Emmett Till was taken from his uncle's home in the Mississippi Delta and murdered on August 28, 1955. His mutilated body was found in the Tallahatchie River two days later.
Less than six months later Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, city bus. "I thought about Emmett Till," she said later, "and I could not go back."
Christopher Epps at the entrance to Unit 17, Parchman, May 25, 2011.
Unit 17 was maximum security at the state penitentary, and for several weeks in the summer of 1961 its cells were home to the Freedom Riders. Epps was awaiting the arrival of the Riders who had returned to Mississippi, and Parchman, to mark their successful campaign's 50th anniversary.
Helen Singleton
Teresa and Wyatt Tee Walker
Ok, well, in the convention center but same thing. The Riders first arrived in Jackson 50 years ago today, May 24, 1961.
Sent from my iPhone
Sent from my iPhone
