Emmett Till Memorial Sign Was Shot Up by Vandals. Now, People Have Raised $18,000 to Replace It

A sign marking the location where the corpse of murdered black teenager Emmett Till was found in 1955 was found riddled with bulletholes by a man working on a short movie about Till’s life.

Filmmakers Kevin Wilson Jr. shared an image of the desecrated sign on Facebook, writing the damage was proof that “we’ve still got a long way to go.” The post has been shared over 13,000 times.

The Clarion-Ledger reports that the sign has been vandalized repeatedly since it was erected in Tallahatchie County, Miss. in 2008. The sign commemorates Till, whose death in part sparked the national movement for civil rights and equal justice for African Americans.

An all-white jury acquitted Till’s killers who later confessed in a detailed magazine interview. Dave Tell, a professor at the University of Kansas, told the Clarion-Ledger signs like the one honoring Till are a “low-risk outlet for racism.”

And yet, good Samaritans have donated thousands to replace the sign since news of its damage went viral. The Emmett Till Interpretative Center has already raised over $18,000 to replace the memorial sign.