The Sign Discovered by Wilson Courtesy of TIME
Student Kevin Wilson Jr. was scouting locations for his 2nd Year film about the murder of Emmett Till when he came across a sign marking the spot where Till's body was found. The sign was riddled with bullet holes.
Emmett Till was a 14-year-old African American boy brutally murdered in Mississippi by two white men in 1955 for reportedly whistling at a white woman. His death and his mother's advocacy after the fact, are considered an important moment in the American Civil Rights Movement.
When Kevin Wilson Jr. found the defaced sign he posted a photo of it on Facebook with a caption that read, "I’m at the exact site where Emmett Till’s body was found floating in the Tallahatchie River 61 years ago. The site marker is filled with bullet holes. Clear evidence that we’ve still got a long way to go."
Wilson's post went viral and the story has been picked up by several media outlets including TIME, the NY Times, and CNN, who interviewed Wilson on the matter.
The Emmett Till Interpretive Center is raising money to replace the sign here. Thanks to Wilson and the attention he has generated, they have raised over $22,000 so far.
Learn more about Kevin Wilson Jr's upcoming Emmett Till film here.