Till monument is finalized by President Biden

By HERB BOYD Special to the AmNews

It seems the murders of Malcolm X and Emmett Till will be forever with us, unresolved and resonant with the nation’s deplorable past. Both grabbed headlines this week, with a new witness emerging in Malcolm’s assassination and Till getting a monument placed in the name of him and his mother on what would have been his 82nd birthday.

Their murders a decade apart—Till’s in 1955 and Malcolm’s in 1965—are constant reminders of how far America has gone and how much further it needs to go in reconciling the horrors of the past. The monument to Till and his relentless and devout mother Mamie Till-Mobley, will have three locations. One will be at the site of the Tallahatchie River, where his body was dredged out of the water with a huge cotton gin fan around his body; another at Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ in Bronzeville, Chicago, a historic Black neighborhood where Till’s funeral services were held; and the third at the courthouse in Mississippi where the two men charged with the crime were acquitted and later con-

Neglect leads to death of 6-year-old Fajr Atiya Williams

fessed in a magazine article, knowing they would not be convicted because of the double jeopardy law. Each will be in the care of the National Park Service.

On Tuesday, surrounded by several lawmakers and Till family members, including Rev. Wheeler Parker, who was with Till the night of the lynching, President Biden signed the bill authorizing the monument, saying, “I found myself trying to temper my anger. I can’t fathom what it must have been like.” Biden said he was 12 years old when the murder

Harlem’s IFCO leads 33rd caravan to Cuba

By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff

Dr. Jean Kennedy is in Cuba this week, taking part in the 33rd IFCO/Pastors for Peace Friendshipment Caravan to the island nation.

“Actually, coming here in person is so much more enlightening for me,” Dr. Kennedy, a Fresno, California resident, said in a video message to the Amsterdam News. “For me, I want this to be a legacy––not just for myself, as an educator, or for my students, but even for my own grandchildren. As a grandmother, I’m hoping that I’m creating a pathway so that my son will be able to come, and my daughter will be able to come, and my grandchildren will be able to come. I leave them that legacy.”

This is Dr. Kennedy’s second time joining a Friendshipment Caravan to Cuba. She’s one of 30 U.S. citizens taking part in a trip sponsored by the Harlem-based nonprofit IFCO (Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization), which has been leading groups to the island nation since 1992.

This year’s caravan takes place from July 15 through July 29. IFCO promoted participation in the caravan as an opportunity for U.S. citizens to have “the impact of seeing Cuba for yourself.” With a home-base in the city of Santiago de Cuba, caravan participants are making visits to the Santa Ifigenia Cemetery, site of the graves of famed Cubans like Fidel Castro; 19th-century nationalist and independence hero José Martí; Mambi Army of Liberation General Antonio Maceo and his revolution-oriented mother, Mariana Grajales; and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, the nation’s first president. Caravanners have been able to retrace the paths taken by Fidel Castro and his rebel army in the Sierra Maestra mountains as they strategized methods to overthrow the dictator, Fulgencio Batista. They are taking day trips to visit locations like the small fishing village of Caimanera which sits outside the U.S. naval base and prison on Guantána- mo Bay. They volunteered to help clean at a hospital, went to the Bayamo Wax Museum, and visited Oscar Lambert’s “Las Elenas” farm.

Caravan participant Kelly Camacho, from Buffalo, N.Y., said she has felt inspired by the caravan tour. “Yesterday we got to go to a community garden, and

See IFCO on page 25