Saturday, May 30, 2015

Past & Present Famlies United: Justice & Accountability for Racist Killings

Saturday, May 30, 2015
Past & Present Families United:
Justice & Accountability for Racist Killings
9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Cold Case Justice Initiative at Syracuse University College of Law Orientation Program
Location: National Center for Civil & Human Rights (Museum & Lecture Halls) 100 Ivan Allen Junior Boulevard Northwest, Atlanta, GA 30313 (Parking at Coca Cola or Georgia Aquarium Parking)
The orientation program is designed to be an informative, collaborative, and constructive event in which we will hear the voices of family members of victims of racially-motivated violence and their continuing quest for justice; members of the media who investigate these cases and inform the public about the continuing need for awareness; and advocates and activists who work with family members and communities to obtain justice. The roundtable discussion in the afternoon will involve strategic discussion for concrete ideas for the pursuit of justice and accountability and ways in which CCJI law student interns can advance these causes in collaboration with families, communities, and social justice organizations and governmental entities.
9:00 a.m. Welcome & Introduction to the Work of the Cold Case Justice  Initiative
9:15 a.m. Families Fighting for Justice
– 10:15 a.m.
Joyce Dorsey and Jessica Malcolm (Moore’s Ford Bridge Massacre Families)
  Former Georgia State Representative Tyrone Brooks
Janice Cameron and Nedra Walker (Five Atlanta Fishermen Killed in Pensacola, Florida)
Cheryl McCollum, Director, Cold Case Investigative Research Institute
CCJI Co-Directors, Introduction of Emmett Till Legislation
10:20 a.m. Role of the Media
– 11:15 a.m.
  Stanley Nelson, Concordia Sentinel, Ferriday, Louisiana
Hank Klibanoff, Emory University, The Civil Rights Cold Case Project
Angela Robinson, President of A.R.C. Media, LLC and Host and Executive Producer of In Contact (produced by American Association of Black Journalists on PBS station WPBA)
Derrick Boazman, Radio Host WAOK 1380 Atlanta Program, “Too Much Truth”
11:25 a.m. Families United
– 12:30 p.m.
Denise Jackson Ford and Wharlest Jackson, Jr. (Wharlest Jackson, Sr., Natchez, Miss.)
 Shelton Chappell (Johnnie Mae Chappell, Jacksonville, Fla.)
 Martinez Sutton (Rekia Boyd, Chicago, Illinois)
12:30 p.m.
– 1:30 p.m. Lunch

1:45 p.m. Round Table Discussion and Strategic Decision Making Session
– 4:00 p.m.
 Aurielle Marie, It’s Bigger Than You, Atlanta
 Mawuli Davis, Civil Rights Attorney
 Rev. Dr. Francys Johnson, Georgia NAACP
Charles Steele, Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Deborah Watts, Emmett Till Family (Emmett Till Legacy Foundation )
Joe Beasley, Rainbow Push
CCJI Co-Directors
Acknowledgements: The Cold Case Justice Initiative thanks all of the participants in the 2015 Summer Internship Orientation program. We also thank Deborah Richardson and the Staff of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, Kevin Moran, People’s Agenda, Angela Robinson, ARC Media (SU ’78), and Scott McDowell, Syracuse University Regional Communications. We are especially grateful for the contribution from an anonymous donor from the Atlanta area, whose generosity made the orientation program and the summer internships possible.

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Watch #PREACHERMAN this is a moving and powerful video & song tribute to Emmett Till

Experience and Watch #PREACHERMAN now! this is a moving and powerful video & song tribute to Emmett Till by internationally renowned grammy nominated recording jazz artist Melody Gardot Check it out here:
www.emmetttilllegacyfoundation.com 


 

EMMETT TILL DAY RESOLUTION (Written in part by Emmett Till Memorial Commission and Emmett Till Legacy Foundation)

EMMETT TILL DAY RESOLUTION
 
In memory and Honor of Emmett Till as we commemorate the 60th year anniversary of his death, We request that every state, city, county, community and organization adopt the following resolution. MAKE It an official Emmett Till Day in your area. Please send us your intent and confirm with a copy of your request to the appropriate officials in your area.
 
