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Emmet Till memorial riddled with bullet holes in Mississippi | Emmet Till memorial riddled with bullet holes in Mississippi |
(35 minutes later) | |
The sign marking the spot where the body of murdered 14-year-old Emmett Till was found in the 1950s, spurring the civil rights movement, has been routinely vandalised and is riddled with bullet holes. | The sign marking the spot where the body of murdered 14-year-old Emmett Till was found in the 1950s, spurring the civil rights movement, has been routinely vandalised and is riddled with bullet holes. |
Till’s battered body was found near the Tallahatchie River after he was lynched on 28 August 1955 by two white men. | |
The Chicago teenager had been visiting his uncle in Money, Mississippi, and was kidnapped by J W Milam and Roy Bryant three days after he had whistled at Bryant's wife at their grocery store. | |
They were acquitted by an all-white jury. | |
The Emmett Till Memorial Commission erected eight signs, including one by the spot where he was found. | The Emmett Till Memorial Commission erected eight signs, including one by the spot where he was found. |
Filmmaker Kevin Wilson Jr posted a picture on Facebook of the sign with about 50 bullet holes in it, rendering the wording difficult to read. | Filmmaker Kevin Wilson Jr posted a picture on Facebook of the sign with about 50 bullet holes in it, rendering the wording difficult to read. |
"Clear evidence that we’ve still got a long way to go," he wrote. | "Clear evidence that we’ve still got a long way to go," he wrote. |
He also posted a picture of a marker by the site where murderer J W Milam used to live. | He also posted a picture of a marker by the site where murderer J W Milam used to live. |
"It is preserved and adorned with flowers," he wrote. | "It is preserved and adorned with flowers," he wrote. |
The river sign went up almost a decade ago, was ripped down by vandals in 2008 and put up again, and has been riddled with bullets for years, as reported by Slate. | The river sign went up almost a decade ago, was ripped down by vandals in 2008 and put up again, and has been riddled with bullets for years, as reported by Slate. |
A picture in 2013 showed the sign with about half the number of holes. | A picture in 2013 showed the sign with about half the number of holes. |
The Emmett Till Interpretive Centre has raised more than its $15,000 goal to replace the sign, with fundraising boosted by the increasing awareness. | The Emmett Till Interpretive Centre has raised more than its $15,000 goal to replace the sign, with fundraising boosted by the increasing awareness. |
A memorial in Greenwood, Mississippi, was stolen in 2007. | A memorial in Greenwood, Mississippi, was stolen in 2007. |
The Memorial Commission told the New York Daily News that it cannot afford to replace routinely vandalised signs, so it has launched a virtual reality tour app and website, called the Emmett Till Memory Project. | The Memorial Commission told the New York Daily News that it cannot afford to replace routinely vandalised signs, so it has launched a virtual reality tour app and website, called the Emmett Till Memory Project. |
It guides users to 51 sites around the area which played an important role in the murder of Emmett and the trial of Bryant and Milam. | It guides users to 51 sites around the area which played an important role in the murder of Emmett and the trial of Bryant and Milam. |
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