Source: Lubomir Panayotov / Getty 32-Year-Old Walked Over 300 Miles To Have Sex With A Teenage Girl A 32-year-old man walked a whopping 351 miles from Indiana to Wisconsin with the intention of having sex with a 14-year-old girl. According to reports from The New York Daily News , Tommy Jenkins was arrested on Thursday and hit with multiple charges in Wisconsin’s Winnebago County. Investigators say that the grown man traveled on foot from Whitestown, Indiana, after demanding “sexually explicit photographs” from a young girl named “Kylee,” who turned out to be an undercover sheriff’s deputy. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin said on Friday that Jenkins began the long trek after “Kylee” refused his many requests to join him in Indiana. Throughout this time, Jenkins continued to engage who he thought was a young girl in sexually explicit conversations and kept her updated on his progress during his walk, authorities said. Once he arrived in Winnebago County, deputies and an FBI agent welcomed him by placing him in custody. “Our nation faces an epidemic of child sexual abuse, with the Internet making it too easy for predators to communicate with children across the country,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew Krueger. “The Justice Department is committed to working with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to prosecute child sexual abuse aggressively.” Jenkins’ federal charges include using a computer to attempt to persuade, induce, or entice a minor to engage in unlawful sexual activity. He is facing a minimum of 10 years in prison and possible life behind bars.
Source: Capelle.r / Getty Man Charged With Murdering Wife After Stabbing Her With Corn Rake A man in Iowa has been accused of fatally stabbing his own wife with a corn rake after learning she had a couple of secret affairs. 39-year-old Amy Mullis was found dead on November 10 at her farm, about four miles northwest of Earlville. Authorities initially said that the woman has been fatally injured in a fall, which came after her husband Todd Mullis told 911 that no one saw anything that happened. But this whole incident being an accident was ruled out in December, when an autopsy showed that the woman had six puncture wounds, and the manner of her death was thus listed as a homicide. Police have now formally charged Mullis with the murder of his wife. Investigators told People that the woman was concerned that her husband could kill her due to their marital problems. “You’ll know Todd did something to me,” she allegedly told one friend. Mullis initially told the police that their son is the one who found his wife impaled on the corn rake and that he removed it and started driving her to the hospital. According to the outlet, authorities learned that the couple, who had three children, had been experiencing marital problems after Amy was caught cheating with another man. In the lead-up to her death, their relationship went from bad to worse and they even stopped sharing the same bed. Delaware County Sheriff’s Office spokesman said the wife’s second lover was interviewed and said the woman was “scared to death” of him. “If he catches me, he might make me disappear,” she allegedly told him. Another clue that lead police toward charging Mullis is that he also allegedly researched the murder beforehand, searching for “organs in the body,” “killing unfaithful women” and “what happened to cheating spouses in historic Aztec tribes,” according to the police. Todd Mullis is currently being held on $5 million cash bail and faces life in prison.
Source: Alexander Tamargo / Getty Spide-Man: Into The Spider-Verse Wins Golden Globe Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse might be the very best movie to be released this year. Period. Full stop. How could it not be, according the folks at the Golden Globes, it’s the very best movie of its genre this year. I swear to God I didn’t photoshop this #SpiderVerse #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/xhTAt5aZTP — Peter Ramsey (@pramsey342) January 7, 2019 Spider-Verse took home the statue for best animated feature and that is building up some serious Oscar talk, but we’ll get to that later. Director Peter Ramsey, a Black man, along with fellow directors Bob Persichetti and Rodney Rothman spoke about the theme of the film and why it’s touching people in such a profound way via THR . “Anyone can wear the mask; everyone is powerful and everyone is necessary, and that is the spirit of the movie,” said Peter Ramsey, who directed with Bob Persichetti and Rodney Rothman, backstage at the Golden Globes. “We all felt deeply that anyone can have this kind of experience and be this kind of hero. The story of Miles Morales was a way to crystallize all of those feelings into one character.” “Our favorite part was finding a voice for Miles Morales, with Shameik Moore, and creating something that could stand up to Peter Parker and be unique and different and separate,” added Persichetti. Source: Gregg DeGuire / Getty Shameik Moore does an incredible job voicing Mile Morales and we’re definitely looking forward to seeing and hearing him more in the future. In some cases the Golden Globe winner can inform the Oscar winner, but as The Week points out: …while the Golden Globes’ track record for predicting the Oscars is mixed at best, the two awards shows have picked the same animated feature nine out of 12 times. Those are bad odds. If you haven’t seen this flick yet, grab your son, daughter, niece, nephew, cousin, momma, daddy, grandmama, your cousin’s “special friend”, the dog, the cat, and the goldfish and take them all to the theater to see it. You’ll love it. Fun for all ages.
