Recalling Emmit Till

An excerpt from the book, “KNOW JUSTICE KNOW PEACE. Black Lives Matter (BLM) New York City Protest Photos 2020” by Bob Gore. Page 51 covers Emmit Till and how the tragic event affected Bob Gore personally.

Page 52 of KNOW JUSTICE, KNOW PEACE By Bob Gore

The signs recalling the murder of Emmitt Till resonated more personally with me than others. During the Jim Crow era, parents delivered two talks to their sons. The first focused on interacting the police. The other was the talk in preparation for trips south. Family safety was central to our travel plans. There was additional for me. Southern bigots labeled young male visitors from the north as outside trouble makers who are prone to violate “southern customs.” In 1955 the risks were higher.

Tensions in the south ran higher following the 1954 Supreme Court ruling calling segregated schools unconstitutional. The decision struck a raw nerve in segregationists, increasing membership in the Ku Klux Klan, White Citizen’s Councils, and the amount of lynching’s throughout the region, especially in Mississippi. The most dramatic evidence was the grotesque murder of Emmitt Till in 1955.

We were both from Chicago, near the same age, and attended integrated schools. His open-casket funeral and viewing attracted thousands including my oldest sister. Though the general market media paid little attention the national Black press provided significant coverage, and Jet Magazine carried the photo of the young man’s mutilated body on the cover. It caused outrage among Blacks across the US and opened a significant debate among the adults around one question. Should I accompany my mother and sisters to Waynesboro Georgia? Without explanation, my parents canceled our trip that year.

KNOW JUSTICE, KNOW PEACE covers the protest that took place in Brooklyn, New York City, 2020 following George Floyd’s murder. To purchase a copy, click the button below.

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Bob Gore Bob Gore Productions is a television syndication company engaged in the presentation and sales of television programs and professional still photography. Among our ventures is The Caribbean International Network, a fifteen-year old company airing programs throughout the New York area. We also provide a full range of professional event and advertising photography. The most enjoyable area of our practice is photographing worship in all of its variations, settings and faiths. It is both a joy and a sacred responsibility to be allowed to record these most intimate of experiences. Over the years we have been privileged to photograph over one hundred worship settings throughout the US and abroad, ranging from small groups to gatherings of thousands. Our images have earned wide recognition through exhibitions and books. They appear regularly in many well-known newspapers and magazines. We are proud to work with many prominent individuals and organizations.