Bronzeville church where Emmett Till’s casket lay open gets official sign

Emmett Till

President Joe Biden creates Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument in Chicago and Mississippi

Emmett Till

READ: Proclamation establishes Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument

Artist Germane Barnes stands in front in is installation “Be Careful, I Always Am” at the Emmett & Mamie Till-Mobley House Museum, Garden and Theatre located at 6427 South St. Lawrence Avenue in the West Woodlawn during a celebration event honoring Emmett Till’s birthday, Sunday, July 23, 2023.

News

Emmett Till-inspired art installation marks groundbreaking on work to restore his former Woodlawn home

By David Struett

Emmett Till

Biden to create Emmett Till national monument at Chicago church where his open casket was displayed

By Lynn Sweet

Edward Boone Tammy Gibson Denise Yancy Friends of Burr Oak Cemetery lilies

News

Activists push for landmark status at Burr Oak Cemetery, where there are ‘improvements to be made’

By Violet Miller

Pallbearers carry the casket of Emmett Till through a large crowd gathered outside Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ on Sept. 6, 1955, in Chicago.

Chicago

Roberts Temple, site of Emmett Till’s funeral, pushed as national historic site

By Stefano Esposito

The grave marker for Emmett Till at Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip. His lynching was a tipping point for the civil rights moment.

Chicago

After death of Emmett Till’s accuser, Chicago-area cousin says, ‘No one now will be’ held accountable

Rev. Wheeler Parker Jr. said Thursday, “It is up to all of us to be accountable to the challenges we still face in overcoming racial injustice.”

By Kaitlin Washburn

Roy Bryant, far right, and his wife, Carolyn Bryant, sit together in a courtroom in Sumner, Miss. in 1955.

Black History

Emmett Till accuser dies; Carolyn Bryant Donham was 88

The Mississippi lynching of 14-year-old Till became a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement when his mother insisted on an open-casket funeral in their hometown of Chicago.

By Emily Wagster Pettus | Associated Press

Emmett Till

President Biden, first lady to screen ‘Till’ at the White House; movie tells Emmett Till story

Invitees to the Thursday screening include the cast of the film, the family of Emmett Till, students, civil rights leaders, historians and families of victims of hate crimes.

By Lynn Sweet

FILE - This undated photo shows Emmett Louis Till, who was kidnapped, tortured and killed in the Mississippi Delta in August 1955 after witnesses claimed he whistled at a white woman working in a store. Till’s cousin, Patricia Sterling, filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, to compel the current Leflore County sheriff, Ricky Banks, to serve an arrest warrant on Carolyn Bryant in the kidnapping that led to the brutal lynching of Till, a Black teenager.

Nation/World

Lawsuit seeks white woman’s arrest in Emmett Till’s 1955 kidnapping, lynching

Researchers last year found an unserved search warrant on an accuser connected to the Chicago teen’s torture and death. Till’s cousin wants the warrant served on Carolyn Bryant.

By Emily Wagster Pettus | Associated Press

Theater

‘Trial in the Delta’ lets audiences see up close how Emmett Till’s killers got away with murder

Focal point of Collaboraction’s court transcript adaptation is the strong ensemble playing slayers, lawyers, witnesses and the teen’s steely mother.

By Catey Sullivan | For the Sun-Times

Mamie Till-Mobley and her son, Emmett Till, whose lynching in 1955 became a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement.

Other Views

There’s still plenty to say about the Emmett Till story

What prompts me to write is a new book about the Emmett Till story, “A Few Days Full of Trouble,” by Rev. Wheeler Parker Jr. and Christopher Benson.

By Elliott Gorn

Emmett Till

Emmett Till’s house, Black historical sites to get landmarks funds

The house will receive a share of $3 million in grants being distributed to 33 sites and organizations nationwide that are important pieces of African American history.

By Don Babwin | Associated Press

Protests Continue Across The Country In Reaction To Death Of George Floyd

Columnists

Emmett Till case demands simple justice

The original arrest warrant for Carolyn Bryant Donham should be served. Justice demands she not evade accountability in Till’s lynching.

By Jesse Jackson

Other Views

Serving 1955 arrest warrant in Emmett Till case might not lead to justice

The question for a prosecutor considering possible charges would be whether anything more than headlines would result from an arrest of Carolyn Bryant Donham.

By Christopher D. Benson

In this file combo photo, John W. Milam, 35, left, his half-brother Roy Bryant, 24, center, who went on trial in Sumner, Miss., Sept. 18, 1955, and charged with the murder of 14-year-old African American Emmett Till from Chicago. Bryant’s wife, Carolyn, is seen right. A team searching for evidence about the lynching of Emmett Till has found the unserved warrant charging a white woman in his kidnapping in 1955, and relatives of the victim want authorities to finally arrest her.

