August 2020

Page A12 AUGUST 2020 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS S ec t i on A lam, Bryant, and several other men at Milam’s barn where he heard “licks and hollering”. On September 23, the all-male, all white jury, after only 67 minutes, acquitted both Bryant and Milam of murder. One juror glibly claimed, the verdict would have even soon- er, “but we stopped to drink pop”. Protests we held near and far. On September 30, both Bryant and Milam were released on bond. The charge of kidnapping remained. On November 8, a grand jury failed to indict the pair on the kidnapping charge. They are free of all charges. The pair later confessed, after being paid $4,000 by a re- porter and published in Look Magazine, that he was shot in J.W.’s barn and they put his body in the back of his truck.They stopped at J.W.’s store and someone saw blood dripping from the truck. They were told they it was a deer they had killed. When reminded that it was not deer season, J.W. pulled back the tarp that coveredTill’s body and said, “This is what happens to smart n*****s.” (PBS and FBI reports). Bryant and Milam became outcasts and their businesses suffered. Bryant lost his store. In 2004, the Justice department took another look at the case. Emmett’s casket was exhumed, an autopsy performed, but there were no new findings to bring anyone to justice. In 2007, Carolyn Bryant, whose testimony was largely re- sponsible for a quick acquittal, repudiated her own sworn statements. She told author Timothy B. Tyson, that Em- mett never grabbed her and “Nothing that boy did could ever justify what happened to him”. This was not known until 2017, when Tyson released his book. No one was ever convicted in the death of Emmett Louis Till. Mother Mamie Till remarried in 1957 and took the last name Mobley. She spent 23 years in the Chicago School System and in 1976, earned a master’s degree and never stopped speaking of her son and seeking justice for this and similar crimes. She died at the age of 81 in Chicago in 2003 and is buried beside her son. “It is not who killed him, but what killed him.” –message left at the site of the former Bryant’s Market Observations “You can kill a boy. You can destroy a market, but you can’t get rid of the idea of freedom.” –handwritten message at the site of the former Bryant’s Market A fourteen-year-old boy from Chicago, visiting his aunt, uncle and cousins in Mississippi changed the movement on civil rights. The tragedy was it took his life to do it. Emmett Louis Till was born July 25, 1941 at the Cook County Public Hospital. The only child of Louis and Ma- mie Till. Emmett’s mother graduated from Argo Community High School, which was predominately white. Louis Till sep- arated from his wife in 1942. Emmett’s father served in the Army and was convicted of raping two women and the mur- der of another one in Italy and was executed by the Army. Emmett, known, as “Bobo”, was a gregarious and outgoing young teenager. Stocky and muscular, people thought he was older. He wanted to spend time with his cousins in Money, Mississippi, his mother had trepidations, but relented to Em- mett’s pleadings. On August 20, 1955, Emmett traveled by train to Money, 65 years ago. When Emmett was to leave Chicago, his mother gave him his late father’s signet ring. It bore the initials, “L.T.” Emmett arrived in Mississippi and connected with cousins and friends. On August 24, he went with some family and friends to Bryant’s Grocery Store and Meat Market to buy some bubble gum. Till supposedly gave a “wolf whistle” to the manager and store’s co-owner, Carolyn Bryant. She later claimed he physically touched her. When her husband Roy Bryant returned to town on August 26th, he heard about the incident. He later explained that he would be a coward if he did not act. On August 28, 1955, in the middle of the night, Roy Bry- ant, owner of the market and his brother-in-law, J. W. Milam, who was six foot two and 235 pounds, drove around trying to find their target with Carolyn Bryant to identify. They picked up one African American youth, threw him in the back and when they realized they had the wrong person, threw him from the truck, knocking out a few teeth. They went to Till’s By Steven Palmer uncle, “Preacher Moses Wright’s” home, woke up and abducted Emmett Till. Carolyn told them they had the right one. They drove seventy-five miles and not finding the spot they wanted, drove to J.W. Milam’s brother’s farm in DrewMississip- pi. They claimed their original intent was to scare him, but “Bo- bo’s” defiant attitude pushed them to a higher level. They beat him, made him strip off his clothes and shot him in the head. They went to a cotton gin company, stole a fan. They tied the heavy fan to Emmett’s neck with barbed wire and threw him in the Tallahatchie River. Three days later, Emmett’s body was found eight miles down- stream by a boy fishing who saw feet protruding from the water. The body was savagely