Priscilla Williams-Till, the cousin of Emmett Till, the African American teen who was lynched in Mississippi in 1955, announced her campaign for U.S. Senate.
She will run as a Democrat against Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, citing failures in leadership and racial injustice. Williams-Till launched her bid on August 28 at the Mississippi Capitol.
Wearing a shirt printed with photos of Emmett Till and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, she told supporters and lawmakers that her campaign is about change and addressing systemic inequities. “To bring about justice is to change justice with leadership, and that’s the most important thing that can happen, is you have to show leadership by example,” she said, according to Mississippi Free Press.
Her decision to run is partly influenced by Hyde-Smith’s controversial remarks in 2018, when the senator said she would sit “on the front row” at a public hanging. Though Hyde-Smith later apologized, the comments remain a point of criticism.
Williams-Till said Mississippi deserves leaders who reject that legacy and lead toward justice. The murder of Emmett Till, who was killed at 14 after being accused of whistling at a white woman, helped ignite the Civil Rights Movement.
His mother’s decision to show his open casket exposed racial violence to the world. Williams-Till said her family continues to push for transparency in Till’s case files, including records that remain sealed by the state.
Born in Jackson, Williams-Till graduated from Lanier Junior Senior High School, Jackson State University, and Belhaven University. Her campaign priorities include expanding Medicaid, protecting rural hospitals, and improving access to health insurance.
She also supports abortion rights, opposes transgender athletes competing on teams that align with their gender identities, and backs U.S. military aid to Israel and Ukraine. The race for Hyde-Smith’s Senate seat is becoming crowded.
Other challengers include Scott Colom, a Democratic prosecutor whose federal judgeship Hyde-Smith once blocked, and Ty Pinkins, who left the Democratic Party to run as an independent. Hyde-Smith’s current term runs until January 2027.
Williams-Till said her candidacy is rooted in both her family’s history and Mississippi’s long struggle with racial violence. She said her candidacy is about ensuring that justice, once denied to her cousin, becomes a reality for others across the state.
