She was so fortunate to get her child's body returned to her for the funeral. The film stated that the sheriff wanted to bury him quickly before the rest of the world found out what had happened. As painful as it was, she had an open casket funeral for the whole world to see. I'm not sure that I could have looked at my own child in that condition. It takes guts to do what she did. Because of her actions, the surviving guilty people may have to pay for their crime.

I would not want to see my child in that condition either Kristi. But I would not want to hide what happened to him either. That was likely her only means of communicating with the world what happened--there certainly wouldn't have been a Diane Sawyer type interview about it.

I am glad Emmett's mother wanted the world to see what had happened to her son. As the mother of a 14 year old boy, I would also have wanted the world to see what a horrific crime it was and wanted the world to know what an injustice it was to the family that the killer's got off scot free. I hope they are burning for their crime and that Emmett is laughing his head off at them.

I too think having the open casket funeral served a purpose. It was a wake-up call to all of the world to the harshness of life for African Americans in the US, especially the south. Although I cannot fathom what Emmet's mother must have felt, I'm sure that since she could not change what happened to her son that she would prefer that his death make an impact for change.

Having the open casket was definitely courageous. What bothers me is the question of: How many more Emmet Tills are there that did get buried quickly and without being discovered. Especially, the Emmet Tills who were born and raised in the south and did not come down from the north.

I think that Emmit would have been proud of his mother for standing up in a time of such great sorrow and tension. It goes to show that one person can make a dirrerence in this cruel world.

It took great courage for his mother to have an open casket. What courage for the rest of the world to see! Bravo to her and her family! Also they should be commended for not doing violence to his killers - I can't imagine going through a trial and seeing the killers of my child go scott free. She is an inspiration to not only the black community, but also to women everywhere. I wish that she could have lived to see the new investigation underway!

Emmett Till's mother was a very strong and courageous woman to be able to open her son's casket and speak out about the crime. Because of her actions, his death was not in vain but it helped to spur action against the brutalities the african Americans faced. I believe this may be how she was able to survive the loss of her son in such a terrible manner. The pain had to be unbearable, but she was able to use it for something productive.