A statue of Emmett Till is tentatively scheduled to be unveiled on Oct. 21, says District 2 Supervisor Reginald Moore.
It will be installed at Rail Spike Park and be called Emmett Till Square at Rail Spike Park.
At a meeting of the Greenwood Voters League on Wednesday, Moore said the sculptor, Utah-based Matthew Glenn, had told him the statue was scheduled to be transported to Leflore County next week. “We’re at the final stages,” Moore said.
He said Oct. 14 was considered, but he wanted sufficient time to prepare.
Emmett Till was a 14-year-old Black youth from Chicago who was visiting family in Money in 1955.
While visiting a store, he was accused of whistling at a white woman, Carolyn Bryant, and days later Till was kidnapped by Bryant’s husband, Roy, and Roy’s half-brother, J.W. Milam.
Roy Bryant and Milam tortured and killed Till. They were acquitted by an all white-jury but later admitted in a magazine interview that they were responsible for Till’s death. The murder sparked the civil rights movement.
State Sen. David Jordan added that when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white passenger later in 1995, she had said she was thinking of Emmett Till.
Jordan was instrumental in securing $150,000 in funding for the statue, which the Leflore County Board of Supervisors used to contract with Glenn.
The bronze statue features Till in a buttoned-up shirt, tie and slacks with his left hand on the brim of his hat.
- Contact Kevin Edwards at 662-581-7233 or kedwards@gwcommonwealth.com.
