Am I Not Human? Emmett Till (1941-1955)

Emmitt Till was murdered on this day in 1955. Till was a 14-year-old African American boy who was beaten and shot to death by two white men. These men then threw the Till's mutilated body into the Tallahatchie River near Money, Mississippi. Young Till was killed for talking to and perhaps whistling at a white woman at a Mississippi grocery store. Later that year, Roy Bryant, whose wife Carolyn was the white woman at the store, and his half brother, J. W. Milam, were tried for Till's murder and acquitted by a jury of 12 white men.

In March, 2007, the FBI released a summary of its 8000 page report of its investigation of the murder of Emmett Till. This report also includes the 354 page transcript of the 1955 murder trial of J. W. Milam and Roy Bryant.

This gruesome photo of Emmett Till helped spark the civil rights movement. It demonstrated the brutality of southern violence towards African Americans, and created outrage across the nation. Emmett's mother, Mamie, insisted at his funeral that he be given an open-casket, so others could see what they had done to her boy.

The truth of what happened that night became public knowledge several months after the trial. William Bradford Huie, an Alabama journalist in Mississippi to report on the aftermath of the case, offered Bryant and Milam money to tell their story. Since the two could no longer be prosecuted for a crime of which they had already been acquitted, they gladly told for a fee of how they had beaten and killed young Till. Huie reported what the killers told him in Look magazine. Now publicly exposed as murderers, Bryant and Milam were ostracized by the community, and both moved elsewhere within a year. Emmett Till in death became a martyr for the civil rights movement, a symbol of the racial hatred African Americans had yet to overcome.

America has moved quantum leaps in terms of both civil and human rights since 1955. African Americans are no longer murdered for giving wolf whistles to white women. However, our gains are not guaranteed. All Americans need to be vigilant in protecting our national commitment to equality for all. All it will take for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing.

Roots of Humanity feels that each of us can fight against human rights abuses in the world. We simply need to do something. Protest. Meditate. Pray. In the case of bloggers ... we want you to blog on the 27th of each month. Just share information on behalf of our human siblings in all suffering areas who are either barred from communication by their governments, or lacking in technology to ask: Am I Not Human?

Related articles

• Family of Emmett Till Discusses Zimmerman Verdict: 'Hard to Say That We've Moved Anywhere From 50 Years Ago'
• Money 1955: The Emmett Till Murder Trial - trailer by Rob Underhill
• Sumner facing tragic legacy of the Till case

Leflore County Sheriff Ricky Banks Talks About Hanging of Frederick Jermaine Carter

Sheriff Banks at crime scene

Remarkable interview with Leflore County Sheriff Ricky Banks about the hanging of Frederick Jermaine Carter. Banks is very open with his opinions and insights about the hanging of Frederick Jermaine Carter. Many of us think that Carter was lynched as part of some type of 'hate crime'. Sheriff Banks insists that Carter committed suicide.





Our thanks to the folks at W.E. A.L.L. B.E. for the investigative reporting that they are doing on the Carter case.

Coroner Says Hanging of Frederick Jermaine Carter Was 'Not a Suicide'

It appears that Mississippi is still burning. Villagers may recall that 26-year old Frederick Jermaine Carter was found hanging from an oak tree in Greenwood, Mississippi late last year. The local authorities tried to cover-up this lynching with the idea that Carter committed suicide.

The story didn't make sense. Why would a young Black man go into a predominantly white community in a small Mississippi town and tie a rope around a tree to hang himself? Many villagers joined us in questioning authorities on this matter.

Well, it turns out we were right! The deputy medical examiner for the state of Mississippi confirms that Carter did not commit suicide.






We need to continue to agitate for a full and complete investigation into the lynching of this young man. We need to make sure that the people of Mississippi clearly understand that we will never again allow lynching to run rampant in this country as it did back in the day.

Mississippi Coroner Signs Off on Frederick Jermaine Carter's Autopsy Results

Dr. Adel Shaker

Soulclap to W.E. A.L.L. B.E. for breaking news about the imminent release of the autopsy results in the hanging death of Frederick Jermaine Carter.  Dr. Adel Shaker, the Deputy Medical Examiner for the state of Mississippi, says that he will be mailing the autopsy results to the Carter family tomorrow morning.

Truth in the Death of Billey Joe Johnson - Suicide or Murder-by-Cop?

