Milwaukee, WI
Black History Month: Emmett Till remembered by cousin in Milwaukee
Emmett Till remembered by cousin in 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.
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.
The Source: The information in this post was produced by FOX6 News.
MILWAUKEE – Forecast from FOX6 Meteorologist Lisa Michaels
Frosty Monday morning with temps in the teens inland to low 20s near the lake.
Mostly sunny to sunny skies on Monday. Highs in the mid-40s inland, upper 30s near the lake.
A total lunar eclipse will happen Tuesday morning, total eclipse from 5-6am. It may be tough to see due to increasing clouds.
Increasing clouds on Tuesday with highs in the low 40s. Chance of rain and storms possible Wednesday through Friday with warming temperatures.
Today: 39 Lake. Mostly sunny.
High: 44°
Wind: SE 5-10
Tonight: Partly cloudy this evening, mostly clear overnight.
Low: 27°
Wind: SE 5
Tuesday: 39 Lake. Mostly cloudy.
High: 43°
Wind: E 5-10
Wednesday:41 Lake. Chance for scattered showers and t-storms.
AM Low: 32° High: 45°
Wind: E 5-10
Thursday: 39 Lake. Mostly cloudy. Chance storms.
AM Low: 37° High: 42°
Wind: NE 5-10
Friday: Chance for showers and t-storms Warmer. Warming at night.
AM Low: 37° High: 57°
Wind: SE 5-15
Saturday: Mostly cloudy with AM rain showers. Blustery with falling afternoon temperatures.
AM Low: 47° High: 53°
Wind: NE 5-10
6-day planner
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Local perspective:
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Maps and radar
We have a host of maps and radars on the FOX6 Weather page that are updating regularly — to provide you the most accurate assessment of the weather. From a county-by-county view to the Midwest regional radar and a national view — it’s all there.
School and business closings
When the weather gets a little dicey, schools and businesses may shut down. Monitor the latest list of closings, cancellations, and delays reported in southeast Wisconsin.
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Community members and city leaders celebrated the opening of four new community-powered fridges on the North Side of Milwaukee. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Friday, Feb. 27, at Metcalfe Park Community Bridges, 3624 W. North Ave., to mark the occasion.
The effort to fight food scarcity by opening community-powered fridges comes after several grocery stores closed in the area, creating a food desert.
District 15 Ald. Russell W. Stamper II, who saw several grocery stores in his district close over the past few years, served as the event’s emcee.
“We could either complain about the problem, or we could come together to find a solution,” Stamper said.
In July 2025, a Pick ‘n Save on the North Side closed, prompting the opening of a community-powered fridge at Tricklebee Café in the Sherman Park and Uptown area. Since then, several other grocery stores have closed in the area.
This led Stamper, FEED MKE, Metcalfe Park Community Bridges and One MKE to open four more community-powered fridges.
Christie Melby-Gibbons, executive director of Tricklebee Café, talked about the organization’s community-powered fridge. About a week ago, the fridge was empty for the first time since its launch, so staff turned to their online community for support.
“Within 20 minutes, a woman came in with bags of food and filled the fridge for less than $100,” Melby-Gibbons said.
The community-powered fridge network is run by residents on a take-what-you-need, leave-what-you-can model. Taking a grassroots approach to solving food insecurity in the area, community members provide fresh produce and other healthy food options to ensure that their neighbors have access to nutritious foods.
“Everybody deserves to eat. I can’t go to sleep at night knowing my neighbors are hungry,” said Melody McCurtis, deputy director of Metcalfe Park Community Bridges.
Here’s a list of all the community-powered fridges:
Metcalfe Park Community Bridges
3624 W. North Ave.
Rooted & Rising- Washington Park
3940 W. Lisbon Ave.
Sherman Park Community Association
3526 W. Fond du Lac Ave.
Dominican Center
2470 W. Locust St.
Tricklebee Café
4424 W. North Ave.
Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.
This article first appeared on Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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