A massive change in one of history’s defining moments, new meanings come to light when a notorious American case is once again debated. The prejudiced murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till, served as the catalytic polemic which awakened the 1960s Civil Rights Movement.
The controversy unfolded when the young African American was brutally kidnapped, mutilated, and murdered due to accusations of sexually pursuing then 22-year-old, Carolyn Bryant, through verbal and physical conflict. With the release of a new book, The Blood of Emmett Till, author Timothy Tyson, reveals that in 2007 Bryant claims that most of the threatening allegations she claimed against Till were completely fabricated.
Over half a decade later, now 82-years-old, Bryant’s claims have come to the eyes and ears of the public. What does this mean for the continuous racial tension of today? Although this story’s dreadful ending will never cease to anger the hearts of most, society must see this as a step forward in exposing one of our nation’s most unmerited judicial verdicts. Whether Emmett Till’s fate would’ve been altered with the proclamation of the truth is far beyond our reach, but what we can do is continue to search and strive to eliminate the inequalities of tomorrow.