GLENDORA — A historic marker describing the lynching of Emmett Till is being rededicated Thursday.
The Greenwood Commonwealth reports that speakers will include Till’s cousin Wheeler Parker, now 79. Parker was an eyewitness to Till’s 1955 abduction.
The sign defaced last year stands near the spot where the 14-year-old was accused of whistling at a white shopkeeper, whose husband and another man allegedly beat and mutilated him and threw him into the Tallahatchie River.
Till’s mother demanded an open-casket funeral. The men were acquitted by an all-white jury whose members said they knew they were guilty, but didn’t think imprisonment was appropriate for the killing of a black man.
The ceremony, scheduled for 5 p.m. Thursday in Glendora, is supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities’ Most Southern Place on Earth Institute.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.