beaten and unrecognizable. The water had badly bloated his remains, but one clue became apparent. A signet ring on his finger; the one his mother had given to him from his father, After the coroner released his disfigured body from Leflore County in Mississippi, Emmett Till made his last trip back to Chicago. When his casket, encased in a protective wooden box shipping tray, arrived at Illinois Central Station, his mother and many mourners joined to receive him home. Mrs. Till collapsed at the sight of the casket. Emmett’s remains were taken to the A.A. Rayner & Sons Funeral Home. Emmett’s remains were transported to RobertsTemple Church of God where an open casket visitation was held. Reportedly fif- ty thousand viewed the fourteen-year old’s body that was swol- len beyond recognition, his teeth were missing, his ear was sev- ered, his eye was hanging out. He could not be recognized as the smiling young face in the snapshots taped to the casket lid. Em- mett’s mother invited photographers to show the world what these men had done. On September 6, Emmett was buried in the Burr Oak Cem- etery in Chicago (which would have its own notoriety in the 2009 mismanagement scandal). The two suspects, Roy Bryant and J. W. Milam were arrested after Emmett went missing on August 29. They said they did not harm him after they took him from his uncle’s home. On September 3, the Grand Jury did indict Bryant and Milam for both kidnapping and murder charges. The trial began on September 19. Jury selection consisted of 12 white men. For the first time, law enforcement, the local NAACP and reporters worked to find anyone who was a wit- ness to any part of the events. Moses Wright, Emmett’s uncle was brave enough to stand up and point to the two defendants as the persons who kidnapped his nephew. There were reportedly two black men that helped with the kid- napping. They were allegedly kept in a jail cell, in a different city, under false aliases, during the trial to make them unable to testify. One prosecution witness,Willie Reed, testified that he sawMi- A Murder to Remember Steven Palmer entered funeral service in 1971. He is an honors graduate of the New England Institute of Applied Arts & Sciences. He has been licensed on both coasts, he owned the Westcott Funeral Homes of Cottonwood and Camp Verde, AZ, where he remains ac- tive in operations. Steve offers his observations on current funeral ser- vice issues. He may be reached by mail at PO Box 352, Cottonwood, AZ 86326, by phone at (928)634-9566, by fax at (928)634-5156, by e-mail at steve@westcottfuneralhome.com or through his website at www.westcottfuneralhome.com or on Facebook. FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS www.nomispublications.com Monthly Columns online at NMS announces the Retirement of Minerva Palmero Carpet Markers available through OGR Safe distancing with style • Two truths: Love never dies, and memories are meant to be shared • Being here shows you care • One step closer to giving an elbow bump or air hug The package also includes five more statements to com- plete the waiting-in-line experience. The Carpet Marker package includes 12 laminated floor clings with rounded corners measuring 2’ x 8” each. Cus- tomization with your firm’s logo is available. Learn more by contacting Nancy Weil at 512-334-5504 ext. 304 or email nweil@OGR.org. INDIANAPOLIS,IN— As more people are permitted to attend visitations and fu- nerals in your funeral home, it is important to remind them to keep a safe social distance from one another. Carpet markers available through OGR offer the perfect way to mark spac- ing and include uplifting messages for your guests. Four “Stay safe by main- taining space” markers are included to create a visu- al line barrier directly in front of the family. Addi- tional markers contain the following messages: CLEVELAND,OH— After many years of dedicated service, Minerva Palmero from National Mortuary Shipping and Cre- mation has decided to retire. When asked what she will miss the most, Minerva states, “I would say the opportu- nity to meet so many people through the years, I was given the privilege while work- ing with NMS to go to conferences, it was such a wonderful eye opening and fascinat- ing experience for me. My favorite thing to do was to speak with our wonderful rep- resentatives and customers. They were a joy to speak with. I had many good laughs with most of them, learned a lot and made friends for life. I am really going to miss my co-workers, we laughed, we cried, we shared stories, and had good potlucks. My plans now are to do some traveling and spend time with my family. I would like to close with thanking NMS for everything, I will truly miss everyone.” Diane Smith, CEO of NMS states, “I want to thank Minerva for her many years of dedication and loyalty. Being in business for nearly 40 years, it is truly a joy when a team member gets to retire. I am so excited to hear about all her future adventures.”