A marker on the Mississippi Freedom Trail with information about Emmett Till has been vandalized again, making twice in the past two months, the trail’s management firm said.
In May, someone scratched the marker with another object, and last week, vinyl panels were peeled off the back of the marker, which is outside the grocery store where African-American teen Till was said to have whistled at a white woman.
Fourteen-year-old Till was accused of whistling at shopkeeper Carolyn Bryant in 1955. Byant’s husband and half-brother kidnapped, tortured, and killed Till after the accusation. The men were acquitted of the crime by an all-white jury, but the incident outraged many in the U.S. and had a direct impact on starting the civil rights movement at the time.
“This site is a significant moment in the civil rights movement,” said Alan Hammons, whose company installed the marker and manages the trail, CNN reported. Hammons did not know whether the vandalism was random or racially motivated.
Hammons said he would be repairing the marker to the tune of $500.
Last year, the Emmett Till marker was riddled with bullet holes.
“Who knows what motivates people to do this?” Hammons said, Fox reported. “Vandals have been around since the beginning of time.”
No other markers on the trail have been damaged, CNN reported.
Twitter users denounced the vandals and tried to blame Trump, although some of the vandalism occurred before Trump took office.
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