Black History Month: Emmett Till remembered by cousin in Milwaukee

MILWAUKEE - No one has ever been convicted in the murder of Emmett Till. But the last living person to see him alive celebrated his memory in Milwaukee for Black History Month.

Remembering Emmett Till 

The backstory:

Rev. Wheeler Parker Jr. told FOX6 News he met God when he lost his cousin, Till, nearly 70 years ago.

"It was like a nightmare, but it wasn't a nightmare," said Rev. Parker. "It was reality."

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Rev. Parker said he is the only living relative who was with Till the night he was lynched in Mississippi days after Till whistled at Carolyn Bryant Donham, a white woman. Parker said he was with Till when it happened.

"If we could've disappeared, we would have disappeared," said Rev. Parker Jr. "I knew what had happened was worthy of death."

Bryant-Donham's husband and brother-in law kidnapped Till from his great uncle's home on August 28, 1955.

"I remember the people coming to the house about 2:30 in the morning, and my grandfather didn't know what room Emmett was in, who he was in the bed with, so he started where I was," said Rev. Parker Jr. "In walked two guys; one guy had a pistol and the other had a flashlight, and I closed my eyes to be shot. Of course, they found Emmett in the third room, the last time we saw him alive."

"I was in denial"

Local perspective:

The next time the reverend saw his cousin, it was in a casket.

"I was in denial," said Rev. Parker Jr. "I went to the funeral and said 'that's not him'; I was in shock or something, but I think about his suffering, the suffering that he suffered that night, the screaming."

Till's mom, Mamie Till-Mobley, put that suffering on display.  

It's a decision the reverend doesn't know if he could've made.

"I never thought about it, letting his body be seen like that, but she was a courageous woman," said Rev. Parker Jr. "Every time I saw her, I had survivors' guilt; I came back, and he didn't."

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When asked if he had forgiven the people who brutally murdered Till, Rev. Parker Jr. said, "Yes, you have to."

It's a practice the Reverend preaches and a Christian principle that allows him to honor a cousin he knew as Bobo.

"God said vengeance is mine, so if you hate, you have to deal with God," said Rev. Parker Jr.