Celebs Who Welcomed Babies In 2018 There was no shortage of preciousness this year, as many of your favorite celebs welcomed beautiful new additions to their families. Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade brought home Baby Kaavia , John Legend welcomed a miniature version of himself in son Miles, and we can’t forget about Remy and Pap’s “golden child.” Hit the flip for photos of the celebrity babies who were born in 2018.
Source: Michael Loccisano / Getty Her Production Company ColorCreative Has Big Plans Issa Rae is making sure Hollywood’s recent pull for diversity isn’t some here today, gone tomorrow trend. According to Variety , Issa’s production company, ColorCreative, has signed a multi-picture production deal with Columbia Pictures. The deal is special because it’ll allow ColorCreative to work with and back projects from diverse emerging screenwriters. Though films like Black Panther and Crazy Rich Asians are making a splash in Hollywood, a recent USC study shows that only 29.3% of characters in the 100 top grossing movies of 2017 were from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups. So clearly, there’s room for improvement, and not just in front of the camera, but behind the camera as well. A select group of writers will be announced in the spring of 2019 to work with Rae and her studio to develop and write features based on their original ideas. “Issa is a force of nature, and a magnet for talented people,” said Sanford Panitch, president of Columbia Pictures. “We couldn’t be more excited to join her in her mission to pave the way for fresh and authentic voices.” Columbia, which is owned by Sony, has backed various projects with women of color leads, including the upcoming Miss Bala , an action film with a cast and crew that is 95% Latinx. They’re also preparing for the release of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse , the animated film based on the Black Spider-Man Miles Morales voiced by Shameik Moore. Rae is most known for creating, co-writing and starring in the HBO series Insecure . The VP of production at Columbia Pictures, Bryan Smiley, helped shepherd in the deal with Issa and he will oversee production and development with ColorCreative. In a statement about her Columbia deal, Issa said, “Working with Bryan Smiley and Columbia Pictures to further the mission ColorCreative set out to achieve four years ago in creating access for underrepresented writers, has been a dream come true. All of the projects we are working on are fresh and promising and we can’t wait to continue the work. We hope to set a precedent and inspire the industry at large to invest in undiscovered talent, original IP, and fresh stories and perspectives.”
Spider-Man is from Brooklyn and his name is Miles Morales, a teenager who was bitten by a radioactive spider while spray painting down in the subway. Like in the traditional Spider-Man story Miles suddenly develops mysterious powers that give him special abilities. Ending up at the wrong place at the wrong time, Miles crosses paths with Peter Parker, while he was in the middle of a battle with the evil Kingpin a madman who wants to open a portal to bring back his family, but instead of his family he cracks open the Spider-Verse. This week on Extra Butter with Xilla Valentine, we get an inside look at Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse starring Brian Tyree Henry, Shamiek Moore, Luna Lauren Velez, Jake Johnson, and Oscar Award Winner Mahershala Ali. During our conversation, we spoke about how animated they had to get inside the sound booth. Jake said the director wanted realism so it was hard to half-ass the antics, “If you tried to phone it in, we had three directors with Chris and Phil in the room and they would call you on it.” Jake goes on to reveal that he’s not a man who loves to fake run while doing voice work, “But you gotta keep going until they would all say we believe it. So, in the end, you got to act like you’re running around and jumping and Thwip Thwip and all this but you got to go for it.” Shamiek Moore was also surprised at some of the references they used because he would have said it a different way but he does recognize the mistakes gave character to Miles. Moore said, “I learned that by just going through the process of just talking and being like oh shoot I messed up… And I was like oh shoot they used that.” Brian Tyree Henry plays the father of Miles and he was extremely thrilled to be able to work with his co-star. I keep saying this but Luna is my jam, I mean if you go back to NYU to OZ this is the jam. This is the quintessential mami of New York and I was like if that’s the case and this is who is playing my wife then I better really add my flavor. With a great cast and a killer story Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse is the year’s best animated movie. Go see it when it hits theaters this Friday.
