Students learn about Emmett Till and the importance of justice
From Alcorn State University
MONEY – “I am Emmett Till and I stand for justice,” chanted 11 emotional high school students standing in the rain in front of what was once known as Bryant’s Grocery Store in Money, Mississippi, where a 14-year-old black youth was brutally killed by white murderers who escaped justice.
Pictured: Scholars reading the commemorative sign at the former Bryant’s Grocery Store site in Money, Mississippi. (Alcorn State photo)
The journey to the historic site in July was a part of the Alcorn State University Children Defense Fund Freedom School project for high school-aged students. They read the book “Getting Away with Murder: The True Story of the Emmett Till Case” and watched the PBS video documentary before traveling to the place where the astonishing story took place.
“I remember reading the book as a servant leader intern and being appalled at the fact that I was learning of this critical moment in American history for the first time in my life – and I was college student. None of my American history and African American history classes mentioned Till at all,” shared Gralon Johnson, special assistant to the president at Alcorn and co-executive director of the CDF Freedom School program. “So, when the decision was made for high school-aged students to participate in Alcorn’s Freedom School program, I realized that it was a perfect opportunity to expose and connect our scholars to Till’s story in a meaningful and lasting way.”
Till’s tortured and battered body was pulled from the Tallahatchie River on Aug. 28, 1955.
Johnson further said Level 4 scholars participating in… […]