Billey Joe Johnson

Soulclap to African American Pundit for informing us about the murky circumstances regarding the death of 17-year old Billey Joe Johnson. Billey was a star football player with a bright future in December 2009 when he was stopped for a traffic violation by George County (MS) deputy sheriff Joe Sullivan. At this point we only have one side of the story -- Sullivan's patrol car did not have a camera and the young victim in this story is dead.

The George County Sheriff’s Department claims that on that fateful morning, Billey Joe attempted to break into the home of an on-again, off-again girlfriend in the nearby city of Lucedale. According to the sheriff’s department, he left the scene and ran a red light at 5:34 a.m. After a 1½-mile pursuit, Billey Joe got out of his truck, met sheriff’s deputy Joe Sullivan and handed over his license. Then Billey Joe returned to his truck, put a 12-gauge shotgun he used to target deer to his head and committed suicide. It was 5:40 a.m.

Billey Joe’s friends and family don’t believe the story. His father is convinced someone forced Billey Joe on his knees, shoved the shotgun barrel in his mouth and pulled the trigger. [SOURCE]

“They must’ve tortured my baby,” Billey Johnson, Sr. says.

Community members (and others)are renewing their efforts because Johnson’s death and subsequent investigations leave more questions than answers. Given the long history of corruption and cover-ups in George County law enforcement, many community members feel law enforcement and the District Attorney’s office colluded to execute a wide spread cover-up. Community members also point to what they call a pattern of racial profiling and the use of fear and intimidation on behalf of law enforcement.

“Law enforcement’s investigation left a lot of holes and many of us believe there was foul play. Because of the amount of discrimination we experience every day, we have little faith in the local justice system,” said Mr. Bobby Perryman of Immaculate Heart Community Development Corporation.

Johnson’s family is calling on the Lucedale community to come forward with information about the case and believe many have stayed quiet for fear of retribution or being shunned by friends and family members.

“Nobody wants to tell on their neighbor, but the fact is that a young man was killed and his family and this community need closure,” said Pastor Garrett of Prince Garrett Ministries. 

George County is a very small community and is still very segregated. A few large families and their extended networks own most of the businesses and play influential roles in city and county government. George County, where the incident occurred, is 89% white with very few Black residents.

“We know there are good folks in George County who have knowledge about the incident. We know you are afraid but we need you to come forward. Black or white - none of us are free when there is a suspicion of murder,” Garrett added.

“We are tired of the corruption, the cover-ups and the abuse we suffer at the hands of police,” said Ms. Lucy Wilson, President of the Human Rights Taskforce of George County. The Human Rights Taskforce was established as a result of the travesty of justice felt by many around the Johnson case as well as growing tensions between the Black community and law enforcement.

The young teenager died over a year ago ... and yet there still isn't closure for the family or the community.  This blog is hopeful that a true investigation would sort out fact from rumor. But we can't be sure that Johnson's family will get the investigation it deserves. In the case of the Jena 6 we saw a District Attorney and a judge incapable of carrying out justice in a racially charged environment. In the recent case of the murder of Oscar Grant by police (and many like it), we see how unlikely it is for District Attorneys to do their job when the suspect is an officer of the law. But in both these cases, public pressure has made all the difference by shining a spotlight on local authorities.

In the case of Billey Joe Johnson, we're looking for the truth and for justice.  I encourage all villagers to take a minute of your time to help ensure his family get both.


Please let us know if you learn of any new information.   Suicide?  or Murder?

What is Mississippi Hiding in Frederick Jermaine Carter Lynching?

Soulclap to Ronald Herd for pointing out some tangible action that villagers can take to support the family of Frederick James Carter. Carter is the 26-year old African American found hanging from an oak tree in Greenwood, Mississippi back in December 2010. Prior to his death, Carter’s stepfather, a painter, said he and Carter were working in Greenwood and that Carter wandered off after he was instructed to go and get some tools.


The county sheriff ruled the death a suicide and most white folks in Mississippi agreed with him. These folks note that Carter had spent eight months in the state mental hospital in 2008, and tried to kill himself by drug overdose and cutting himself.

Most Black folks in Mississippi disagree. After all, Greenwood is about 12 miles from Money, Miss., the place where 14-year old Emmett Till was lynched after he allegedly made remarks to a white woman.

