A bulletproof memorial was erected on Saturday in dedication to 14-year-old Emmett Till who was kidnapped and brutally murdered in August 1955.
Two white men were accused of the murder, but later acquitted by an all white jury. Till’s murder and his mother’s choice to have an open casket funeral played a crucial role in igniting the Civil Rights Movement.
The new historic marker has a glass bulletproof cover and is made out of 500 pounds of steel.
Patrick Weems, executive director of the Emmett Till Memorial Commission was part of the ceremony held Saturday, which also included Till’s family members and friends.
“I think we just have to be resilient and know there are folks out there that don’t want to know this history or who want to erase the history,” Weems said. “We are just going to be resilient in continuing to put them back up and be truthful in making sure that Emmett didn’t die in vain.”
The newly built historical markers were constructed after several incidents of vandalism took place in recent years, including University of Mississippi students with guns being photographed in front of the bullet riddled memorial. The marker sits at the original location where Emmett Till was found and retrieved out of the Tallahatchie River.
Erected in 2008, the 50-pound memorial sign has been vandalized continuously by angry culprits. The first incident of vandalism occurred when someone threw the sign in the river. Other incidents have included defacing the sign with acid, spray painting kkk on the sign, and of course, shooting several bullets into the marker.
Historical markers and sites play an important part in remembering the sacrifices and events that make up the United States. Otherwise, without these remnants of history, the past is bound to be repeated.
