Post 15 is Up: Who Killed Emmett Till?, FREE Blog Book

A small lake outside of Greenville, Mississippi. Photo by Susan Klopfer.

THROUGHOUT HER LIFE, Emmett Till’s mother, carried a frightening story close to her heart – a story she often replayed in her mind. She didn’t have to own the story, since her family had left Mississippi and its inherent meanness when she was just a baby – like many black Mississippians, they moved to Argo, on the outskirts of Chicago, to escape the misery of the Delta.

A little black girl brought to work by her mother, out of necessity, had become a playmate of the white family’s daughter and one day the white child complained to her father about something the black child had done. The father became so angry that he slammed the black woman’s child into a tree. The black mother was forced to complete her housework before caring for her child; her daughter ultimately died from the injuries.

FOR BLACK PEOPLE, every generation has a cautionary tale much like this, – a story (true or untrue) based on real or imaginary events and that teaches something important, Mrs. Till Mobley once told writer, Christopher Benson, as they wrote her book, Death of Innocence.

Before her 14-year-old son left for the Delta, Mamie Till Mobley wanted Emmett to be aware he would be leaving the world of Chicago – the only world he knew -- for a place that could be extraordinarily mean to black folks, even to black children like the cleaning lady’s daughter.

SHE COACHED HER SON to be aware of the unwritten Jim Crow rules – don’t start up conversations with white people, only talk if you’re spoken to, respond with “yes, sir” and “no, ma’am.” Step off the street for white women and lower your head. Don’t look white women in the eye and when passing the on the sidewalk, keep going and don’t look back. If you must, get onto your knees and apologize.