What happened Sheriff Strider?
When the case of Emmett Till came up in 1955, Mississippi’s sheriff, Clarence Strider, became a symbol of the state’s unyielding resolve. Strider weighed a hefty 270 pounds, making him a formidable opponent. As well as serving as sheriff of Tallahatchie County, he also owned a prosperous cotton plantation in the heart of the Delta….
When the case of Emmett Till came up in 1955, Mississippi’s sheriff, Clarence Strider, became a symbol of the state’s unyielding resolve.
Strider weighed a hefty 270 pounds, making him a formidable opponent. As well as serving as sheriff of Tallahatchie County, he also owned a prosperous cotton plantation in the heart of the Delta. His land was easily identifiable because to the letters “S-T-R-I-D-E-R” he had painted on the tops of sharecroppers’ shacks.
Strider was the first law enforcement officer to hear about a body being found in the Tallahatchie River by a young man fishing there. In fact, he instructed Emmett Till’s family in Mississippi to have the funeral and bury his body before nightfall because he was so adamant that it happen immediately. However, after Emmett’s mother in Chicago heard the news, she asked for his remains to be returned there immediately. At the time of the finding, she was a resident of Chicago.
What happened Sheriff Strider?
“He got ’em arrested, dragged ’em to jail, went before the grand jury, they obtained an indictment, tried ’em in a court in front of his peers, and they turned ’em go,” Strider’s son alleged. In light of the fact that the sheriff was unable to secure their conviction, I fail to understand why they continue to attack him and his office. He wasn’t on the jury.
Sheriff Strider’s reputation was damaged because he failed to secure the victim’s conviction.
