Jordan, 85, is now an African American senator whose district contains Leflore County, where the events that led to the murder of Emmett Till began. He said that he witnessed the trial and other events in Chicago and it had a significant impact on his life. Jordan, who is a former educator and politician, said that Emmett Till was the catalyst for it all. The Justice Department reported to Congress that it would reopen Till’s 1955 murder case. This was according to the Associated Press. Till was just 14 years old when he was killed while visiting Chicago relatives. Till was 14 at the time. He and his cousins went to Money to visit Roy and Carolyn Bryant’s store. They claimed that Till grabbed Till’s arm and placed his hands on her waist, making sexually suggestive comments. Bryant and J.W. Later, Till was kidnapped by Milam from his family’s home. Till’s body was discovered days later. He had been severely beaten and shot. A cotton gin fan was tied around his neck with barbedwire before being thrown into Tallahatchie River. A Jet magazine photo featuring Till in open casket helped to ignite the civil-rights movement. Roy Bryant, Milam and others were found not guilty of the murders. However, they later admitted to it in an interview with a magazine. The Justice Department report doesn’t contain any details, but it coincided with publication of “The Blood of Emmett Till”, in which Carolyn Bryant (now Donham) is quoted as saying that she made up some of the story. People with connections to the Till case in Delta have mixed feelings about the federal government’s reopening of the case. Jordan, D.Greenwood, later stated that he had met members of Till’s family and was one of the first African-American elected officials in Greenwood. Visitors who visit the area are often interested in learning more about Till or other aspects of civil rights movements come to his lectures. Jordan stated that he would welcome the reopening if new evidence is available. He said, “It’s a wonderful idea.” “It is a wonderful idea,” he said. However, Mississippi cannot become the paradise we all desire, it must be free from this infection. Johnny B. Thomas, mayor of Glendora says that revisiting the case after all these years is like opening an old wound. Thomas stated that he doesn’t know what else could come of it, given the fact that the truth has been buried and suppressed for so long and the African-Americans not being allowed to tell their stories. Glendora is a small town of 200 people. It is the place where Till’s body was found in the Black Bayou 63-years ago. Thomas has also uploaded a series YouTube videos where he claims his father Henry Lee Loggins, a 1955 Milam employee, helped the white men to kill Till. Loggins said that he was not there in a Chicago Tribune 2005 story. Loggins, who was living in Ohio at the time, stated that although people may say it, he wasn’t there. “I’m not that kind of man,” Thomas said. He believes that reopening this case would remind people of the heinous Jim Crow laws. He said, “What can be gained from it is [a recognition] the harshness and effect it had upon African-Americans.” “To this day, you will find that the community where the trial took place is still reaping the benefits of that murder — both financially and through tourism. Glendora, one of the victims of the act, continues to be repressed. Jordan writes about his experience at the trial in his book “From Mississippi cotton fields to state Senate,” which details the terror that gripped African Americans who gave evidence against Bryant or Milam. Jordan recalls witnessing the testimony by the funeral home director. Jordan recalled witnessing the testimony of the funeral home director. He stated that the man’s shirt was “soaking wet” from being nervous. However, he was able explain how the identification was done. There were also reports that Till was seen in Chicago at the time. The whole incident was staged to gain sympathy for civil rights movements. Brenda Luckett, a Clarksdale resident who recalls Till’s mother Mamie Till-Mobley speaking at a NAACP convention two decades ago, isn’t sure what reexamining this case will accomplish. “I feel like they try to gloss over these kinds of things… nothing really would be achieved.” It’s done. They are all dead, except for the woman who claimed Emmett whistled to her,” stated Luckett, an African American. Luckett was not born until the Till murder. However, she heard about it from her aunt Willa Mae poindexter, a cousin to Mamie. Luckett said, “They always talked about how angry they were and what it was like.” “A lot of my cousins reside in Chicago. They weren’t going to send Emmett to Mississippi. They knew he wasn’t raised to behave like Mississippi boys would,” stated Luckett. “As a kid, I didn’t put it together until that time.” Carolyn Bryant’s apparent ability to clear her mind decades later as a writer is “just a spit on the face of justice,” Luckett stated. “I believe (reopening of the case) that white people are trying to placate their conscience. It just serves to appease Mississippi’s conscience. To make Mississippi look great. Mississippi knew it was a crime. Luckett stated that Mississippi covered up the crime and protected the perpetrators. She said, “To have the feds come back all these years later to try and clean up our mess is not something I like.” We should have taken a stand a long time ago. … There is still a lot to do. It’s symbolic justice that they would at most try.” To support this work, make a regular donation today to celebrate our Spring Member Drive. This will allow us to continue important work such as this story. 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