One of the highlights of Tuesday's rally was the appearance of Deborah Watts, a cousin of Emmett Till.

Till's brutal 1955 murder served as a catalyst to the start of the modern civil rights movement.

"Don't ever forget, it is better to build bridges from the past to the present to the future forever," Watts said. "Young people, keep the faith."

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U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga. — pictured during a Senate Finance Committee hearing in Septembera — appeared on NBC's “Meet the Press" on Sunday morning. (Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times 2025)

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Students at Carver Early College School of Technology attend the school’s art class on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. Atlanta Public Schools plans to convert the campus to a school of the arts that will serve grades 6-12. The plan depends on voters extending a one-cent sales tax for education. (Natrice Miller/AJC)

Credit: Natrice Miller