Emmett Till Apology

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

No apology: Till was just 14 when he was brutally murdered in Mississippi for flirting with a white woman

The Rapper, Lil Wayne's failure to say the simple words 'I am sorry' after rapping a crude reference to brutally murdered teen Emmett Till, has left the family of the civil rights figure offended and awaiting an official apology.

Lil Wayne had featured in the song by Future called Karate Chop, but it was pulled by Epic Records after it was bought to the company's attention that the rapper uses the late Till, who was just 14 at the time of his death, as a way to describe having rough sex with a woman. Lil Wayne raps: 'Beat that p***y up like Emmett Till.'

 

The rapper sparked outrage when he made reference to the 1955 murder - which became a pivotal event in the civil rights movement - in comparison to a sex act and, after the family demanded Lil Wayne apologise, he wrote them a letter. In his letter to the family the 30-year-old said he supported the decision to pull the song: 'It has come to my attention that lyrics from my contribution to a fellow artist's song has deeply offended your family.' ... 'I would like to take a moment to acknowledge your hurt, as well as the letter you sent to me via your attorneys.

However, Till's cousin and Executive Director of Mamie Till Mobley Memorial Foundation, Airickca Gordon-Taylor said the family does not view the letter as a formal apology.  She said, 'While it’s commendable that he has vowed to respect the legacy of Emmett Till and his memory to ''not use or reference Emmett Till or the Till family in his music,'' this statement falls short of an apology, as none is mentioned.'
Gordon-Taylor said the family want the platinum-selling New Orleans rapper to understand how his comparison of a sex act to the 14-year-old Chicago native's torture death in Mississippi is hurtful to the black community.