Mr. Oliver’s grotesque remark reminds us yet again that the era of racial terror that spawned these memorials still casts a shadow over American life. Mr. Oliver finally apologized on Monday. Mr. Oliver’s district includes the hamlet of Money, where Emmett Till, a 14-year-old black boy from Chicago, was kidnapped, mutilated and killed while visiting relatives in 1955. Perhaps Mr. Oliver’s viciousness can help Americans acknowledge how much of that poison is still with us. Mississippi’s governor condemned Mr. Oliver’s statement, and the state’s House speaker stripped Mr. Oliver of a committee leadership position.

Source: New York Times May 25, 2017 07:18 UTC