She kept alive the legacy of lynched teen Emmett Till
AIRICKCA GORDON-TAYLOR
Airickca GordonTaylor, a relative of Emmett Till who spent her life educating others about the black teenage lynching victim’s legacy through her foundation, has died at her home in Chicago. She was 50.
Gordon-Taylor died early Saturday, hours after a hospital stay. She had had kidney problems for decades, including two transplants, said her mother, Ollie Gordon, who was Till’s cousin.
“She was a great advocate. She was a fighter for equal justice,” Gordon said. “She was very serious about her commitment to keep the legacy of Emmett Till going.”
Gordon-Taylor also called herself Till’s cousin, but considered herself a surrogate daughter to his mother, with whom she lived for a time. In 2009, GordonTaylor named her foundawhere tion after Till’s mother, calling it the Mamie Till Mobley Memorial Foundation. Its mission is to honor her and her only son.
Emmett Till was killed in 1955 while visiting relatives in Mississippi, his body found weighted down in the Tallahatchie River. His mother insisted on an opencasket funeral in Chicago, they lived, so the public could see the mutilated corpse.
An all-white jury acquitted two white men in the killing. Till’s death helped energize the civil rights movement.
Gordon-Taylor’s work included youth empowerment, such as teaching young people oratory skills. Most recently, she advocated in Washington, D.C., for an anti-lynching bill named after Till.
“Airickca dedicated her life’s work to lifting up the legacy of her cousin, Emmett Till, and she stood in solidarity with other families who had lost loved ones to racial violence in our country,” said Kristen Clarke, head of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, which works with the foundation. “She fought for truth and justice, and worked tirelessly to promote racial healing.”
Family members said they hope to plan a public memorial.