February is the month that all black people adore. It’s not just a time to celebrate Valentine’s Day, but the true importance of February is to celebrate the history of black people. It’s a time to look back at all of our accomplishments, but also a time to acknowledge our struggles. There are countless stories about the mistreatment of black people, but one of the stories that really shook the nation was about a young boy named Emmett Till. Emmett Till was viciously murdered after supposedly flirting with a white woman in Money, Mississippi.
Now countless years later Carolyn Bryant, the woman who accused Till of whistling at her is finally saying that she lied. There has always been speculation about Bryant fabricating her testimony during trial, so the confession probably wasn’t a surprise to many. The fact that Carolyn Bryant has waited over 50 years to confess is sickening. Emmett Till was tortured so badly that he could barely be identified because of the lie that Bryant told. Mamie Till, Emmett’s mother had to bury her son’s mangled body because of the lie Bryant told. And black america had to live with the disturbing sight of Till’s body engraved in the back of their mind because of the lie Bryant told.
Carolyn Bryant’s confession is just yet another example of how the white people in America can literally get away with murder. Bryants confession means absolutely nothing decades later. To be quite honest Bryant could have kept her sorry confession. She claims that the case ruined her life due to all of the notoriety. A woman who selfishly stole the life of Emmett Till honestly had the audacity to say that the case ruined her life because it made her too popular. It’s a shame that even years later she still finds a way to make herself look like the victim. The only good thing that came out of Bryant’s confession is that it showed racist people across America who believed that Till deserved to be murdered that it was all a lie. Carolyn Bryant’s confession simply confirmed what black people have known to be true for year,14 year old Emmett Till was tortured whipped, shot, and thrown in a river for nothing.So, as we celebrate all of the greatness black people have done for centuries, let us not forget our history. It is important that we remember stories like Emmett Till’s so that we don’t let these same mistakes happen again.