Proposed Mississippi resolution would apologize for Emmett Till’s murder and acquittal

If adopted, the resolution would have the Mississippi House and Senate express regret and apologize for the state’s role in Emmett Till’s murder and his killers’ acquittal. The apology would address a hostile climate, the defense of the crime by many Mississippi citizens and leaders, and the acquittal of Till’s killers. It would also express sympathy and regret to his family. The resolution says it should not be used in, or form the basis of, any type of lawsuit.

The resolution would encourage people to remember and teach the history of the Civil Rights Movement, especially Till’s death and the injustice surrounding it. Copies would go to Mississippi’s elected state officials, the Commissioner of Institutions of Higher Learning, Mississippi chapters of the NAACP and Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and the Capitol Press Corps. It would ask named officials and organizations to share copies with their members and communities; it would not require them to do so.