Meanwhile, in White People Being Awful news…
Three University of Mississippi frat boys have been suspended from their fraternity house and face possible investigation by the Department of Justice for posing with guns in front of a historic sign honoring Emmett Till, a murdered civil rights icon.
For those who don’t know, Till was a 14-year-old black youth who, in August 1955, was dragged from his bed in the night, tortured, lynched, and then dumped in the Tallahatchie River. The two white men accused of the slaying were acquitted by an all-white, all-male jury.
The tragic story was largely untold until 2008, when eight signs were erected in northwest Mississippi, including the spot on the river where Emmetts’ mutilated corpse was found tethered to a cotton-gin fan.
But the historic markers quickly became targets for vandalism. The riverbed sign was torn down a year later before being replaced, only to be regularly sprayed by bullets. According to The New York Times, more than 100 rounds of bullets were fired into the riverbed marker over several years. The sign was replaced in July 2018, but was shot up again a little over a month later.
The sign has also apparently become a popular spot for gun-wielding white people to snag a pic for their Instagrams.
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Ole Miss students Ben LeClere, John Lowe, and a third brother from their Kappa Alpha fraternity celebrated this sick tradition by posing in front of the bullet-pocked signs with guns. The picture shows LeClere holding a shotgun, while the unidentified brother stands on the other side with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle. Lowe is seen squatting below the sign, looking happy to just be part of the moment.
LeClere posted the picture on Lowe’s birthday on March 1 with the message “one of Memphis’s finest and the worst influence I’ve ever met.”
Five days after the pic was shared, a person who saw it filed a report to Ole Miss’ Office of Student Council, noting there was likely a fourth person present who took the photo. The complaint read:
“The photo is on Instagram with hundreds of ‘likes,’ and no one said a thing. I cannot tell Ole Miss what to do, I just thought it should be brought to your attention.”
The photo was soon reviewed by the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting and ProPublica, which quickly began contacting fraternity members and friends.
News organizations provided a copy of the photo to Kappa Alpha officials at Ole Miss, causing the fraternity to suspend the trio on Wednesday. In response, Taylor Anderson, president of Ole Miss’ Kappa Alpha Order, condemned the “inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable” photo, writing in an email:
“The photo is inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable. It does not represent our chapter. We have and will continue to be in communication with our national organization and the University.”
Ole Miss spokesman Rod Guajardo told press the school referred the matter to the university police department, which then handed it over to the FBI. While university officials called the photo “offensive and hurtful,” Guajardo said the image didn’t present a violation of the university’s code of conduct, adding the incident occurred off campus and was not part of a university-affiliated event.
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For what it’s worth, Guajardo said the university is prepared to “assist the fraternity with educational opportunities for those members and the chapter,” adding that Ole Miss will continue to build programs to engage students in “deliberate, honest and candid conversations while making clear that we unequivocally reject attitudes that do not respect the dignity of each individual in our community.”
Guajardo also noted the FBI told police it wouldn’t further investigate the incident because the pic did not pose a specific threat. The matter has been referred to the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division for further investigation.
Emmett Till’s death helped galvanize the modern civil rights movement in America. Thursday was Till’s birthday — he would have been 78 years old.
[Image via The Hill]
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