Glendora, Mississippi

The smoke at Red's gave my mom and I both scratchy throats that lasted more than a week, but it was worth it. The following morning it was bright and early out of Clarksdale and on our way to Birmingham. A part of this route has recently been named the Emmett Till Memorial Highway. Emmett Till was one of the martyrs of the Civil Rights movement, a 14-year-old from Chicago who went to Mississippi to visit relatives in 1955 and, not knowing the local rules of engagement, made the mistake of looking at a white woman. Some say he made a flirtatious gesture or possibly spoke to her. Whatever it was, there was a perception that an incident of some kind had taken place. By the following morning, Till had been brutally lynched. The murderers, who eventually confessed to the crime, were acquitted by the local court. To ensure that all Americans came face to face with the reality of Southern racial dynamics, Till's mother insisted on an open casket. By bringing broader public awareness to the realty of lynching, Till's open casket funeral increased the pressure for reform. Here are the before and after photos of Emmett Till.





A small sign along the highway guided us to the raw and powerful Emmett Till Historic Intrepid Center, which became my other favorite tiny museum of this trip.