 

Thank you in advance for your support!

EMMETT TILL DAY RESOLUTION (Written in part by Emmett Till Memorial Commission and Emmett Till Legacy Foundation)

We believe that racial reconciliation begins with telling
the truth. We call on citizens in every community, to begin an honest investigation into our history. While it will be painful, it is necessary to nurture reconciliation and to ensure justice for all. By recognizing the potential for division and violence in our own towns, we pledge to each other, black, white and all ethnicities, to move forward together in healing the wounds of the past, and in ensuring equity, equality and equal justice for all of our citizens.

Sixty years ago, on August 28, 1955, 14–year–old Emmett Till was kidnapped in the middle of the night from his uncle’s home near Money, Mississippi, by at least two men, one from Leflore County and one from Tallahatchie County, Mississippi. Till, a black youth from Chicago visiting family in Mississippi, was kidnapped and murdered, and his body thrown into the Tallahatchie River. He had been accused of whistling at a white woman in Money. His badly beaten body was found days later in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi.

The Grand Jury meeting in Sumner, Mississippi, indicted Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam for the crime of murder. These two men were then tried on this charge and were acquitted by an all-white, all-male jury after a deliberation of just over an hour. Within four months of their acquittal the two men confessed to the murder.

Before the trial began, Till's mother had sought assistance from federal officials, under the terms of the so-called “Lindbergh Law,” which made kidnapping a federal crime, but received no aid. Despite an effort by Till's mother to re-open the case, no one has ever been brought to justice for the crime. We believe justice is still possible and that an educational restorative justice model can show us a way forward.

We the citizens of every state and nation recognize that the Emmett Till case was a terrible miscarriage of justice. We state candidly and with deep regret the failure to effectively pursue justice.

We wish to say to the family of Emmett Till that we are profoundly sorry for what was done to your loved one.

We the citizens of every community acknowledge the horrific nature of this crime. Its legacy has haunted our nation. We need to understand the system that encouraged these events and others like
them to occur so that we can ensure that it never happens again. Working together, we have the power now to fulfill the promise of “liberty, peace and justice for all.”

We further more join the Never Again movement and make this pledge;
I pledge to NEVER AGAIN allow the ugly parts of our past history to become the present;
I will forever stand up against racism, hatred, injustice and crimes against our youth.
I will always stand up for peace, justice and equality for all. I PLEDGE NEVER AGAIN.

 
 
Respectfully submitted:

Deborah Watts
Till Family Member

Co-Founder
Emmett Till Legacy Foundation
"Creating a Legacy Of Hope"
763 476 8677
www.emmetttilllegacyfoundation.com

Invite and host us to show the powerful and inspiring 45 min documentary "Who Killed Emmett Till?" for your next event. Check out the first 7 minutes on Youtube. Click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BL1vMFwZEus

Experience and Watch #PREACHERMAN this is a moving and powerful video & song tribute to Emmett Till by internationally renowned grammy nominated recording jazz artist Melody Gardot Check it out here:
www.emmetttilllegacyfoundation.com


Please Join and Make the Never Again Pledge at the "Never Again" Movement and Pledge Facebook :page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Never-Again-Movement-and-Pledge/136014269806914

Follow us on twitter www.twitter.com/EmmettTill

Instagram: emmetttilllegacyfoundation

For more information about the foundation and to provide in-kind services or sponsor an initiative email us at: emmett_till_legacy@yahoo.com or info@emmetttilllegacyfoundation.com


Emmett Till Legacy Foundation is a 501c3 non profit organization "creating a legacy of hope" and building a bridge from the past to the present and future in memory of Emmett Louis Till and in honor of his Mother, Mamie Till Mobley. A donation to support our efforts can be made at http://www.emmetttilllegacyfoundation.com/
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