Cemetery whistle-blower: I'm no hero Jul 22, 2009
Employee A speaks outThe cemetery is the final resting place of perhaps 100,000 people, including blues singers Dinah Washington and Willie Dixon, boxer Ezzard Charles, several Negro League baseball players, and Emmett Till, the Chicago teenager whose 1955 murder in Mississippi was a flashpoint in the civil rights movement. Authorities have said there is no indication any of those graves were disturbed. (MSNBC -- Crime)
Quinn forms cemetery task force Jul 18, 2009
Burr Oak, the burial place of civil rights-era lynching victim Emmett Till, has served generations of Chicago-area black families. Most of the task force's members are black, and several said they have relatives buried at Burr Oak. (The Pantagraph newspaper)
'Lingering injustice' continues: Till homages suffer Jul 17, 2009
The slaying of 14-year-old Emmett Till helped fuel the civil rights movement, but homages to his legacy have suffered as many setbacks as successes ... "Some of them had never heard of Emmett Till until this happened," he said ... Representatives of the Emmett Till Memorial Commission in Tallahatchie County received a phone call this week from the sheriff's office in Chicago, asking if they had any information on Towns. (The Clarion-Ledger)
Cemetery's jumbled bones hard to ID Jul 17, 2009
which is the burial place several famous Americans including civil rights-era lynching victim Emmett Till. Four former workers are charged with dumping exhumed bodies in a deserted field the size of four square blocks in order to resell grave plots. (MSNBC -- Crime)
First lady's dad not in disturbed cemetery Jul 15, 2009
The historic black cemetery is also home to the grave of 14-year-old Emmett Till, whose grisly murder for whistling at a white woman made him an icon of the civil-rights movement. His gravesite was not disturbed. (MSNBC -- Race)
Records at troubled Chicago cemetery falling apart Jul 15, 2009
Thousands have flooded Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, the burial place of civil rights-era lynching victim Emmett Till and blues singer Dinah Washington, since four former workers were accused earlier this week of dumping hundreds of unearthed corpses in a scheme to resell plots ... The Burr Oak Cemetery is the final resting place of lynching victim Emmett Till, as well as blues singers Willie Dixon and Dinah Washington ... Authorities closed Burr Oak Cemetery, home to the graves of civil... (Fresno Bee -- Nation)
Minn. grand jury indicts 2 in missing Somalis case Jul 14, 2009
When his mother put the battered body of 14-year-old Emmett Till in the ground more than 50 years ago, it was supposed to be the end of a sad saga for the boy whose lynching became a rallying point for the civil rights movement. But even in death, Till cannot rest. (Fresno Bee -- Nation)
ID process begins in Ill. cemetery investigation Jul 14, 2009
The historic black cemetery is also home to the grave of civil rights-era lynching victim Emmett Till. His grave site was not disturbed. (WSVN-TV Miami, FL)
Officials Begin to ID the 100,000 Graves in Burial-Plot Scam Jul 14, 2009
The cemetery is home to the graves of civil rights-era lynching victim Emmett Till and blues singer Dinah Washington. Sheriff Tom Dart says about 300 graves have likely been dug up. (Fox News)
Even in death, no rest for Emmett Till Jul 14, 2009
Emmett Till's casket is opened again in probe of grisly Ill ... Photographers take photos of original glass-topped casket of lynching victim Emmett Till as it sits rusting in a shack at the Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Ill ... CHICAGO - When his mother put the battered body of 14-year-old Emmett Till in the ground more than 50 years ago, it was supposed to be the end of a sad saga for the boy whose murder became a rallying point for the civil-rights movement. (MSNBC -- Crime)
Relatives Seek Answers in Cemetery Plot Jul 13, 2009
Authorities closed Burr Oak Cemetery, home to the graves of civil rights-era lynching victim Emmett Till and blues singer Dinah Washington, on Friday and declared all of its 150 acres a crime scene after Dart found bones while walking on the site. On Saturday, families carrying photos and old crumpled funeral programs stood in snaking lines to talk to officials. (CBS News)
Thousands Seek Relatives' Graves at Ill. Cemetery Jul 13, 2009
Authorities closed Burr Oak Cemetery, home to the graves of civil rights-era lynching victim Emmett Till and blues singer Dinah Washington, on Friday and declared portions a crime scene. Saturday, lines snaked out of white tents where relatives filled out forms in an effort to find their loved ones' bodies. (Newsmax)
