The Emmett Till case is one of the most ignominious in the history of the nation. The sheer horror, brutality and inhumanity displayed by Southern segregationists towards a Black child defined the Civil Rights era and continues to echo across the decades up to our current time. The facts of the case are horrific. Emmett Till, a 14-year-old teenager, was brutally murdered while visiting relatives in Mississippi.
His uncle Mose Wright visited Chicago and returned with Till to Mississippi. Till, who was unfamiliar with racial etiquette in the South, had a chance encounter with a white woman which led to life altering outcomes. While visiting a local convenience store with his cousins, Till encountered Carolyn Bryant, a white woman and wife of the owner. Reportedly, he attempted to flirt with Bryant and whistle at her. In actuality, Till did not attempt to flirt or whistle at anyone in the store. Till whistled at Bryant after he left the store. At no time was he menacing or threatening. By all accounts, his actions were innocent. Till’s innocent violation of Southern etiquette, however, was unpardonable.
Three days later, Till was taken from Mose Wright’s home by Roy Bryant, Carolyn Bryant’s husband, and his half-brother John William ( J.W ) Milam. Shortly thereafter, Till’s body was found floating in the Tallahatchie River. His body was mutilated with a gunshot in the head and weighted down with a 75-pound cotton gin fan and barbed wire.
Determined that the world see what happened to her son, Till’s mother Mamie Till-Mobley decided to have an open casket funeral. Till’s body was displayed at Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ in Chicago and more than ten thousand people filed past the body. John Johnson, CEO of Ebony and Jet magazine, published pictures of the mutilated Till. The open casket funeral and the photos brought national and international attention to the murder
The outrage surrounding the case reached fever pitch. The State of Mississippi charged Bryant and Milam. Although Mississippi officials projected an aura of concern regarding the heinous crime, the actual prosecution and trial revealed their lack of interest in Till’s murder and the prosecution of his murderers. The murderers were tried by an all-white male jury. The courtroom was informal. During the proceedings, jurors ate, drank and several carried pistols. Till’s mother testified in an effort to humanize her murdered son. Her pleas largely fell on deaf ears. The local sheriff in Tallahatchie County suggested that Till’s body had not been properly identified. He stated further that Mamie Till and her supporters were perpetuating a hoax and he speculated Till was probably alive and well. Carolyn Bryant testified under oath but outside of the presence the jury. She said that Till had propositioned her and touched her arm and waist while in the store.
Mose Wright, Till’s uncle, bravely pointed out the John Bryant and Milam as Till’s abductors by saying “Dere he,” as he pointed at the men. Despite eyewitness accounts of his abduction, the defendants were acquitted. Both Bryant and Miliam later confessed to killing Till in an article published by Look Magazine in 1956.
The trial was not the last word in the Till case. Till’s murder took on a life of its own. His murderers Bryant and Milam faced strong opposition from Blacks in Mississippi. Their businesses failed due to intense boycotts. Unable to secure loans from local banks, they both moved to Texas.
Till’s mother continued to educate people about the murder until her death in 2003. Filmmakers and authors took increased interest in the case as a result of her ongoing efforts to secure justice for her son. Much of the interest in the case revolved around whether or not additional persons were involved in the murder or a coverup occurred. Several books including the Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till (2003), and The Murder of Emmett Till(2003) a PBS documentary stoked pubic interest in the case. In 2004, 60 Minutes did a segment on the Till murder. In the segment, 60 Minutes anchor Ed Bradley interviewed Till’s cousins Wheeler Parker, and Simeon Wright. Bradley also included excerpts from one of the last interviews with Mamie Till. The segment dovetailed with the reopening of the Till murder by the Justice Department.
In 2004, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) reopened the case. The DOJ ultimately determined it lacked the jurisdiction to bring federal charges but assisted Mississippi officials in identifying suspects, including Carolyn Bryant. The Mississippi District Attorney’s office, Fourth District pursued leads, but a state grand jury failed to bring any charges. In 2007, Representative John Lewis introduced the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act in the U.S. Congress. The law facilitates the reopening of all cold cases involving violent crimes committed against African Americans before 1970. The bill became law in 2008. This law has provided the legal justification to continue to pursue leads in the Emmett Till murder case.
One of the most interesting developments in this case occurred in 2017. Duke historian Timothy Tyson, author of The Blood of Emmett Till, among others, claimed that Carolyn Bryant recanted her trial testimony during an interview for the book. This claim led to renewed activity by the family, civil rights activists, the Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Mississippi and the Mississippi District Attorney’s Office, Fourth District. The case was reopened to determine the level of Carolyn Bryant’s culpability in Till’s murder. Despite launching a multi-year investigation, the federal government could not prove that Bryant had actually recanted her sworn testimony or lied to federal agents when she alleged she had not done so. Additionally, Tyson could not prove his allegation regarding the recantation. Bryant’s recantation was not part of Tyson’s recorded audio of the interview. When interviewed by the FBI, Bryant claimed she could not remember what had occurred between she and Till and uttered obscenities. Unable to corroborate Tyson’s account or to get on the record a recantation from Carolyn Bryant, the DOJ has been unable to prosecute Bryant for her role in Till’s murder.
In June 2022, an unserved warrant for Carolyn Bryant dated August 29, 1955, signed by the Leflore County Clerk was discovered in the courthouse basement by the Emmett Till Legacy foundation. The Till family called for an arrest, but the district attorney said there was no insufficient evidence to reopen the case.
The warrant discovery was followed by the leak in July 2022 by Timothy Tyson of a memoir by Carolyn Bryant Donham. The memoir is titled I am More than A Wolf Whistle: The Story of Carolyn Bryant Donham. Poorly received and widely vilified, the memoir seemed to justify the actions of Till’s murderers without Carolyn Bryant accepting any culpability for the murder. In August 2022, after hearing more than seven hours of testimony from investigators, a Leflore County jury determined there was insufficient evidence to convict Bryant.
The trajectory of the Emmett Till’s murder has been circuitous, to say the least. Despite the many fits and starts, the fact that public interest has remained strong for more than 57 years following the murder is a testament to the tenacity of Mamie Till, Till family’s family, civil rights advocates and the federal government. And in more ways than one, Till’s murder proves the age-old adage that “the arc of justice is long, but it bends toward justice,”
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Previously Published on Historian Speaks
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