No, Emmett Till didn't live long enough to vote.
But his mother did, and she said she backed the Democrats.
But his mother did, and she said she backed the Democrats.
Here's a headline from the Chicago Defender (10/22/56)
(We remember her as "Mamie Till-Mobley" today, but at the time she had taken the name of her second husband, and was known as Mamie Bradley.)
(We remember her as "Mamie Till-Mobley" today, but at the time she had taken the name of her second husband, and was known as Mamie Bradley.)
The "Dawson" in the headline is Rep. William L. Dawson of Chicago, where she lived.
In the 84th Congress (1955-57), Dawson was one of only three black members of the House. (The others were Charles Diggs of Detroit and Adam Clayton Powell of Harlem.)
All three were Democrats.
In the 84th Congress (1955-57), Dawson was one of only three black members of the House. (The others were Charles Diggs of Detroit and Adam Clayton Powell of Harlem.)
All three were Democrats.
In the Chicago Defender piece, she revealed for the first time that Congressman Dawson had acted as her "benefactor and adviser" in the year after her son's murder in August 1955.
The article notes that she revealed all this on a flight to DC for a Democratic women's luncheon.
Here she is at that. Congressman Dawson is on the right, and President Harry S Truman -- who helped steer the Democrats from segregation to civil rights -- is on the right.
Here she is at that. Congressman Dawson is on the right, and President Harry S Truman -- who helped steer the Democrats from segregation to civil rights -- is on the right.
In that interview, Mamie Bradley also explained that she had written President Dwight D. Eisenhower to ask for a federal investigation into her son's lynching.
But Ike refused to do that and, she notes, never even responded to her letter.
But Ike refused to do that and, she notes, never even responded to her letter.
As a result of her experiences with Dawson and Eisenhower, Bradley said that she was going to vote for Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson, the Democratic presidential candidate, that fall -- precisely because she thought he'd be stronger on civil rights.
In truth, as I've noted previously, Stevenson was about as hands-off on civil rights issues as Eisenhower had been.
Bradley knew that the Democrats still had plenty of hard-core racists in their ranks, especially in Mississippi where her son was killed.
But on balance, she thought -- in the words of the reporter -- that "the Democratic party was more liberal on civil rights."
But on balance, she thought -- in the words of the reporter -- that "the Democratic party was more liberal on civil rights."
So, no, @DineshDSouza, we'll never know who Emmett Till would've voted for.
But we absolutely know who his mother voted for and it surely wasn't the Republicans.
But we absolutely know who his mother voted for and it surely wasn't the Republicans.
