On this 50th anniversary of the landmark civil rights ruling Brown v. the Board of Education, another civil rights anniversary has crept in, like Carl Sandburg's fog, on little cat's feet. And like fog, it is causing a degree of confusion and frustration.

Fifty years ago this August, Emmett Till was abducted from his uncle's home in the Mississippi Delta after he had supposedly whistled at a white woman. Three days later, fishermen found Till's mutilated body. Two white men charged with the crime were eventually acquitted by an all-white jury.

And that put an end to that — or so many thought.

Now, however, the original prosecutor is reopening the case, claiming that the conspiracy was more wide reaching. And though the original two perpetrators have died, others must still answer for their own actions in the case.

Not everyone in the Delta region is happy with the news. Some fear a backlash and would prefer that sleeping dogs be allowed to sleep. Others worry that dredging up painful memories will just force everyone to relive the horror story.

But the Emmett Till murder was not just another small-town crime. Down the years, his name — along with the names of Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. — has been inscribed in a list of civil rights martyrs. Mothers and fathers pass the Emmett Till saga on down to their children, who in turn pass it on.

Till today is larger than life. And bringing his killers to justice demands special measures.

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There is no statute of limitations on murder. Nobody gets to cry "King's X" simply because time has passed. Whether it is the death of Emmett Till or the slaying of someone with less notoriety, prosecutors have an obligation to keep the books open. When a homicide occurs, nobody gets a free pass.

Besides, until the ghosts are laid to rest, Emmett Till — and America — can never truly feel at ease. Already filmmaker Keith Beauchamp is releasing a documentary about the incident. Chris Crowe, a Utah author, is weighing in with a book . The Till story is filling feature story space in newspapers around the country and on the nightly news.

And all the books, stories and films say the same thing: Something is still amiss in Mississippi that needs to be put right.

Until that happens, the nation will find itself re-visiting the Emmett Till tragedy over and over, like a bad dream that simply won't go away.

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