In today’s flashback, Bill Duke reflected on growing up in Poughkeepsie, NY during the 1940s and 1950s. His parents moved north to escape the oppression of the Jim Crow south equipped with just a 2nd and 3rd-grade education, respectively. Bill Duke opened up about some his early experiences dealing with racism and how some whites defied the racist logic of the time as well. 

He recalled what it was like being a pre-teen when the Emmitt Till story made national headlines. Duke tried holding back his emotions while remembering Emmitt Till’s murder and said he could never forget the incident or the horrific images. He also pointed out that the White woman who accused him of whistling at her came forward years later and admitted she lied. Duke said it was a difficult time but acknowledged that Till’s open-casket funeral brought a lot of attention to the abuse and oppression Blacks were facing in the south.