Officials: 7,000 inquiries into cemetery burials Jul 13, 2009
The cemetery is home to the graves of civil rights-era lynching victim Emmett Till and blues singer Dinah Washington. Most commented. (Mattoon Journal-Gazette, IL)
More bones found, Ill. cemetery closed to public Jul 12, 2009
Thousands have flooded Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, the burial place of civil rights-era lynching victim Emmett Till and blues singer Dinah Washington, since four former workers were accused earlier this week of dumping hundreds of unearthed corpses in a scheme to resell plots. Each was charged with one count of dismembering a body. (WSVN-TV Miami, FL)
Outside Chicago, a Grim Tale of Unearthed Graves Jul 12, 2009
the final resting place of civil rights icon Emmett Till, and the singer Dinah Washington was grotesque ... Among the cemetery's notable inhabitants is Emmett Till, whose 1955 lynching was a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights movement. (Time.com)
Cemetery a Crime Scene, More Bones Found Jul 12, 2009
Cemetery Now Crime Scene, More Bones Found - ABC News. More Disinterred Bodies, Caskets Discovered. (ABC News)
Foresnic Anthropologists Aim to Identify Bodies in Cemetery Scam Jul 11, 2009
Among the remains inhumed in the cemetery are those of teenage civil rights icon Emmett Till (whose 1955 murder helped spark the civil rights movement) and blues singer Dinah Washington. The employees, including the plan's alleged leader, cemetery manager Carolyn Towns, have been charged with dismembering a human body a class 10 felony and face up to 30 years in prison if convicted. (Scientific American)
More Bones Found, Illinois Cemetery Closed Jul 11, 2009
Families still will be able file inquires at the cemetery, which is the burial place of civil rights-era lynching victim Emmett Till, and Dart said he hoped it would reopen to visitors in five to seven days. Hundreds of families have visited and thousands more have inquired about the fate of graves since four former Burr Oak workers were accused earlier this week of dumping hundreds of unearthed corpses in scheme to resell plots. (Time.com)
Family of Civil Rights Icon Outraged by Grave Robbers in Chicago Jul 11, 2009
"[Towns] had also set up an Emmett Till Memorial Fund where she took money from that and apparently pocketed that money," said Cook County Sheriff Tom Hart. He did not specify how much money had been collected before Town's arrest Thursday. (ABC News)
More Disturbed Graves Found in Illinois Cemetery Scam Jul 11, 2009
The Burr Oak Cemetery is the final resting place of lynching victim Emmett Till, as well as blues singers Willie Dixon and Dinah Washington. Investigators found Till's original glass-topped casket rusting in a shack at the cemetery. (Fox News)
Cemetery workers made $300K in Burr Oak scheme Jul 11, 2009
The cemetery is the burial place of civil rights-era lynching victim Emmett Till and blues singers Willie Dixon and Dinah Washington. While Till's grave site was not disturbed, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said investigators found his original iconic glass-topped casket rusting in a shack at the cemetery. (Crain's Chicago Business)
4 charged in suburban Chicago cemetery desecration Jul 11, 2009
Burr Oak is the final resting place of lynching victim Emmett Till. Most commented. (Mattoon Journal-Gazette, IL)
4 arrested in scheme at Illinois cemetery Jul 10, 2009
Frantic relatives of the deceased descended on Burr Oak Cemetery - the final resting place of lynching victim Emmett Till and blues singers Willie Dixon and Dinah Washington - in hopes someone could tell them their loved ones' remains were not among the pile of bones that littered a remote area of the property in Alsip, 12 miles south of Chicago. Some found apparently undisturbed plots, but others wandered, unable to locate loved ones. (AZCentral -- News)
Four accused of digging up bodies, reselling graves Jul 10, 2009
There were piles of dirt where the headstones of Morgan's daughter and her mother once stood in the suburban Chicago cemetery a historic resting ground for black icons such as civil rights symbol Emmett Till, blues legend Willie Dixon and jazz songstress Dinah Washington. "I'm confused why people would do this," Morgan, a truck driver, said. (USA Today -- News)
Police investigate US grave scam Jul 10, 2009
