Murders of The Civil Rights Era You Must Never Forget

Emmett Till was only 14 years old, visiting his family in Mississippi when he was accused of making inappropriate advances on Carolyn Bryant. She lied to her husband and his brother claiming he whistled at her.

As a result, the two men kidnapped Till from his family’s house, tortured him to death and mutilated his body. He was practically unrecognizable when his body was discovered floating down the Tallahatchie River. This egregious act of hate led his mother to host an open casket funeral for the world to see what racist hate did to her baby boy.

In September 1963, right before Youth Sunday service, 14-year-olds Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, Carol Robertson and 11-year-old Denise McNair were in the basement of 16th Birmingham Baptist Church. While they got ready, the Ku Klux Klan planted dynamite under the staircase of the church. The impact of the explosion completely obliterated the women’s restroom in the basement where the four girls were and killed them. A fifth girl, the sister of Ms. Collins, was discovered still alive in the rubble but suffered permanent damage to her eyes.

Tulsa, Oklahoma was home to a city full of Black-owned business, libraries, churches, shops and schools. However, in 1921, the Black community was attacked after an angry white mob stormed the town in search of Dick Rowland, a Black man arrested for allegedly harming a white woman. It was never clear what the offense was but the rumors of what happened sparked the flame of an angry white mob. They looted the stores, burned down homes with children inside and shot at any civilian with brown skin. The governor declared martial law and sent National Guard Troops to Tulsa to assist in salvaging what was left of the city.

In 1964, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner volunteered to work with the Freedom Summer campaign advocating for Black people to register to vote in Mississippi. The three were pulled over while leaving town and abducted by members of the Ku Klux Klan, Neshoba County Sheriff’s Office and Philadelphia Police Department.

They were each fatally shot and their remains were burned. The FBI led the investigation to find their bodies which weren’t discovered until seven weeks later. The state refused to prosecute the men involved but they all were convicted on federal civil rights violations.

Nat Turner, an educated preacher, was one of the few enslaved people who dared to go against the white man and try to claim his freedom through an insurrection. That revolt ended up in the slaughter of over 60 white people and even more innocent Black people because the fear of the enslaved gaining power or independence was so strong.

Turner managed to hide for the following six weeks. But eventually, the manhunt for Turner succeeded and he was found in a foxhole. He was executed by hanging but historians say he was never buried. Instead, his body was dissected and skinned for purses, his flesh was boiled for grease and his bones were trophied as heirlooms.

The Civil Rights power couple founded a chapter of the NAACP in Brevard County, Fla. The two were teachers but worked to help Black people vote, investigated hate crimes and overall fought for racial equality. They both fought in the Groveland case where four Black men were wrongfully convicted of raping a woman. However, Christmas night, a handmade explosive of dynamite detonated under the couple’s bed.

Harry Moore died on his way to the hospital and his wife, Harriette, died nine days later. It was found 50 years later that four KKK members were behind the killing and no one was arrested.

On Feb. 21, 1965, civil rights activist Malcolm X was preparing to give a speech at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan. As he stepped to the podium, someone threw a makeshift bomb into the audience, causing the two security guards in front of the stage to leave their posts, per WashPo. As Malcolm tried to calm the crowd, a man charged toward him and shot him in the chest with a shotgun. Two other men shot him in the ankle and legs from the side of the stage.

One gunman, Talmadge Hayer, confessed to the shooting and was convicted. Two other members of the National of Islam were convicted as well, but were recently exonerated. The public speculated about what really happened and who plotted against the civil rights leader. Documentaries about Malcolm X suggest he knew the government was after him because of his “radical” views about what achieving freedom would entail.

On the afternoon of April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rev. Ralph Abernathy stepped out onto the balcony of a room of the Lorraine Motel before heading to dinner. King was fatally shot by a white man, James Earl Ray, from across the street. The day prior, King was putting together a march on behalf of the Memphis sanitation workers.

Exactly a year before, he had also delivered a haunting speech against the Vietnam War which resulted in a backlash that added even more fuel to the fire he received for fighting for Civil Rights. For that reason, many still believe his opposition to war led the government to plot on killing him.

Soul and rock legend Sam Cooke was only 33 when he was shot and killed. According to PEOPLE, he spent his last night at a chic restaurant in L.A. with Elisa Boyer, then headed to his hotel. Boyer said once the two got to the room, she feared Cooke was going rape her. When he went into the bathroom she fled and called the police.

Cooke allegedly assaulted the motel manager, Bertha Franklin, demanding to know where Boyer had gone. Franklin said she grabbed her pistol and shot him three times. However, this story is disputed. One theory suggests Boyer and Franklin conspired to lure Cooke to the hotel and rob him of his money. Another detail revealed that the bullet that killed Cooke didn’t match Franklin’s firearm. Others believe Cooke’s turn from love-song singer to civil rights activist had made him another target for the Feds.

Years after her son was assassinated, in 1974, Alberta Williams King continued her duties at the church playing the organ as usual during a Sunday Service at Ebenezer Baptist Church. However, a 21-year-old white man from Ohio walked into the church and shot her at the piano in front of the whole congregation. “All Christians are my enemies,” police say he proclaimed. King died that day at 70 years old.

The deputy chairman of the national Black Panther Party, and chair of the Illinois chapter, took the midwest by storm spearheading initiatives to pour back into the Black community, partnering with the Rainbow Coalition and promoting Black people being armed for protection. However, Hampton’s fire against fascism and racism led the FBI to name him a threat. In 1969, they hired a mole to infiltrate the local Panther Party chapter and facilitate in his assassination. The spy drugged Hampton, allowing FBI agents and Chicago PD officers to raid his home. Hampton was shot to death in his sleep.

In Florida, around 1923, a white woman claimed she was assaulted by a Black man and without any evidence, a manhunt was launched for the culprit in question. Eventually, an angry mob of 200 white men stormed the Black community of Rosewood, Florida slaughtering over 30 Black families and burning the town to the ground. The whole town was held accountable for protecting an alleged refugee, subject to the reign of racist violence. Turns out the woman lied about the assault in order to cover up her affair with another white man. The slaughter was for nothing.

During the fight for Black people to be able to register to vote and participate their right to do so under the Constitution, Rev. George Lee was one of the first Black folks to register in his Mississippi county despite the death threats from angry racists. He gave a fiery speech at a Black town-hall empowering the Black community to follow in his footsteps. However, a month later, he was fatally shot in his car while driving. His death was ruled an “accident.”

The corporal was a ripe 27-years-old, expecting a child with his wife when he was senselessly gunned down. The DOJ said he was stationed in Fort Ritchie, Md. and rushed home to Mississippi after hearing his wife was having pregnancy complications, per PBS. Ducksworth fell asleep on the last leg of his trip home prompting the bus driver to try to wake him. The driver then called the police for help but shortly after the officer arrived, tensions rose as he suspected he was part of the ongoing bus boycott. The officer fatally shot Ducksworth in the chest. Later that day, his wife gave birth.

The night of Feb 18, 1965, Jimmie Lee Jackson met with a group of activists to join a march in support of a member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference who was arrested. However, Alabama State Troopers were deployed to break up the demonstration. Jackson’s elderly mother and grandfather had been assaulted by police when Jackson stepped in to protect them. An officer shot him and he died eight days later from his injuries.