I don't know the truth. I do know that it is not a good sign to learn that the autopsy of Carter's body has not been publicly released yet. The first autopsy was completed by a local political hack -- Leflore County coroner Debra Sanders. The second autopsy was completed by a competent medical examiner from out-of-state. The second autopsy cannot be released to the public until the first one has been released.

What is Leflore County and the state of Mississippi hiding from us? If the death was truly a suicide then you have to wonder why they aren't releasing the autopsy results to the public?





Here is where 'villagers' come in.  Please let Gov. Haley Barbour know you want the first autopsy results officially released so that the truth can finally come out:

Phone:   

1-877-405-0733 or 601-359-3150

Mailing address:
P.O. Box 139
Jackson, Mississippi 39205

E-mail:  

governor@governor.state.ms.us
 

Also contact the U.S. Department of Justice:
 

By Mail:
Correspondence to the Department, including the Attorney General, may be sent to:
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001
 

By Phone:
Department of Justice Main Switchboard - 202-514-2000
Office of the Attorney General Public Comment Line - 202-353-1555
 

E-Mail:
AskDOJ@usdoj.gov

Please visit http://www.andjusticeforus.org/ for future updates.

Why Are Republicans Playing the Race Card in Southern States?

You have to wonder if the Republican Party in the southern part of the United States is making a conscious effort to piss off African Americans so that they can gain support from bigoted white folks? Has the GOP decided that the best way to beat President Obama in 2012 is to play the race card over and over again?

Can there be any other explanation for the recent actions of Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL) or Gov. Haley Barbour (R-MS)?

Gov. Scott had a Gov. Rick Scott welcomed Black legislators to lunch earlier this week at the Governor’s Mansion. His intentions may have been good. However, during his welcoming remarks, Scott implied that all Black lawmakers grew up poor and lived in the projects. [SOURCE]

“I grew up probably in the same situation as you guys,” Scott said to the group of 20 Democrats. “I started school in public housing. My dad had a sixth-grade education.”

Rep. Betty Reed, D-Tampa, said she was offended by the remark, but did not protest at the time because she said it was more important to have a productive dialogue with the new governor.

Afterward, she said, “He assumed that everyone [in the room] was poor and that can only be because you’re Black.”

It is much worse over in Mississippi where the state is considering a proposal to issue specialty license plates honoring Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, who was an early leader of the Ku Klux Klan.

The Mississippi Division of Sons of Confederate Veterans wants to sponsor a series of state-issued license plates to mark the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, which it calls the "War Between the States." The group proposes a different design each year between now and 2015, with Forrest slated for 2014. [SOURCE]

I wonder if these wingnuts realize that the Confederates lost that war?

For those villagers who may not know -- Forrest, a Tennessee native, is revered by some as a military genius and reviled by others for leading an 1864 massacre of Black Union troops at Fort Pillow, Tenn. If it happened today, we would call it a 'war crime'.

Forrest was a Klan grand wizard in Tennessee after the war.

Gov. Barbour hasn't stepped in to end this discussion about honoring a war criminal and racist KKK grand wizard with his own license plate. Is Barbour being a racist? Or is he just ignorant about the way that African Americans would react to seeing a KKK grand wizard honored on the back of every car in Mississippi?

It appears more and more that the Republican Party is willing to play the race card to try to regain the White House in 2012. What say u?

Scott Sisters on Release From Mississippi Prison (VIDEO)

Jamie and Gladys Scott were physically released from Mississippi prison today. It took 16 years, but the state of Mississippi has freed the Scott sisters.

The sisters did the time for robbing a man of $11 in 1993. Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour pardoned them both, with the questionable stipulation that Gladys donate her kidney to Jamie, who has needed dialysis for many years.


The Scott Sisters are moving to Pensacola, Florida, to be with their mother and children. The sisters hold no bitterness against Gov. Haley Barbour or the corrupt judicial system that put them in prison for 16 years.

"They have to pay for their actions in putting me and my sister in prison for a crime we did not commit," Jamie said.

Now, with their life sentences for armed robbery suspended, their future is uncertain. How will the Scott sisters pay for their medical care and the kidney transplant? Are the sisters even a compatible match for the kidney transplant? If not, will Gladys' conditional release be revoked by Gov. Barbour?

But, today is not a day for question. Today is a day to rejoice for the Scott Sisters, their family and all of the online activists who have been fighting this fight over the years.

