Emmett Till family member to speak at University of Bridgeport on Thursday February 20, 2014

Emmett Till family member to speak at UB

Posted on February 17, 2014 | By Linda Conner Lambeck

Wheeler Parker Jr., a cousin of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African-American who was kidnapped and brutally murdered in 1955 for reportedly flirting with a white woman in Mississippi, will speak from 6 to 8 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 20, at the Arnold Bernard Center at the University of Bridgeport.

 Parker will speak about his cousin’s death and the American Civil Rights Movement.

Till’s murder helped galvanized the American Civil Rights Movement. Parker will be joined by Airickca Gordon-Taylor, director of the Mamie Till-Mobley Memorial Foundation, following the documentary, “The Untold Story of Emmett Till’.

The event and a closing reception are free and open to the public. The center is located at 84 Iranistan Avenue.