Emmett Till was murdered in 1955 for whistling at a white woman in Mississippi. (Photo: John Young/THV 11 News)
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) -- You may not recognize the name, Simeon Wright, but perhaps you've heard the name Emmett Till?
He's the Chicago teen, murdered in 1955 for whistling at a white woman in Mississippi. Emmett was visiting his cousin Simeon, when it all happened. Simeon says, "When the sun came up, we knew what happened, we knew he wasn't coming back."
Till, a 14-year-old at the time of his death, was asleep in the bed with Simeon in Money, Mississippi when the white woman's husband kidnapped Till, beat him beyond recognition, and dumped hi into a river.m
Simeon Wright was in Little Rock at the Laman Public Library visiting the Civil Rights touring exhibit For All the World to See: Visual Culture and the Struggle for Civil Rights; Emmett's story is a part of the exhibit. The exhibit runs through March 16.
Tonight, THV 11's Stefanie Bryant sits down and shares the journey of Simeon Wright, including more on what he witnessed that night and how that one event changed his life.
You can watch his story tonight on THV 11 News at both 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.