Our blog didn't do as much as we could ... but, it feels good to know that we did something!

Was Frederick Jermaine Carter Lynched in Mississippi?

Frederick James Carter

America is not a post-racial nation yet. That fact is especially true in Mississippi.

Soulclap to JuJuBe for letting me know about the controversial case of Frederick Jermaine Carter.  Last month 26-year old Frederick Jermaine Carter was found hanging from an oak tree in Greenwood, Mississippi. Prior to his death, Carter’s stepfather, a painter, said he and Carter were working in Greenwood and that Carter wandered off after he was instructed to go and get some tools.

The county sheriff ruled the death a suicide and most white folks in Mississippi agreed with him. These folks note that Carter had spent eight months in the state mental hospital in 2008, and tried to kill himself by drug overdose and cutting himself.

County Coroner Debra Sanders said that the autopsy’s preliminary finding of suicide is consistent with what was observed at the scene: that “Carter dragged the frame of an old table from one side of the tree to the other, propped it against the tree trunk, and then tied himself to the lowest limb.” In addition, there were no other footprints by the tree.


Most Black folks in Mississippi disagree. After all, Greenwood is about 12 miles from Money, Miss., the place where 14-year old Emmett Till was lynched after he allegedly made remarks to a white woman. The Black community has a long memory of the horror known as lynching in America.

The NAACP and others feel that Carter was lynched. State Rep. Willie Perkins, president of the Leflore County branch of the NAACP, says that group also "will keep a high scrutiny and watch on any investigative report regarding what was the cause of death."

"There are a lot of concerns there, No. 1 that this individual could not have (hanged) himself without the assistance of someone, if it’s being declared a suicide," he says. "Why would someone from Sunflower County come to North Greenwood, the predominantly white housing area of Greenwood? Why would someone that far away come and hang themselves in North Greenwood by a river? That does not pass the smell test to me."

Another local elected official, state Sen. David Jordan, says the African American community in Greenwood is “very much concerned.”

"This is in a white wealthy area, and Black people just don’t go over there," he says. "There’s not a single Black that’s talked to us who believes that he hanged himself."

I suspect that we will never know the full story of this man's death. However, I do know that America is not yet post-racial.

What are your thoughts on the Frederick Jermaine Carter case? Was it a lynching or a suicide?

Gov. Haley Barbour Tries to Assuage His White Guilt by Releasing the Scott Sisters from Mississippi Prison

Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour is finally doing the right thing ... albeit for the wrong reasons. Barbour agreed to free two sisters who served 16 years of a double life sentence for an armed robbery in which nobody was hurt and $11 was stolen.  Jamie and Gladys Scott should never have been sent to jail in the first place.

Here is the statement from Gov. Barbour:

---

"Today, I have issued two orders indefinitely suspending the sentences of Jamie and Gladys Scott. In 1994, a Scott County jury convicted the sisters of armed robbery and imposed two life sentences for the crime. Their convictions and their sentences were affirmed by the Mississippi Court of Appeals in 1996.

"To date, the sisters have served 16 years of their sentences and are eligible for parole in 2014. Jamie Scott requires regular dialysis, and her sister has offered to donate one of her kidneys to her. The Mississippi Department of Corrections believes the sisters no longer pose a threat to society. Their incarceration is no longer necessary for public safety or rehabilitation, and Jamie Scott's medical condition creates a substantial cost to the State of Mississippi.

"The Mississippi Parole Board reviewed the sisters' request for a pardon and recommended that I neither pardon them, nor commute their sentence. At my request, the Parole Board subsequently reviewed whether the sisters should be granted an indefinite suspension of sentence, which is tantamount to parole, and have concurred with my decision to suspend their sentences indefinitely.

"Gladys Scott's release is conditioned on her donating one of her kidneys to her sister, a procedure which should be scheduled with urgency. The release date for Jamie and Gladys Scott is a matter for the Department of Corrections.

"I would like to thank Representative George Flaggs, Senator John Horne, Senator Willie Simmons, and Representative Credell Calhoun for their leadership on this issue. These legislators, along with former Mayor Charles Evers, have been in regular contact with me and my staff while the sisters' petition has been under review."

---

Of course it made too much sense for Barbour to simply commute their sentence without the ludicrous and unconstitutional condition that one sister (Gladys) donate a kidney to her sister, who requires dialysis at least three times per day.

