Family of Emmett Till Discusses Zimmerman Verdict: 'Hard to Say That We've Moved Anywhere From 50 Years Ago

Three family members of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old black boy who was horrifically tortured and murdered after flirting with a white woman in 1955, appeared on MSNBC Friday to discuss the controversial George Zimmerman verdict and the state of race relations in the country.

This undated file photo shows Emmett Louis Till, a black teenager from Chicago who was killed in 1955. (Photo: AP)

They specifically weighed in on Oprah Winfrey's comparison of the deaths of Emmet Till and Trayvon Martin - who was fatally shot by George Zimmerman in what a jury ruled was self-defense - seeming to agree with Winfrey's analysis.

A cousin of Till's, Erica Gordon-Taylor, said the country is still "confronted with many hate crimes that are very similar to what Emmett Till suffered," and that racial profiling remains an issue.

"Just with Trayvon Martin and the 'not guilty' verdict that we were all very upset over -- not surprised -- but very upset about..." she said.  "Across the country, when you're still confronted with the same type of injustices and the same type of tragedies, it's hard to say that we've moved anywhere from 50 years ago.  It's not as covert (sic), but it still exists."

The MSNBC host then moved to Ollie Gordon, another cousin of Till's, who said there are "a lot of parallels" between the cases of Emmett Till and Trayvon Martin.

"Number one, Trayvon was killed by a white boy that got out of his truck armed to the teeth, chased him down then killed him, and then the jury did the same thing they did in 1955 with Emmett Till, they came back with a not guilty vote," he said.  "That broke my heart, that tells me that things [have] not changed as much as people would like to say they have changed."

Watch the complete interview below, courtesy of Mediaite:

(H/T: WeaselZippers)

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