Fifty-six years ago today, Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African-American visiting Mississippi from Chicago was kidnapped. He was brutally murdered, and the two men were acquitted. In 2009, after a cemetery scandal (in the Chicago area) resulted in finding Till’s casket rotting, Till’s family decided to donate his original, glass-topped casket to the Smithsonian. I spoke with Till’s cousin Simeon Wright who was with him the night he was taken. You can read the interview here.

Hearing Wright recount the events that led up to his murder was a chill-inducing experience even if it was a phone interview. One of the things that stuck with me from our conversation was Wright’s theory that if the men had been convicted, Till’s story would have been forgotten: Continue reading “Speaking to Emmett Till’s Cousin” →