Bright Star Church of God in Christ, under the leadership of Pastor Chris Harris, as you may know, is now housed and has worship in the Historic Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ, located at 4021 S. State Street, Chicago IL. 60609. What many don't realize is, Roberts Temple is the location that hosted the funeral services for Emmett Till.
Emmett Till was a 14 year old boy who was brutally murdered for flirting with a white woman. He was tortured, killed, wrapped in barbed wire, and thrown in a river by the husband and brother of the woman. Emmett had grown up on the south side of Chicago and was in Money, Mississippi visiting family.
The murder occurred several days after when the woman’s husband returned home from a business trip and heard about Emmett’s alleged advances on the woman. Emmett’s body was found three days later, but he was only identifiable by an initialed ring because of his body’s severe mutilation. Emmett’s mother requested his body to be sent to Chicago for the burial and funeral service. What shocked the entire country was Emmett's mom requested the casket be left open for the entire world to witness exposing this brutality, violence and clear racism.
Emmett’s trial took place two weeks after his funeral. It took one hour for the all-white jury to issue the verdict “not guilty”, stating that the state did not successfully prove the identity of the body. The case was one of the most profound examples of the injustice and cruelty of the Jim Crow Laws, and helped propel the civil rights movement.
