Emmett Till statue unveiled in Mississippi

Hundreds of people applauded — and some wiped away tears — as a Mississippi community unveiled a larger-than-life statue of Emmett Till (Rogelio V Solis/AP)

Hundreds of people applauded and some wiped away tears as a Mississippi community unveiled a larger-than-life statue of Emmett Till.

The statue’ location is not far from where white men kidnapped and killed the Black teenager over accusations he had flirted with a white woman in a country store.

“Change has come, and it will continue to happen,” Madison Harper, a senior at Leflore County High School, told a racially diverse audience at the statue’s dedication.

Emmett was a 14-year-old African American boy who was abducted, tortured and lynched for allegedly offending a white woman in her family’s store (Rogelio V Solis/AP)

“Decades ago, our parents and grandparents could not envision that a moment like today would transpire.”

The 1955 lynching became a catalyst for the civil rights movement. Emmett’s mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, insisted on an open-casket funeral in Chicago so the world could see the horrors inflicted on her 14-year-old son. Jet magazine published photos of his mutilated body, which was pulled from the Tallahatchie River in Mississippi.

The 9-foot (2.7-metre) tall bronze statue in Greenwood’s Rail Spike Park is a jaunty depiction of the living Emmett in slacks, dress shirt and tie with one hand on the brim of a hat.

The rhythm and blues song Wake Up, Everybody played as workers pulled a tarp off the figure. Dozens of people surged forward, shooting photos and video on cellphones.

Anna-Maria Webster of Rochester, New York, had tears running down her face.

Emmett’s lynching became a catalyst for the civil rights movement after his mother Mamie Till Mobley, insisted on a open-casket funeral (Rogelio V Solis/AP)

“It’s beautiful to be here,” said Ms Webster, attending the ceremony on a sunny afternoon during a visit with Mississippi relatives. Speaking of Emmett’s mother she said: “Just to imagine the torment she went through — all over a lie.”

Mississippi has the highest percentage of Black residents of any state, about 38%. Democratic Congressman Bennie Thompson, whose district encompasses the Delta, noted that Mississippi had no Black elected officials when Emmett was killed. He said Emmett’s death helped spur change.

“But you, know, change has a way of becoming slower and slower,” said Mr Thompson, the only Black member of Mississippi’s current congressional delegation.

“What we have to do in dedicating this monument to Emmett Till is recommit ourselves to the spirit of making a difference in our community.”

Emmett was in Mississippi to visit relatives when he was killed (Rogelio V Solis/AP)

The statue is a short drive from an elaborate Confederate monument outside the Leflore County Courthouse and about 10 miles from the crumbling remains of the store, Bryant’s Grocery and Meat Market, in Money.

The statue’s unveiling coincided with the release this month of Till, a movie exploring Mrs Till-Mobley’s private trauma over her son’s death and her transformation into a civil rights activist.

The reverend Wheeler Parker Jr, the last living witness to his cousin’s kidnapping, wasn’t able to travel from Illinois for Friday’s dedication. But he told The Associated Press on Wednesday: “We just thank God someone is keeping his name out there.”

He said some wrongly thought Emmett got what he deserved for breaking the taboo of flirting with a white woman, adding many people didn’t want to talk about the case for decades.

“Now there’s interest in it, and that’s a godsend,” Mr Parker said. “You know what his mother said: ‘I hope he didn’t die in vain.'”