The historic cemetery contains the graves of Emmett Till, whose 1955 lynching at the age of 14 galvanised the civil rights movement. Singer Dinah Washington, former world heavyweight boxing champion Ezzard Charles and Harlem Globetrotter Inman Jackson were also buried there. (BBC News -- Americas)
As Many As 300 Graves Tampered With At Historic Cemetery Jul 10, 2009
Burr Oak Cemetery is the burial place of many famous black Americans, including lynching victim Emmett Till and blues legend Dinah Washington. The sheriff says Till's grave was not disturbed, but he isn't sure about Washington's. (KWTX.com, TX)
Sheriff says bodies dug up at historic cemetery Jul 9, 2009
Burr Oak is the final resting place of many famous African-Americans, including lynching victim Emmett Till, blues singers Willie Dixon, Dinah Washington and Otis Spann, as well as Harlem Globetrotter Inman Jackson. Most commented. (Mattoon Journal-Gazette, IL)
Can You Hear My T-Shirt Now? Jul 3, 2009
One shirt says Hey Baby, and in the small print below adds: Emmett Till Died For This. Another one, full of echoes, says: Coloreds Only with the tag line, That Means Everyone, in smaller type. (Slate)
REQUIRED READING Jun 29, 2009
The assassination of Medgar Evers, the cowardly slayings of civil rights activists Schwerner, Chaney and Goodman, the brutal murder of Emmett Till -- journalist Dickerson and lawyer Alston look at these notorious cases from their home state of Mississippi and expose how the state government, through its super-secret Sovereignty Commission, conspired to spy on civil rights activists and sympathizers and prevent justice from being served. Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow. (New York Post -- Opinions)
• A hero for all Jun 26, 2009
Inspired by the "Little Rock Nine," a group of nine students who defied segregation in southern schools, and the lynching of Emmett Till in 1955, McNeil said of his participation in the protests, "I didn't want my kids to worry about which bathroom they could go into or which water fountain they were supposed to use.". McNeil spoke about the sacrifices made on behalf of the movement and described activism as "service before self.". (Burley South Idaho Press, ID)
'Depths of pain' Jun 26, 2009
And the brutalized body of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old black boy killed in 1955 for allegedly flirting with a white woman, was shown at the insistence of his mother at his funeral, galvanizing the civil rights movement, Shapiro said. In more recent years, amateur video was credited with capturing the 1991 beating by Los Angeles police of Rodney King. (CNN -- World)
Nations AG to meet on cold cases Jun 18, 2009
Alvin Sykes of Kansas City, architect of the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crimes Act, praised Holder for that promise ... Sykes, president of the Emmett Till Justice Campaign, said he would like to see President Barack Obama hold a summit that includes Holder, family members affected by these killings and supporters of the pursuit of these cases as quickly as possible. (The Clarion-Ledger)
Guard Killed In Holocaust Museum Shooting Jun 16, 2009
The New York Times describes the play as "a fictional dialogue between Anne Frank, whose diary recounted her days in hiding during the Holocaust, and Emmett Till, a black teenager killed by white racists in 1955.". According to a relative, von Brunn attended Washington University in St. Louis and is an artist. (CBS News)
Medical Center’s Day of Service: A day of giving and receiving May 29, 2009
Xinan Yang (in foreground), a postdoc in Biology, tills the soil in a vacant lot across the street from Emmett Till Elementary School on the South Side of the city ... At Emmett Till Elementary School in Englewood, a jaunty group of about 30 adults and students revitalized a garden near the school grounds, planting perennial flowers near the front gate and setting up boxes for a vegetable garden in the back ... Ricky Hill, another fifth-grader at Emmett Till, was carting around a wheelbarrow of... (Univeristy of Chicago Chronicle, IL)
NAACP chief: Group's work not finished May 9, 2009
"I was only a year older than Emmett Till when he went to Money, Miss., and his murder terrified me," he said. Till was 14 when he was murdered. (Daytona Beach News Journal)
Editorial: Walton, Oconee take bold stands... Apr 14, 2009
