In May 2004 black leaders and activists called the Justice Department's decision to reopen the 1955 Emmett Till murder case a bittersweet victory for civil rights.
While they were certainly pleased that the U.S. Justice Department reopened the investigation in the Till murder case, several Black leaders were saddened that it had taken nearly 50 years.
NAACP President Kweisi Mfume said: "Clearly for those of us who over the years have remained convinced that this murder should be revisited, this is a day of mixed emotions. I am glad the case is being reopened, but it is sad that it has taken so long."
The Department of Justice, along with the Mississippi District Attorney's Office for the 4th District announced in April 2004 the opening of the investigation of Till, a 14-year-old Black Chicago resident who was kidnapped and murdered in August 1955 while he visited family in Money, MS.
The Department joined local law enforcement officials to investigate whether any prosecutions remain possible under state law (JET, May 24, 2004).
"We owe it to Emmett Till, and we owe it to ourselves to see whether after all these years, some additional measure of justice remains possible," said R. Alexander Acosta, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division.
Query: What is the wrong here? The fact that some people refused to put the past behind them (even after 50 years), or that federal authorities took so long to inquire into a civil rights violation?
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3 comments:
Keep in mind: the Till case was not a continuing wrong.
In my case, the federal government has been continuously defrauded from October 29, 1991 to the present moment.
God, I love free money!!
Don't you just love it when African Americans don't know their own sad history?
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