One of the world’s favorite celebrity couples, Chrissy Teigen and John Legend, graced the 2018 Emmy Awards with their delightful presence. Unfortunately, one troll who isn’t aware of how Chrissy deals with shamers decided to try to body-shame her, asking if she’s pregnant. Chrissy took to Twitter to remind the world that she’s the queen of clapback. While the rest of us were groaning about who was robbed at the 2018 Emmy Awards , one alleged “fan” was concerned about Chrissy Teigen’s appearance. “I’m asking this with the utmost respectful,” the tweet began, featuring a minor typo. The tweet continues, asking a very impertinent question: “but is @chrissyteigen pregnant again?” Oh wow. Pro-tip, folks: there are very few respectful ways to ask if someone is pregnant if all that you have to go on is a glimpse of them in a dress. Chrissy, even the queen of Twitter and wholly unafraid to clap back, quoted the tweet with some words of her own. “I just had a baby,” her retort begins. Chrissy continues: “but thank you for being soooo respectful.” She and John Legend welcomed baby #2 back in May. Miles Theodore Stephens is just four months old. Contrary to what some fitness bloggers and certain celebrities might make people believe, four months is not really a lot of time to recover from childbirth. That wasn’t the harshest or most epic clapback that we’ve seen, but it was with a purpose. Chrissy’s response was proportionate. She has spoken about her post-baby body in the past, even giving fans a glimpse of her stretch marks over the summer. Chrissy, who previously worked as a model (though she laughs when people describe her that way now), discussed how social media can give people skewed ideas about the human body. “Instagram is crazy,” she admited. “I think it’s awesome people have killer bodies and are proud to show them off (I really do!!)” She continued: “but I know how hard it can be to forget what (for lack of a better word) regular ol’ bodies look like when everyone looks bonkers amazing.” First of all, it’s great that she said bonkers because that word does not get used often enough. Second of all, Chrissy still had more to say. In another tweet, she wrote: “Also I don’t really call this ‘body confidence’ because I’m not quite there yet.” “I’m still super insecure,” Chrissy admitted. She concluded: “I’m just happy that I can make anyone else out there feel better about themselves!” Chrissy is also not afraid to poke fun at herself, as she recently admitted on Twitter that she mispronounces her own last name. When a fan pointed out that people say it incorrectly, Chrissy tweeted “word! gave up a long time ago. last name is tie-gen not tee-gen.” Chrissy then went on to acknowledge that she herself will pronounce her own name “tee-gen.” Chrissy tweeted: “I even correct people when they say it correctly. it’s all v effed up.” She then lampooned herself for not being assertive about her name or anything else, writing: “Wrong order? I’ll eat it. Taxi going to the wrong airport? I’ll change my flight.” Chrissy is so good. View Slideshow: Chrissy Teigen Livetweets 8-Hour Flight From LAX to … LAX
“Just win, baby’’ was the mantra of Al Davis, the late owner of the Oakland Raiders, and it pretty much sums up Tuskegee coach Willie Slater’s sentiment after his Golden Tigers escaped with a hard-fought 24-17 SIAC road win against winless Clark Atlanta Saturday night. The Golden Tigers (2-1) were guilty of enough miscues to cost them the victory. They gave up a safety, lost a pair of fumbles – one on Clark’s goal line and one that was returned for a touchdown – and they committed numerous mental gaffes. “It wasn’t pretty, but we’ll take it,’’ Slater. “We were our worst enemy, but we kept fighting back.’’ The Golden Tigers spotted Clark an 8-0 lead after the Panthers (0-3) took the opening kickoff and drove 71 yards on nine plays for a touchdown and made a two-point conversion. Quarterback Charles Stafford was 4-for-4 passing for 46 yards on the drive. Clark was aided by a 15-yard personal foul penalty against Tuskegee on third down after the Golden Tigers had denied the Panthers a first down. Tuskegee’s defense regrouped after the first series and didn’t allow any points the rest of the game. “They caught us by surprise with some of the things they were doing,’’ Slater said. “We had to make some adjustments.’’ The Golden Tigers had to adjust their offense as well going into the game. Junior quarterback Ahmad Deramus made his third career start, replacing Jamarcus Ezell. Ezell underwent season-ending shoulder surgery earlier in the after he was injured last week against Albany State. Deramus had an up-and-down performance. He completed 10 of 17 passes for 209 yards and three touchdowns. But he also lost a fumble on a first-and-goal play at the Clark one yard line when the Golden Tigers were in position take a two touchdown lead. In addition Deramus was sacked three times. At least twice he was out of the pocket and could have avoided being sack had he thrown the ball away. “He’s our guy,’’ Slater said. “He had some big plays, and he had some bonehead plays. We’ve got to iron out the bonehead plays. He’s a winner. We got to make sure we don’t put him in situations he can’t handle.’’ The Golden Tigers didn’t lead until Deramus came up with on of the big plays Slater referred to. He connected Peyton Ramzy on 55-yard touchdown with 8:16 left in the game. The score gave Tuskegee its first lead of the contest, 24-17, and provided the margin of victory. Earlier Deramus found Javarrius Cheatham for a 42-yard touchdown pass as time expired in the first half that tied the score 10-10. KEY GAMES Jackson State 18, Florida A&M 16 – Special teams rose to the occasion Tallahassee, Fla., as the Tigers claimed an inter-conference victory for their fist win of the season. Christian Jacquemin booted four field goals, and Khalil Johnson blocked a 30-yard Florida A&M attempt with four minutes left in the game that would have given the Rattlers (1-2) the lead. Florida A&M gained 463 total yards – 340 passing – but the Rattlers only put the ball in the end zone twice. Their other points came on a 98-yard point after touchdown return by Terry Jefferson. Jackson State (1-1) forced three fumbles to help keep the Rattlers at bay. Fort Valley State 21, Miles 19 – The Wildcats worked some fourth-quarter magic to pull out an SIAC road win – their first victory of the season – in Birmingham, Ala. Quarterback Slade Jarman found Jaylen Lowder along the right side line with 21 seconds left in the game to give Fort Valley (1-2) the win. The scoring drive consumed 6 minutes, 5 seconds and covered 65 yards. The Wildcats’ first lead came with 7:25 remaining in the fourth quarter when Lorenzo Smothers scored on a six-yard run that put Fort Valley on Top 14-13. Miles (0-3) responded with a five-play, 80-yard that gave the Golden Bears a 19-14 lead after their two-point conversion attempt failed. Bowie State 47, McKendree 41 – The Bulldogs built a 22-point first half lead and coasted to a road victory in Lebanon, Ill. Quarterback Amir Hall threw for 352 yards and pair of touchdowns for the Bulldogs (2-1). Hall completed 41 of his 52 throws. He also ran for 95 yards and two scores. Bowie State led 35-13 at the half. OTHER RESULTS Weather Hurricane Florence wreaked havoc on the Black College Football schedule, causing 11 games to be postponed or cancelled. MEAC had three games involving five conference members postponed. The Thursday night ESPN matchup featuring North Carolina Central at South Carolina State was postponed until Nov. 24. South Carolina State President shutdown the campus and sent students home on Monday ahead of the storm. Howard’s home game against Savannah State was postponed. No makeup date has been announced. Norfolk State’s contest at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., has been tentatively rescheduled for Dec. 1, pending Norfolk State postseason status. If the Spartans win the conference championship and the accompanying berth in the Celebration bowl or qualify for the FCS playoffs, the contest will be cancelled. The CIAA was hit hardest with six games involving 10 schools being cancelled. Tennessee State’s contest at Hampton was cancelled and will not be rescheduled. It is the second consecutive week that weather has wiped out a Big Blue contest. Its game against Jackson State on Sept. 8 was cancelled due to lightning. Allen’s game at Brevard (N.C.) was also cancelled. MEAC Florida Atlantic 49, Bethune-Cookman 28 Jackson State 18, Florida A&M 16 Albany 30, Morgan State 27 Western Michigan 68, Delaware State SWAC Alcorn State 27, Texas Southern Cincinnati 49, Alabama A&M 7 Kennesaw State 62, Alabama State 13 UNLV 46, Prairie View A&M 17 Southern 33, Langston 18 South Dakota State 90, Mississippi Valley State 0 CIAA Bowie State 47, McKendree 41 Clarion 44, Lincoln (Pa.) 7 SIAC Fort Valley State 21, Miles 19 Kentucky Wesleyan 19, Kentucky State 13 West Georgia 45, Albany State 21 OTHERS Newberry 27, Virginia-Lynchburg 14 Notre Dame (Ohio) 33, West Virginia State 31 Texas Wesleyan 36, Texas College 7 Wisconsin-Oshkosh 17, Lincoln (Mo,) 7 READ MORE STORIES ON BLACKAMERICAWEB.COM: SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER: Close Thank you for subscribing! Please be sure to open and click your first newsletter so we can confirm your subscription. Email Submit LIKE US ON FACEBOOK . FOLLOW US ON TWITTER AND INSTAGRAM