Chicago

1955 warrant in Emmett Till case found, family seeks arrest

A warrant for the arrest of Carolyn Bryant Donham — identified as “Mrs. Roy Bryant” on the document — was discovered last week.

By Jay Reeves | Associated Press and Emily Wagster Pettus | Associated Press

Emmett Till

Biden signs Emmett Till anti-lynching bill: Rep. Bobby Rush championed measure for years

“Lynching is not a relic of the past,” said Vice President Kamala Harris.

By Lynn Sweet

Emmett Till

Anti-lynching bill named for murdered Chicago youth Emmett Till heads to President Biden to sign

The Emmett Till bill, championed by Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., makes lynching a federal hate crime.

By Lynn Sweet

Senate Democratic Caucus Holds 8 Minutes 46 Seconds Of Silence At U.S. Capitol

Emmett Till

How Rand Paul blocked the Emmett Till anti-lynching bill while nation mourned George Floyd

Rep. Bobby Rush, in an Axios interview, said Paul wanted to do more than modify the measure — he was “trying to gut the bill.”

By Lynn Sweet

Sun-Times 75th Anniversary

A Mockery of Justice in Mississippi

This Sun-Times editorial was published Sept. 27, 1955, just after the two men charged with brutally murdering 14-year-old Emmett Till were acquitted of the murder charge. The paper expressed disgust at the “nauseating” verdict. This is part of a 75-anniversary project highlighting decades of exceptional journalism.

By CST Editorial Board

This is the front page of the Sept. 8, 1955 Chicago Sun-Times outlining the plans of Mamie Till-Bradley to go to Mississippi to testify against the two men who brutally murdered her teenage son, Emmett Till.

Sun-Times 75th Anniversary

Slain Boy’s Mother Going to Mississippi; She Will Testify at Death Trial

This story was published on Sept. 8, 1955, when Emmett Till’s mother announced she would be going to Mississippi to testify at the trial of the two men who brutally murdered her teenage son. This is part of a 75-anniversary series highlighting decades of journalism coverage

By Sun-Times staff

Sun-Times 75th Anniversary

Rites Held for Slain Boy; Blast Wrong Identity Claim

This story on Emmett Till was published on Sept. 4, 1955, the day after thousands came to pay their respects at the funeral of the murdered teenager. Emmett’s mother’s insistence that his brutally beaten body be shown to the world was a catalyst for the modern civil rights movement. This is part of a 75-anniversary series highlighting decades of journalism coverage

By Sun-Times staff

This front-page story on the discovery of Emmett Till’s body in Mississippi was published Thursday, Sept. 1, 1955 — the day after he was found.

Sun-Times 75th Anniversary

Chicago boy found slain in Dixie

This story was published the day after Emmett Till’s body was found beaten, bullet-pierced and weighed down with iron and barbed wire in the muddy waters of Mississippi’s Tallahatchie River on Thursday, Sept. 1, 1955. It is part of a 75th anniversary series highlighting decades of important journalism coverage.

By Special to the Sun-Times

Sun-Times 75th Anniversary

Battered Body of Till Boy Arrives Here; Murdered Youth’s Kin Hysterical at Station

This story was published on Sept. 2, 1955, when Emmett Till’s body arrived by train back in his hometown Chicago from Mississippi. The brutal murder of this teenager and his mother’s insistence that his brutally beaten body be shown to the world was a catalyst for the modern civil rights movement. This is part of a 75-anniversary series highlighting decades of journalism coverage.

By Sun-Times staff

Sun-Times 75th Anniversary

A youngster is lynched in Mississippi

This editorial was published on Sept. 2, 1955, when Emmett Till’s body arrived home by train to Chicago from Mississippi. Till’s brutal lynching murder and his mother’s insistence that the world not turn away from what was done to her son was a catalyst for the modern civil rights movement. This is part of a 75-anniversary series highlighting decades of journalism coverage

By CST Editorial Board

Cropped image showing the Chicago Daily News front page story about Emmett Till’s body being found after his abduction and murder. The headline reads, “Kidnaped Boy Found Slain; Body of Chicago Boy, 14, Taken from River in Mississippi”

Sun-Times 75th Anniversary

Kidnapped boy found slain

This story was originally published in the Chicago Daily News the day Emmett Till’s body was found beaten, bullet-pierced and weighed down with iron and barbed wire in the muddy waters of Mississippi’s Tallahatchie River on Wednesday, Aug. 31, 1955. It is part of a 75-anniversary series highlighting decades of important journalism coverage.

By Wire Report