Chicago History Museum hosts exhibit on legacy of Emmett Till murder trial
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Seventy years after the racist murder of Chicago teen Emmett Till in Mississippi helped inspire the civil rights movement, a new exhibit on Emmett Till at the Chicago History Museum explores in greater depth what happened after his lynching.
The exhibit, "Injustice: The Trial for the Murder of Emmett Till," portrays the painful but pivotal trial of the two men who were eventually acquitted of brutally killing Till after the 14-year-old was accused of whistling at a white woman.
"We wanted to begin this image with this drawing from Franklin McMahon of the judge's bench and the witness stand," Chicago History Museum curator Charles Bethea said. "They should be places where the evidence is weighed, testimony is given, and justice is served through fair sentencing. Well, unfortunately for the Emmett Till case, that didn't happen."
While Till's accused killers, Roy Bryant and J. W. Milam, were acquitted by an all-white jury, the two later admitted to Till's murder.
"Jury members admitted that they knew they were guilty, but they were not going to convict two white men for killing a Black person, even if it was just a child," Bethea said.
The exhibit also highlights the chilling moment when Till's great uncle pointed his finger at Milam while testifying at their trial. A mural in the exhibit is based on the famous photo of Wright pointing at Milam.
"This is the first time that we know in a Southern courtroom – in '55, during Jim Crow – where a Black man accused white men of murder," he said. "Telling stories like this, like the Emmett Till story, is something that is necessary. It's needed, but also allows people to think about where they've come from, where we've come from as a society, and how much further we still need to go."
Bethea said, with this year marking 70 years since Till's murder, now is the perfect time to re-tell this story.
"Unfortunately, we're living in a timeframe where history is being questioned, and fact is under scrutiny," Bethea said. "What we want people to understand is, there are some things that have happened in t his country – in this great country – that aren't all that great, and understanding what took place in the past, we hope, will actually benefit how people respond in the present day and in the future."
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