50 Years After the Murder of Emmett Till, the Investigation Continues

On August 28th, 1955, fifty years ago this Sunday, Emmett Till was abducted, beaten and shot near Money, Mississippi after he allegedly whistled at a white female store clerk. The clerk's husband, Roy Bryant, and his half-brother, J.W. Milam, were tried and acquitted by an all-white jury. The two later confessed to beating and shooting Till in a magazine article. Both men have since died.

On June 1st of this year, 50 years after Emmett Till's mutilated body was found in a Mississippi river, federal investigators unearthed the teen's casket in search of clues in a murder case that helped kindle the civil rights movement. Mississippi prosecutors and the FBI have said DNA or other evidence might help determine who killed the 14 year-old and whether anyone still alive should be prosecuted.

The U.S. Justice Department announced last year it would reopen an investigation into Emmett Till's slaying. They said the move was triggered by several pieces of information including a documentary by filmmaker Keith Beauchamp.

* "The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till", excerpt of documentary by filmmaker Keith Beauchamp.
* Keith Beauchamp, joins us in our firehouse studio.
* Clenora Hudson-Weems, Professor of English at the University of Missouri-Columbia and author of the book "Emmett Till: The Sacrificial Lamb of the Civil Rights Movement."

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http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/08/26/1350213

Bob Dylan Performing "The Ballad of the Emmett Till" on Pacifica Radio's WBAI in 1962

In May 1962 the legendary folksinger Bob Dylan came by the WBAI studios in New York to perform his rarely heard tribute to Emmett Till. This is one of the earliest known live recordings of Bob Dylan. [includes rush transcript]

It was recorded within days of his 21st birthday. "The Ballad of Emmett Till" never appeared on an official Bob Dylan record and was only released on a compilation put out by Broadside Records (on which Dylan recorded under the pseudonym Blind Boy Grunt). This is from the Pacifica Radio Archives.

* "The Ballad of Emmett Till"

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http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/08/26/1350225