Tag Archives | Emmett Till

My feature on WTHR about Emmett Till and today’s attitudes

I was featured on WTHR for my coverage of the Emmett Till murder trial 65 years ago. From the story:

INDIANAPOLIS — As he watched video of George Floyd’s murder and the weeks of nationwide protests that followed, Dan Wakefield couldn’t help but think of another murder, one that happened nearly 65 years ago in Mississippi.

Emmett Till, 14, an African-American teen, was visiting the south from Chicago and staying with relatives when was killed by two White men. The men had accused Till of whistling at a White woman.

“They took him away and he was found two or three days later at the bottom of the Tallahatchie River with a 50-pound cotton gin fan tied around his neck,” said Wakefield, 88.

Read the full story and watch the video at WTHR.

You can read my full original piece on the trial at The Nation.

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New Piece for CounterPunch: “From Emmett Till to George Floyd”

George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Emmett Till portraits
Photograph by Nathaniel St. Clair

Several years ago a man called me and apologized for taking my time, but explained he had to speak with me since he was writing about the Emmett Till murder trial and “you are the only one who was there who is still alive.”

I am still here, and I now see headlines comparing the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis to that of Emmett Till in Mississippi in 1955.

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Dan Wakefield

Dan Wakefield

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