A woman whose claims are said to have led to the notorious lynching of Emmett Till has died from cancer aged 88.
Carolyn Bryant was 21 when she accused African American Till, 14, of making advances to her at a shop in Money, Mississippi, in 1955.
A cousin of Till claims he had whistled at a woman, flouting the state’s racist social codes of the time. Till was tortured, killed and thrown in a river after a woman apparently identified him to his killers.
Last year a Mississippi grand jury declined to indict Bryant over the death after the discovery of an old arrest warrant.
An all-white jury cleared her husband and another man of the murder, but they later admitted to it.
When Till disappeared in Mississippi, Ollie Gordon – her 7-year-old cousin – was living with Till’s mother and family in Chicago.
Gordon said that in the days after he went missing, their home was full of fear, because people knew there was a strong likelihood he had been killed.
Gordon said she had mixed emotions about Donham’s death.
“She was never tried in the court of man,” Gordon said. “But I think she was judged by God, and his wrath is more punitive than any judgment or penalty she could have gotten in a courtroom. I don’t think she had a pleasant or happy life.”
Parker is the last living witness to Till’s abduction. He has said in interviews and speeches that he heard Till whistle at the woman working behind the counter at Bryant’s Grocery and Meat Market.
Days later, Parker saw men kidnap Till at night from their uncle’s home in Mississippi, where the teenagers were staying. Parker said on Thursday that his heart goes out to Donham.
“As a person of faith for more than 60 years, I recognise that any loss of life is tragic and don’t have any ill will or animosity toward her,” Parker said in a statement. “Even though no one now will be held to account for the death of my cousin and best friend, it is up to all of us to be accountable to the challenges we still face in overcoming racial injustice.”
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday that President Joe Biden was proud to sign the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act last year to make lynching a federal crime.
“The president is committed to ... dealing with racial hatred,” Jean-Pierre said.