A night of crazy fashion, memorable tributes and even a few tears has come to an end. On Monday evening, MTV handed out its annual Video Music Awards, recognizing Jennifer Lopez for her (HAWT!) body of work in the process, while mourning the late and truly great Aretha Franklin. Which artists came out on top? Which singers went home empty-handed? Which stars did Kanye West interrupt on stage this time around? The answer to the final question posed above is no one… while the answers to the first two questions can be found in our complete list of winners below… VIDEO OF THE YEAR Ariana Grande — “No Tears Left to Cry” Bruno Mars ft. Cardi B — “Finesse (Remix)” Camila Cabello ft. Young Thug — “Havana” *WINNER The Carters — “APES**T” Childish Gambino — “This Is America” Drake — “God’s Plan” ARTIST OF THE YEAR Ariana Grande Bruno Mars Camila Cabello *WINNER Cardi B Drake Post Malone SONG OF THE YEAR Bruno Mars ft. Cardi B — “Finesse (Remix)” Camila Cabello ft. Young Thug — “Havana” Drake — “God’s Plan” Dua Lipa — “New Rules” Ed Sheeran — “Perfect” Post Malone ft. 21 Savage — “rockstar” *WINNER BEST NEW ARTIST Bazzi Cardi B *WINNER Chloe x Halle Hayley Kiyoko Lil Pump Lil Uzi Vert BEST COLLABORATION Bebe Rexha ft. Florida Georgia Line — “Meant to Be” Bruno Mars ft. Cardi B — “Finesse (Remix)” The Carters — “APES**T” Jennifer Lopez ft. DJ Khaled & Cardi B — “Dinero” *WINNER Logic ft. Alessia Cara & Khalid — “1-800-273-8255” N.E.R.D & Rihanna — “Lemon” BEST POP Ariana Grande — “No Tears Left to Cry” *WINNER Camila Cabello ft. Young Thug — “Havana” Demi Lovato — “Sorry Not Sorry” Ed Sheeran — “Perfect” Pink — “What About Us” Shawn Mendes — “In My Blood” BEST HIP-HOP Cardi B ft. 21 Savage — “Bartier Cardi” The Carters — “APES**T” Drake — “God’s Plan” J. Cole — “ATM” Migos ft. Drake — “Walk It Talk It” Nicki Minaj — “Chun-Li” *WINNER BEST LATIN Daddy Yankee — “Dura” J Balvin, Willy William — “Mi Gente” *WINNER Jennifer Lopez ft. DJ Khaled & Cardi B — “Dinero” Luis Fonsi, Demi Lovato — “Échame La Culpa” Maluma — “Felices los 4” Shakira ft. Maluma — “Chantaje” View Slideshow: 2018 Video Music Awards Fashion: Who Dressed … Weirdest? BEST DANCE Avicii ft. Rita Ora — “Lonely Together” *WINNER Calvin Harris & Dua Lipa — “One Kiss” The Chainsmokers — “Everybody Hates Me” David Guetta & Sia — “Flames” Marshmello ft. Khalid — “Silence” Zedd & Liam Payne — “Get Low (Street Video)” BEST ROCK Fall Out Boy — “Champion” Foo Fighters — “The Sky Is a Neighborhood” Imagine Dragons — “Whatever It Takes” *WINNER Linkin Park — “One More Light” Panic! at the Disco — “Say Amen (Saturday Night)” Thirty Seconds to Mars — “Walk on Water” VIDEO WITH A MESSAGE Childish Gambino — “This Is America” *WINNER Dej Loaf and Leon Bridges — “Liberated” Drake — ‘God’s Plan” Janelle Monáe — “PYNK” Jessie Reyez — “Gatekeeper” Logic ft. Alessia Cara & Khalid — “1-800-273-8255” BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Alessia Cara — “Growing Pains” — Cinematography by Pau Castejón Ariana Grande — “No Tears Left to Cry” — Cinematography by Scott Cunningham The Carters — “APES**T” — Cinematography by Benoit Debie *WINNER Childish Gambino — “This Is America” — mcDJ / RCA Records — Cinematography by Larkin Seiple Eminem ft. Ed Sheeran — “River” — Cinematography by Frank Mobilio & Patrick Meller Shawn Mendes — “In My Blood” — Cinematography by Jonathan Sela BEST DIRECTION The Carters — “APES**T” — Directed by Ricky Saix Childish Gambino — “This Is America” — Directed by Hiro Murai *WINNER Drake — “God’s Plan” — Directed by Karena Evans Ed Sheeran — “Perfect” — Directed by Jason Koenig Justin Timberlake ft. Chris Stapleton — “Say Something” — Directed by Arturo Perez Jr. Shawn Mendes — “In My Blood” — Directed by Jay Martin BEST ART DIRECTION The Carters — “APES**T” — Art Direction by Jan Houlevigue *WINNER Childish Gambino — “This Is America” — Art Direction by Jason Kisvarday J. Cole — “ATM” — Art Direction by Miles Mullin Janelle Monáe — “Make Me Feel” — Art Direction by Pepper Nguyen SZA — “The Weekend” — Art Direction by SZA and Solange Taylor Swift — “Look What You Made Me Do” — Art Direction by Brett Hess
