Emmett Till alerts launch, notifying Md. leaders of racist incidents and hate crimes
MARYLAND – The Caucus of African American Leaders (CAAL) has launched a new alert system for racial incidents and hate crimes.
Emmett Till Alerts Launch
They’re called Emmett Till alerts, named after the 14-year-old Black boy who was murdered and mutilated by white men in Mississippi, 67 years ago this month.
“The alert system works similarly to Amber Alerts. Amber Alerts are when children have been abducted or harmed, and the public is immediately warned of their abduction,” said CAAL Convener Carl Snowden. “We use the Emmett Till symbol to suggest that when you receive an Emmett Till alert, something has happened of a racial nature.”
How The System Works
Snowden says the alerts are categorized into three tiers: low, medium, and high. For example, racist graffiti might be designated as low or medium level alerts, while incidents of physical violence and death would be a high alert. Snowden cites a June incident, in which a Parkside High School student was charged after making racially-motivated threats on social media.
“Had this alert been in place, rather than the response coming from the leadership of Wicomico County, it would have come statewide. People would have known that this is something that we take very, very seriously,” said Snowden. “If you attack someone in the African American community unfairly, you will have to deal with all of us collectively.”
Before the alerts go out, Snowden says they are vetted and confirmed. Then, every member of the Maryland General Assembly’s Black Legislative Caucus will receive an alert. Snowden says the alerts will soon be expanded to all elected African American officials. He adds that the NAACP, National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Rainbow PUSH Coalition, National Action Network, and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference are also on board.
“The purpose is to make sure that all of the leadership know exactly what happened so that we can have a rapid response. In the past what has happened, is when there has been an incident, it has been isolated to that particular community,” said Snowden. “Now, every member of the Maryland General Assembly who happens to be an African American is alerted. You’ve got the major civil rights organizations all alerted at the same time. What was once considered an isolated incident is now known by all of the leadership throughout the state.”
Future Vision
Snowden says moving forward, he hopes to expand the alerts to include hate incidents involving other groups, such as Black members of the LGBTQ+ community, or religious organizations.
“So often, people assume that African American community is a monolithic community. It is not. The diversity that exists in our community is tremendous,” said Snowden. “Whatever the hate motivation is, whether it’s based on race, religion, or sexual preference, you’re going to see this particular alert being used in all kinds of manners.”
“This will be the model”
Beyond that, Snowden says the alert system has already gained national attention, and hopes to see it adopted in other parts of the country. “There’s no question this will be the model that other states emulate. No one has ever thought of this idea before. It’s the first of its kind in the nation, and it’s already getting a vast manner of attention. The more you think about it, the more you recognize that awareness is important,” he said.
