Willie Louis, a key witness in the landmark Emmett Till murder trial that galvanized the civil rights movement in the 1950s, died last week at the age of 76, the Chicago Tribune reported Wednesday.
Louis, who was known as Willie Reed at the time, witnessed the murder of Till, a black 14-year-old, who was allegedly killed by two white men in Mississippi after he whistled at a white woman.
A white man later approached Louis with a gun and asked ‘Boy, did you see anything?’ Louis responded ‘no,’ according to the Tribune.
But Louis decided to testify anyway and was hailed as a civil rights hero.
The men were found not guilty by an all-white jury and after the trial, Louis, fearing for his safety, fled to Chicago and changed his name. He told no one of his connection to the case, and eventually worked as an orderly at area hospitals.
