Arts & Culture

Scenic Roots

"Scenic Roots" offers conversations that matter in the heart of Chattanooga and the Tennessee Valley.From the mountains to the river, our conversations are rooted deep within every corner of our community - reflecting who we are, who we were and who we can become.We engage with the news that affects our community, behind and beyond the headlines. We build bridges that span from creators and innovators to storytellers and the outdoors. We focus on our challenges as many communities in one - as we celebrate what inspires us. We resonate with countless voices - in words and spaces, sounds and songs.We are "Scenic Roots."Ray Bassett hosts and produces "Scenic Roots" at WUTC.

The Young Civil Rights Activists Who Said His Name

WUTC | By Ray Bassett

Published August 23, 2021 at 5:13 PM EDT

Had he lived this long, he would have turned 80 years old last month.

But Emmett Till barely made it to 14.

Till, an African-American from Chicago, was lynched while visiting relatives in Mississippi on August 28th, 1955 - after he was accused of offending a white woman in her family’s grocery store.

In the years that followed, African-American children who personally felt the impact of Till’s murder would become activists in the civil rights movement of the 1950’s and 1960’s.

Robert H. Mayer shares their stories in his upcoming book, “In The Name of Emmett Till: How the Children of the Mississippi Freedom Struggle Showed Us Tomorrow” - published next month by NewSouth Books.

Robert spoke to us from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.