Last Witness To Emmett Till Lynching To Speak At Worth Twp. Luncheon

ALSIP, IL — The last surviving witness to the lynching of 14-year-old Chicagoan Emmett Till will be the featured guest speaker at a luncheon hosted by Worth Township in honor of Black History Month. Rev. Wheeler Parker Jr. is Till’s cousin and the author of “A Few Days Full of Trouble: Revelations on the Journey to Justice for My Cousin and Best Friend, Emmett Till.”

In August 1955, Parker was 16 when he and Till boarded a train in Chicago to visit Parker’s grandfather and Till’s great uncle, Mose Wright, Money, MS. During their visit, two white men, Ray Bryant and his half-brother, J.W. Milam, abducted Till from his bed for allegedly wolf-whistling at Bryant’s wife. The white men tortured, beat and shot the teen on the banks of the Tallahatchie River. The half-brothers were acquitted by an all-white jury a month later, although Milam and Bryant would eventually admit to murdering Till in a Look magazine story.

Till’s death sparked the Civil Rights Movement. Parker, along with co-author, Christopher Benson, offer a new perspective of the death of Emmett Till and the anguished journey to find justice as told through the eyes of a survivor. Parker offers an emotional and suspenseful page-turner, weaving vivid recall with never-before-seen findings in the investigation. All are positioned against a backdrop of racial reckoning and political pushback.

The luncheon will be held Monday, Feb. 27, at the Worth Township Center, 11601 S. Pulaski Road, Alsip. Doors open at 11:30 a.m., with lunch served at noon. Rev. Parker will give his presentation at 1 p.m. The cost is $10 per person. Registration is requested by calling 708-972-7076. Payment is due by Feb. 16.