Published May 03, 2016
Events in Mississippi and Illinois this week are commemorating the 60th anniversary of the slaying of Emmett Till.
The black 14-year-old from Chicago was visiting relatives in the Mississippi Delta when witnesses said he violated the Jim Crow social code by whistling at a white woman. He was kidnapped and killed Aug. 28, 1955, and his body was recovered from the Tallahatchie River three days later.
His mother chose to have an open-casket funeral in Chicago, and Jet magazine published a photo of his mutilated corpse, sparking outrage that galvanized the civil rights movement.
An all-white jury acquitted two white men charged in the slaying.
Movie screenings and church services are among the events Thursday through Sunday in Mississippi. A wreath-laying ceremony is Friday at his mother's gravesite in Chicago.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/events-in-mississippi-illinois-commemorate-60th-anniversary-of-slaying-of-emmett-till