Villagers are reminded that the Scott sisters were convicted of robbing at gunpoint two men driving them to a nightclub in Forest, north Mississippi, in 1993. They had no prior criminal record. Each was sentenced to two life terms.

They have served 16 years for a conviction that never would have occurred if they were white. Being Black and poor in Mississippi means that the judicial system can truly phuque with you ... as the Scott sister learned.

Gov. Barbour is taking big-time heat for his racist recollections of his childhood in KKK-dominated southern hometown. I figure that he realized he couldn't afford to continue to ignore the growing protests about the unjust and inhumane imprisonment of these two Black women. Barbour saw a chance to end the protest and get the Scott sisters the heck out of Mississippi (...they plan to move in with their mother who lives in Florida). So, in my mind, Barbour is making this move for his own political reasons ... he is a candidate for the GOP presidential nomination in 2012 ... and not because he believes it is the right thing to do in his heart.


However, a good deed ... even if done for wrong reasons ... is still a good deed. This blog is glad to see Barbour taking these steps. We understand it may take up to 45 days for the sisters to be physically released from the prison. Our hope is that Barbour will get that done sooner rather than later.

Help Free Jamie and Gladys Scott

I invite all villagers to take a few seconds to sign this petition on behalf of these two innocent sisters, Gladys and Jamie Scott.

On December 24, 1993, Scott County Sheriff's Department arrested two sisters, Jamie and Gladys Scott for armed robbery. Jamie and Gladys Scott were each sentenced to double life terms in prison in October 1994.

• Neither sister had prior convictions
  
• Neither sister had prior arrests
  
• Neither sister had a criminal history
  
• Allegedly $11 was stolen
  
• No one was injured
  
• No one was murdered

Here is the kicker -- three young Black men confessed to the robbery. These three hoodlums linked Jamie and Gladys to the crime. These three miscreants received a light sentence of 10 months in exchange for their plea bargain.





I appreciate the time you will take to look into this. It doesn't matter whether you think that they are innocent or guilty ... the injustice is that the crime does not warrant the amount of prison time given to these two young Black women. At some point we MUST stand up for justice. This happens far too often and we have the POWER to do something about it.

George Lambus is a Black Republican Who Wants to Lynch Criminals in Jackson, Mississippi

The Republican Party is deeply in trouble. We shared the top ten blunders of GOP leader Michael Steele earlier this month. Now we have a member of Steele's Republican Party who wants to bring back the hanging noose. [SOURCE]

George Lambus a 62-year-old, Black Republican mayoral candidate has released campaign flyers that note 'crime can only be alleviated by a noose and a stout tree limb.'

This jerk is someone's grandfather ... but, we are glad to note that his chances of winning the June election are slim: the majority-Black city of about 180,000 is so heavily Democratic that no Republican has won the mayor's race in modern history. Yet, Lambus hopes to stand out in a crowded field by packing a silver pistol and talking bluntly about crime.

"Look at recent history, like in South Africa, when apartheid was abolished," Lambus said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. "Blacks went on a crime spree. Other blacks got tired of it ... and they formed vigilantes and they killed people. It brought the crime down."

His pistol nearby as he peered out a window at his decaying Jackson neighborhood, Lambus added: "When you cut your yard, carry a gun. When you go to church, carry a gun. When you go to school, carry a gun."

It is truly a sad state of affairs for the Republican Party that they have a candidate who fails to understand the evil history of lynching in our country.

The fact that this is a Black man is all the more tragic. All the more reason that Black Republicans are so lonely.

Mississippi Officials Tell Kids Not To Say 'Obama'

Did you see where school officials down in Mississippi threatened children with expulsion from busses and classrooms if they uttered the word, "Obama"?

I imagine that there are still some folks who will have difficult time dealing with a Black president. I imagine it will hurt some of the officials and judges that run federal buildings and federal courtrooms when they have to place a portrait photo of the incoming president on the walls.

I share this Obama collage in an effort to help these hard-headed folks in Mississippi and elsewhere get used to the idea of a new POTUS. As the youngsters in Mississippi school busses and junior high school classrooms are saying, "Obama, Obama, Obama, Obama, Obama, Obama, Obama, Obama, Obama, Obama, Obama, Obama, Obama, Obama, Obama, Obama, Obama, Obama, Obama, Obama and Obama!"