Priscilla Williams-Till, a cousin of Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley, is running for U.S. Senate in Mississippi, pledging to “change the hate that’s come out of Mississippi” through leadership rooted in justice. Williams-Till announced her candidacy on Aug. 28, 2025, at the Mississippi Capitol rotunda while wearing a white T-shirt printed with photos of Emmett and Mamie alongside the words “A Mother’s Love Never Dies.”
According to the Mississippi Free Press, Williams-Till is challenging incumbent Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, whose term expires in January 2027. Hyde-Smith sparked national outrage in 2018 when she said during a campaign stop, “If he invited me to a public hanging, I’d be on the front row,” a remark first documented by journalist Lamar White Jr. and later followed by an apology “to anyone offended.”
“We have a sitting person that’s representing the state of Mississippi, like Cindy Hyde-Smith, who made the comment, ‘If I was invited to a public hanging, I’d be on the front row,’” Williams-Till said at her press conference. “Well, I represent this state, too, and God has directed my path. We will change the hate that’s come out of Mississippi.”
Hyde-Smith went on to defeat Democrat Mike Espy in a 2018 runoff and again in 2020.
Family Legacy of Civil Rights
The Mississippi Free Press states that Williams-Till’s great-grandmother, Ella Smith, and Mamie Till-Mobley’s grandfather, George Smith, were siblings, tying her to one of the most defining tragedies of the Civil Rights era. In 1955, 14-year-old Emmett Till was kidnapped and lynched in Money, Miss., after Carolyn Bryant accused him of whistling at her. An all-white jury acquitted J.W. Milam and Roy Bryant of murder.
Mamie Till-Mobley’s insistence on an open-casket funeral galvanized the Civil Rights Movement. According to the Mississippi Free Press, that history fuels Williams-Till’s push for justice and transparency.
Call for Till Case Files and Accountability
Williams-Till said the U.S. Department of Justice released heavily redacted federal Emmett Till case files on Aug. 22, 2025, after notifying the family four days earlier. But the Mississippi Free Press reports that Mississippi has not released its state case files, prompting Williams-Till to petition for their disclosure.
“What is the State of Mississippi so afraid of in those files that you all will not release pertinent, important information to carry down in history?” she asked at the press conference.
She also urged the state to posthumously prosecute Carolyn Bryant, though U.S. law prohibits criminal prosecution of deceased individuals.
“We heard that Carolyn Bryant’s name was always a part of the warrant, but they chose not to arrest her because she had children,” Williams-Till said. Bryant died in 2023.
Policy Priorities and Positions
Williams-Till supports expanding Medicaid and strengthening rural hospitals, citing personal experience with families overwhelmed by insurance changes.
“We need a system set up to help people get health insurance for the ones who are cut out of Medicaid across the state,” Williams-Till said.
She vowed to introduce federal legislation targeting systemic injustice, including police reform and zoning discrimination. On reproductive rights, she told the outlet:
“I think people have a right to decide whatever they want to do with their bodies. That’s between them and God. I don’t think any man or woman should dictate to a woman what she should do to her body.”
Williams-Till also said she supports U.S. weapons aid to Israel and Ukraine—while believing Ukraine “should fend for itself” otherwise—and opposes Palestinian statehood and transgender athletes competing on teams matching their gender identity.
A Growing Field
Williams-Till enters a race that includes independent Ty Pinkins and Democratic prosecutor Scott Colom, who announced his candidacy after Hyde-Smith helped block his federal judgeship nomination.
With deep family ties to Emmett Till’s legacy and a platform centered on health care, justice reform, and racial reconciliation, Priscilla Williams-Till is betting that Mississippi voters are ready for a historic change.
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