Woman Whose Claim Led To Emmett Till’s Lynching Dies At 88

Carolyn Bryant Donham, the White woman who accused Black teenager Emmett Till of whistling at her — which causing his lynching in Mississippi in 1955 and galvanized a generation of activists to rise up in the Civil Rights Movement — has died at 88 in Louisiana.

Donham, 88, died Tuesday in Westlake, according to a fact of death letter from the coroner.

The Rev. Wheeler Parker, Jr., Emmett Till's cousin and the last living witness to Till's Aug. 28, 1955, abduction, said,

“Even though no one will be held to account for the death of my cousin and best friend, it is up to all of us to be accountable to the challenges we still face in overcoming racial injustice," the Rev. Wheeler Parker Jr., who witnessed the interaction with Donham, said in a statement. He also sent his condolences to Donham's family.

Carolyn Bryant Donham Store Owner from Indianola, Mississippi. She is the white woman who is infamous for her role in the murder of Emmet Till. In 1955, Till (14-year-old) was kidnapped, tortured, and murder by Carolyn's ex-husband "Roy Bryant" and J. W. Milam (Roy's half-brother). Furthermore, this incident spread protests and also influenced the African-American Civil Rights Movement

(1954-68).

In a January 26, 2017 article by Vanity Fair, it was revealed that Carolyn had admitted that it was not true that Till had made verbal and physical advances on her and that she had fabricated parts of the story.