As NewsOne first reported below, the marker is one of eight memorializing the brutal murder of the Chicago teen in the Mississippi Delta in the summer of 1955. It has been repeatedly vandalized since it first went up in 2007 and had more than 50 bullet holes in it making the words on it illegible.
The issue of the desecration came to light when filmmaker Kevin Wilson Jr., a film student working on a short film on Till, My Nephew Emmett, shared a photo of the sign on Facebook.
The Emmett Till Interpretive Center by Monday morning had raised nearly $19,000 to repair the sign, more than the $15,000 goal, which would replace the sign and keep it safe from further destruction. More than 400 contributors gave funds.
Emmett Till became an icon in the Civil Rights movement after the 14-year-old was kidnapped and brutally murdered by two white men for allegedly whistling at a white woman. They were found not guilty of the act but later admitted to it.
After his death, Emmett’s mother, Mamie Till Mobley, decided to have an open casket funeral for her son, photos of which Jet magazine ran, to show the world the barbaric violence of racism in America.
Thousands attended the Chicago funeral and many say Till Mobley’s action was a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights movement.
Article Appeared @http://newsone.com/3567030/emmett-till-memorial-defaced-with-bullet-holes/