Today, the name, ‘Karen,’ is a pejorative term for a self-entitled white woman.
But, back in 1955, a white woman named Carolyn Bryant falsely accused 14-year-old Emmett Till of whistling at her, which led to his kidnapping and murder. Bryan recounted in this video that, decades later, Bryant (1934-2023), recanted the story while on her deathbed. Not only that, in recent years, a team of researchers found an unserved arrest warrant in a Mississippi courthouse basement charging Bryant with Till’s kidnapping. In 1955, two white suspects were tried and acquitted.
Till’s courageous mother, Mamie Till-Mobley (1921-2003), decided to hold an open-casket funeral so the world could see the horrific condition of his face and body, adding fuel to the fire of the then-budding Civil Rights Movement.
No one has been held to account in this case.
Video credit: @drinkablebryan