Emmett Till’s Cousin, Priscilla Williams-Till,…
Priscilla Williams-Till, a cousin of Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley, is operating for U.S. Senate in Mississippi, pledging to “change the hate that’s come out of Mississippi” through management rooted in justice. Williams-Till announced her candidacy on Aug. 28, 2025, at the Mississippi Capitol rotunda while carrying a white T-shirt printed with images of Emmett and Mamie alongside the phrases “A Mother’s Love Never Dies.”
Source: Peter Forest/Bettmann
Hyde-Smith’s Past Comments in the Spotlight
According to the Mississippi Free Press, Williams-Till is difficult incumbent Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, whose time period expires in January 2027. Hyde-Smith sparked national outrage in 2018 when she said during a marketing campaign stop, “If he invited me to a public hanging, I’d be on the front row,” a comment first documented by journalist Lamar White Jr. and later adopted by an apology “to anyone offended.”
“We have a sitting person that’s representing the state of Mississippi, like Cindy Hyde-Smith, who made the comment, ‘If I was invited to a public hanging, I’d be on the front row,’” Williams-Till said at her press convention. “Well, I represent this state, too, and God has directed my path. We will change the hate that’s come out of Mississippi.”
Hyde-Smith went on to defeat Democrat Mike Espy in a 2018 runoff and again in 2020.
Family Legacy of Civil Rights
The Mississippi Free Press states that Williams-Till’s great-grandmother, Ella Smith, and Mamie Till-Mobley’s grandfather, George Smith, have been siblings, tying her to one of the most defining tragedies of the Civil Rights period. In 1955, 14-year-old Emmett Till was kidnapped and lynched in Money, Miss., after Carolyn Bryant accused him of whistling at her. An all-white jury acquitted J.W. Milam and Roy Bryant of homicide.
Mamie Till-Mobley’s insistence on an open-casket funeral galvanized the Civil Rights Movement. According to the Mississippi Free Press, that historical past fuels Williams-Till’s push for justice and transparency.
Call for Till Case Files and Accountability
Williams-Till said the U.S. Department of Justice launched closely redacted federal Emmett Till case recordsdata on Aug. 22, 2025, after notifying the household 4 days earlier. But the Mississippi Free Press studies that Mississippi has not launched its state case recordsdata, prompting Williams-Till to petition for their disclosure.
“What is the State of Mississippi so afraid of in those files that you all will not release pertinent, important information to carry down in history?” she requested at the press convention.
She also urged the state to posthumously prosecute Carolyn Bryant, though U.S. law prohibits felony prosecution of deceased people.
“We heard that Carolyn Bryant’s name was always a part of the warrant, but they chose not to arrest her because she had children,” Williams-Till said. Bryant died in 2023.
Policy Priorities and Positions
Williams-Till helps increasing Medicaid and strengthening rural hospitals, citing personal expertise with households overwhelmed by insurance coverage adjustments.
“We need a system set up to help people get health insurance for the ones who are cut out of Medicaid across the state,” Williams-Till said.
She vowed to introduce federal laws focusing on systemic injustice, including police reform and zoning discrimination. On reproductive rights, she told the outlet:
“I think people have a right to decide whatever they want to do with their bodies. That’s between them and God. I don’t think any man or woman should dictate to a woman what she should do to her body.”
Williams-Till also said she helps U.S. weapons support to Israel and Ukraine—while believing Ukraine “should fend for itself” in any other case—and opposes Palestinian statehood and transgender athletes competing on groups matching their gender id.
A Growing Field
Williams-Till enters a race that consists of unbiased Ty Pinkins and Democratic prosecutor Scott Colom, who announced his candidacy after Hyde-Smith helped block his federal judgeship nomination.
With deep household ties to Emmett Till’s legacy and a platform centered on health care, justice reform, and racial reconciliation, Priscilla Williams-Till is betting that Mississippi voters are prepared for a historic change.
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