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The first time John Lewis traveled to Mississippi in 1961, he was arrested and jailed with other Freedom Riders, black and white, who challenged segregation in a bus station. Lewis, who is African-American, remembers going into a restroom labeled for white men only. A Jackson police officer told him and other young people in the group to leave. They refused. “The next words he said: ‘You’re under arrest.’ And that was my introduction to the state of Mississippi and the city of Jackson,” Lewis told The Associated Press on Thursday in a phone interview from Atlanta. After 37 days of being locked up in sweltering local jails and a notorious state prison on the disorderly conduct charge, Lewis was released. He continued working for racial equality in Mississippi and across the South in the 1960s, and as chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, he helped organize the 1963 March on Washington. Georgia voters elected him as a Democrat to the U.S. House in 1986, and he remains in office. Lewis, 78, returns to Mississippi on Friday, one of five people being honored for advancing civil rights. A private group called Friends of Mississippi Civil Rights organized a gala Friday and symposium Saturday to celebrate the new Mississippi Civil Rights Museum. Lewis’ jail mug shot hangs in a gallery at the museum with those of other Freedom Riders. He was scheduled to speak at the museum’s state-sponsored opening in December but canceled his appearance because Republican Gov. Phil Bryant invited President Donald Trump. Lewis said Thursday that he has never met Trump but, “I felt that I couldn’t be there with him after he said some unbelievable things about individuals and about groups — whether it’s members of the African-American community or the Latino community or the Dreamers,” younger immigrants who arrived in the country illegally as children and have been protected under President Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. “I just couldn’t be there with him.” The opening of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum and the adjoining Museum of Mississippi History capped the state’s bicentennial observation. The two museums are in downtown Jackson and are separate entities under a single roof. They are a short distance from the bus station where Lewis and the other Freedom Riders were arrested. The general museum skims 15,000 years of history, from the Stone Age to modern times. The civil rights museum concentrates on the intense period of social change from 1945 to 1976. Lewis grew up south of Montgomery, Alabama, and was 15 years old when a black 14-year-old from Chicago, Emmett Till, was lynched while visiting relatives near the small town of Money, Mississippi. A cousin who was with Till said he had whistled at a white woman in a country store. “I kept thinking that if something like this could happen to Emmett Till, it could happen to cousins of mine that were living in Buffalo, New York, or were living in Detroit, Michigan, when they came to Alabama to visit during the summer,” Lewis said. One of the other people being honored Friday for civil rights work is Rita Schwerner Bender, who demanded answers from Mississippi officials after her first husband, Michael Schwerner, and two other activists, James Chaney and Andrew Goodman, were killed outside Philadelphia, Mississippi, in 1964 — a case that became known by its FBI name, “Mississippi Burning.” Bender, now an attorney in Seattle, said Wednesday that in accepting the award in Mississippi, she intends to urge people to stand up for justice. “Most social change doesn’t happen without a demand side,” she said. Bender said she also would emphasize the importance of public education: “How can we be a thriving democracy which provides for the intellectual development of all our people, for the health of our people, for our place as contributors on the world stage, without high quality education?” The other honorees are Ruby Bridges, a Tylertown, Mississippi, native who faced threats and ostracism when she became the first black child to integrate a public school in New Orleans in 1960; former state Rep. Robert Clark, who in 1967 became the first African-American of the 20th Century to win a seat in the Mississippi Legislature; and Democratic U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi. ____ Follow Emily Wagster Pettus on Twitter: http://twitter.com/EWagsterPettus . READ MORE STORIES ON BLACKAMERICAWEB.COM: GET THE HOTTEST STORIES STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX: Close Thank you for subscribing! Please be sure to open and click your first newsletter so we can confirm your subscription. Email Submit