Editorial: Walton, Oconee take bold stands on lynching041309opinion1Athens Banner-Herald With President Bush's signing of the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Right Crime Act last year, the federal government sent a clear signal that it is serious about finding whatever justice may remain to be found in a number of unsolved slayings from the civil rights era, including the 1946 lynching of Roger and Dorothy Malcom and George and Mae Murray Dorsey at Moore's Ford on the Walton-Oconee county line ...... (Athens Banner-Herald)
Editorial: Walton, Oconee take bold stands on lynching Apr 13, 2009
With President Bush's signing of the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Right Crime Act last year, the federal government sent a clear signal that it is serious about finding whatever justice may remain to be found in a number of unsolved slayings from the civil rights era, including the 1946 lynching of Roger and Dorothy Malcom and George and Mae Murray Dorsey at Moore's Ford on the Walton-Oconee county line. Even before that, the state of Georgia, beginning with former Gov. Roy Barnes' order several... (Athens Banner-Herald)
Editorial: Lynching re-enactments should be abandoned Apr 3, 2009
Late last year, President Bush signed into law the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act, which gave the Justice Department more money to investigate unsolved murders from the civil rights era. Just days ago, federal and state law enforcement officials asked for the public's help in solving the Moore's Ford case, and expressed their belief that there are people alive today who could help solve the slayings, even 62 years after the fact. (Athens Banner-Herald)
Ice Cube Plays Racist Cop in New Comedy Apr 1, 2009
Show me a white Emmett Till, then talk to me about how "opressed" white men are for dating black women. Posted: Tuesday, March 31, 2009. (Slate)
Unsolved 1946 lynchings subject of documentary, public forum Mar 26, 2009
His film research nearly got indictments in the 1955 Emmett Till murder. He is doing his dead-level best not only to solve Moore s Ford but other historic killings. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- Metro)
Postage stamps honor civil rights efforts of Hamer, Evers Feb 28, 2009
As part of his duties, Evers led voter registration drives and organized consumer boycotts; working undercover, he investigated the murder of Emmett Till, a black youth from Chicago who was killed while visiting relatives in Mississippi. Evers also played an active role in supporting James Meredith's attempt to enroll at the University of Mississippi, which was forced to desegregate in 1962. (Greenville Delta Democrat Times, MS)
'Let Freedom Sing': 70 years and 58 songs of civil rights Feb 25, 2009
Some songs address incidents The Ramparts' The Death of Emmett Till, John Lee Hooker's The Motor City Is Burning while others protest prohibitions, such as the Golden Gate Quartet's No Restricted Signs. "You get the heart, the soul, the sentiment and the struggle of a people," says Public Enemy's Chuck D, a consultant on the project, who also wrote the introduction for the liner notes. (USA Today)
Civil Rights Pioneers Honored on Stamps Feb 22, 2009
As part of his duties, Evers led voter registration drives and organized consumer boycotts; working undercover, he investigated the murder of Emmett Till, a black youth from Chicago who was killed while visiting relatives in Mississippi ... That same year, with Medgar Evers and others, Hurley investigated the murder of Emmett Till, a black youth from Chicago who was killed while visiting an uncle in Mississippi. (PR Newswire)
Evers-Hamer stamp unveiled today Feb 21, 2009
"He investigated the Emmett Till murder, risking his life.". His work made him a target of the Ku Klux Klan, and on June 12, 1963, a Klansman named Byron De La Beckwith shot him in the back as he was arriving home. (The Clarion-Ledger)
READERS WRITE Feb 15, 2009
Invited guests included a who s who of African-American history: Harriet Tubman, Dredd Scott, Emmett Till and Barbara Jordan, among others. The piece was widely circulated over the Internet and it was surprising how many people - black and white - did not have a clue as to the contributions of the African-Americans I wrote about. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- Opinion)
FBI pleads for info in civil rights-era killings Feb 13, 2009
Last year, President George W. Bush signed the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act, which gives the Justice Department more money to investigate such crimes. Till was a black teenager slain in Mississippi in 1955 after being accused of whistling at a white woman. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Crime)
