Emmett Till

Emmitt Till was a cautionary tale growing up. He was tortured, mutilated and killed 65 years ago today. At 14, Till was falsely accused of disrespecting a white woman. A white militia barged into the home where he was staying and kidnapped this innocent child. Several days later, his rotting and mangled body was dug up in a local river. Mrs Till insisted on an open casket funeral so that the world could see what evil had done to her beloved son. That was 1955 and that Open Casket Moment inspired MLK and others to march for what was rightfully theirs.

Now, almost every other week, I feel as if we are witnessing a series of never ending Open Casket Moments.

This week, we mourn not just what happened to Blake. I'm in mourning for every innocent person of color that has been unjustly killed, wounded and incarcerated since Emmitt Till. We can recite the names of the most recent including Brown, Garner, Rice, Bland, Arbery, Trayvon and as you know the list goes on and on. But, what about the 10s of thousands of anonymous people of color that were killed and it wasn’t filmed? The presumption of guilt and dangerousness makes Black people vulnerable to unjustified violence, wrongful convictions, and unfair sentencing and treatment.

To my white allies I need you to imagine a white man being shot by a black police officer in the back multiple times in front of his children. Now imagine it had been happening at least once a week for the last 65 years. Would you simply tolerate an administrative leave and no arrest? Of course not. That’s why you must (continue to) use your voice and share your disgust for a system that needs to be dismantled.

We must unify our voices so we can speak for the voiceless African Americans being denied even their most basic civil rights. And if you are wondering what should be done right now - here is my wish list - eager to hear yours.

1) A national database for all law enforcement officers

2) End of Qualified Police immunity

3) Ban the use of choke holds

4) Make lynching a Federal Crime

5) Ban no knock warrants

6) Arrest the officers who shot Jacob Blake and killed Breonna Taylor.

#jacobblake #blacklivesmatter #emmetttill