In a Mississippi Community, a New Emmett Till Statue Represents Transformation

As the Mississippi community unveiled a larger-than-life statue of Emmett Till on Friday, hundreds applauded and some shed tears, gathering near the site where white men kidnapped and murdered the Black teenager, allegedly for flirting with a white woman in a country store.

“Change has arrived, and it will persist,” said Madison Harper, a senior at Leflore County High School, addressing a diverse crowd at the statue’s dedication. “Decades ago, our parents and grandparents could not have imagined a moment like today.”

The lynching of Till in 1955 became a pivotal moment for the civil rights movement. His mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, demanded an open-casket funeral in Chicago to expose the brutalities inflicted on her 14-year-old son. Jet magazine published images of his disfigured body, recovered from the Tallahatchie River in Mississippi.

The bronze statue, standing 9 feet (2.7 meters) tall in Greenwood’s Rail Spike Park, captures a lively portrayal of Till, dressed in slacks, a dress shirt, and a tie, with one hand resting on the brim of his hat.

As the rhythm and blues song “Wake Up, Everybody” filled the air, workers unveiled the statue, prompting dozens to rush forward, capturing the moment with their cellphones.

Anna-Maria Webster from Rochester, New York, had tears streaming down her face during the ceremony.

“It’s wonderful to be here,” said Webster, who attended the event on a sunny afternoon while visiting relatives in Mississippi. Reflecting on Till’s mother, she remarked, “Just imagining the agony she endured—all because of a lie.”

Mississippi boasts the highest percentage of Black residents in the nation, currently around 38 percent. Democratic U.S. Representative Bennie Thompson, whose district includes the Delta, pointed out that there were no Black elected officials in Mississippi when Till was murdered. He stated that Till’s death catalyzed change.

“However, change often tends to slow down,” Thompson, the only Black member of Mississippi’s current congressional delegation, remarked. “By dedicating this monument to Emmett Till, we must reaffirm our commitment to fostering change in our community.”

The statue is located just a short drive from an elaborate Confederate monument near the Leflore County Courthouse and about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the dilapidated remains of Bryant’s Grocery & Meat Market in Money.

The unveiling of the statue aligns with the release of Till, a film that delves into Till-Mobley’s personal grief over her son’s murder and her evolution into a civil rights advocate.

Reverend Wheeler Parker Jr., the last living witness to his cousin’s abduction, was unable to attend the dedication on Friday as he couldn't travel from Illinois. However, he expressed to the Associated Press on Wednesday: “We are just grateful that someone is keeping his memory alive.”

He mentioned that some mistakenly believed Till deserved his fate for breaking the unwritten rule of flirting with a white woman, noting that many people avoided discussing the case for decades.

“Now there’s a renewed interest in it, and that’s a blessing,” Parker stated. “You know what his mother said: ‘I hope he didn’t die in vain.’”

Greenwood and Leflore County have a Black population exceeding 70 percent, and local officials have worked diligently for years to bring the statue of Till to fruition. Democratic state senator David Jordan from Greenwood secured $150,000 in state funding, commissioning Utah artist Matt Glenn to create the statue.

Jordan expressed hope that the statue will attract tourists interested in the area’s history. “I hope it will unite us all,” he remarked.

In the summer of 1955, Till and Parker traveled from Chicago to spend time with relatives in the heavily segregated Mississippi Delta. On August 24, the two teenagers joined others for a brief visit to the store in Money. Parker recalled hearing Till whistle at shopkeeper Carolyn Bryant.

Four days later, Till was abducted from his uncle’s home in the dead of night. His kidnappers tortured and shot him, weighted down his body with a cotton gin fan, and disposed of him in the river.

Jordan, who is Black, was a college student in 1955 when he drove to the Tallahatchie County Courthouse in Sumner to observe the trial of two white men charged with Till’s murder—Carolyn’s husband Roy Bryant and his half-brother, J.W. Milam.

An all-white, all-male jury acquitted the two men, who later admitted to Look magazine that they were responsible for Till's murder.

No one has ever faced charges in connection with the lynching. The U.S. Justice Department has launched several investigations since 2004 following inquiries about the possibility of prosecuting any living individuals involved.

In 2007, a Mississippi prosecutor presented evidence to a grand jury composed of both Black and white residents of Leflore County after investigators took three years to re-examine the case. However, the grand jury chose not to issue any indictments.

The Justice Department reopened its investigation in 2018 after a 2017 book quoted Carolyn Bryant—now remarried and known as Carolyn Bryant Donham—stating that she lied about Till grabbing her, whistling, and making sexual advances. Donham, now in her 80s, has had her relatives publicly deny that she recanted her accusations. The department closed that investigation in late 2021 without filing any charges.

This year, a group searching the basement of the Leflore County Courthouse discovered an unserved 1955 arrest warrant for “Mrs. Roy Bryant.” In August, another Mississippi grand jury found that there was insufficient evidence to indict Donham, which upset Till's relatives and activists.

While Mississippi is home to numerous Confederate monuments, several have been relocated in recent years, including one that was moved in 2020 from the University of Mississippi campus to a cemetery where Confederate soldiers are interred.

The state features a few monuments dedicated to Black historical figures, such as one honoring civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer in Ruleville.

A historical marker outside Bryant’s Grocery has been destroyed and vandalized. Another marker near the site where Till’s body was recovered from the Tallahatchie River has also been vandalized and shot. The statue of Till in Greenwood will be monitored by security cameras.

Jordan received applause when he declared on Friday: “If some fool tries to tear it down, we will put it right back up.”