Historic Reckonings in the Case of Emmett Till and the Armenian Genocide (Feat. Deborah Watts & Ömer Taşpınar)

Objections: With Adam Klasfeld

Guests discuss two history-making events of the past week: Emmett Till's cousin Deborah Watts talks about the significance of Derek Chauvin's murder convictions, and scholar Ömer Taşpınar unpacks the significance of President Joe Biden recognizing the Armenian genocide.

At a press conference following the Chauvin verdict, Philonise Floyd invoked the memory of 14-year-old Till—whose kidnapping, torture, and lynching animated the civil rights movement—by calling him the "first George Floyd."

Watts, the co-founder of the Emmett Till Legacy Foundation, welcomed that comparison.

"We had spent some time together a few days before that," Watts recalled in an interview. "And I believe that just in sharing that bond, we were able to embrace and just understand each other's journey and pain, in sharing the story of Emmett Till."

She talks on the show about Till, Floyd, lynching and her foundation's push to prosecute the 66-year-old case.

Taşpınar, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and author of the book “What the West Is Getting Wrong about the Middle East,” explains why Turkey resists accepting the Armenian genocide—and why the United States has been so slow to officially recognize it.

Listeners can learn more about the Emmett Till Legacy Foundation here at https://emmetttilllegacyfoundation.com.

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