EMMETT TILL
Mississippi Delta. Courtesy of Jason Francis.
EMMETT TILL
The Murder That Shocked
the World and Propelled the
Civil Rights Movement
DEVERY S. ANDERSONForeword by Julian Bond
For Amanda, Tyler, and Jordan,
who have lived with Emmett Till as long as I have
www.upress.state.ms.us
The University Press of Mississippi is a member
of the Association of American University Presses.
Copyright © 2015 by University Press of Mississippi
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
First printing 2015
∞
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Anderson, Devery S.
Emmett Till : the murder that shocked the world and propelled the civil rights movement / Devery S. Anderson ; foreword by Julian Bond.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4968-0284-2 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-4968-0285-9 (ebook) 1. Till, Emmett, 1941–1955. 2. Lynching—Mississippi—History—
20th century. 3. African Americans—Crimes against—Mississippi. 4. Racism—Mississippi—History—20th century 5. Trials (Murder)—Mississippi—Sumner. 6. Hate crimes—Mississippi. 7. Till-Mobley, Mamie, 1921–2003. 8. Racism—Mississippi—History—20th century. 9. United States—Race relations—History—20th century. 10. Mississippi—Race relations. I. Title. II. Title: Emmett Till, the murder that shocked the world and propelled the civil rights movement.
HV6465.M7A63 2015
364.1’34—dc23 2015005681
British Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data available
printed with a grant from
Figure Foundation
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Foreword by Julian Bond
Preface
Prologue: Through a Glass, Darkly
PART ONE: IN BLACK AND WHITE
1. Mother and Son
2. Mississippi Welcomes Emmett Till
3. Murder Heard Round the World
4. Countdown
5. Tallahatchie Trial, Part 1
6. Tallahatchie Trial, Part 2
7. Protests, Rumors, and Revelations
8. Clamor, Conflict, and Another Jury
9. The Look Story and Its Aftermath
10. Never the Same
PART TWO: IN LIVING COLOR
11. Revival
12. Seeking Justice in a New Era
13. The Legacy of Emmett Till
Epilogue: Seeing Clearly
Appendix: Piecing the Puzzle
Notes
Bibliography
Index
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work, several years in the making, has been an effort that involved many individuals. Along the journey I have made friends with numerous scholars and students of the Emmett Till case, and all of them have been generous to a fault with their research files and expertise.
I want to thank David Beito and Linda Royster Beito for sharing with me, prior to its publication, portions of the manuscript of their book, Black Maverick: T. R. M. Howard’s Fight for Civil Rights and Economic Power. They made known to me sources that I had previously been unaware of, and sent me photocopies of hard-to-find documents related to Emmett Till.
Davis Houck at Florida State University opened his newspaper files to me, saving me legwork in locating many Mississippi and out-of-state papers. It was Davis who paved the way for the University Press of Mississippi to publish this book; Davis’s friendship has become one of the many rewards of taking on this project. Keith Beauchamp, Hank Klibanoff, and Christopher Metress also sent me important materials at various stages in my research. Amy Chatham went out of her way to provide me with copies of items that had once belonged to her husband’s grandfather, Gerald Chatham, the man who prosecuted Emmett Till’s accused killers in 1955. Heather McAdams and Patterson Smith sent me a few rare magazines that contained Till-related materials. Plater Robinson also provided me with a copy of a document that I had been trying to get my hands on for years. Scholars such as James Grossman, Stokes McMillan, and Stephen Whitfield were kind enough to answer questions for me by email. Thanks to all of you for your generosity, help, and support.
I must also give a heartfelt thanks to those I have interviewed over the course of my research, and who, after several decades, were able to recount details crucial to the story: Martha Baker, Gerald Chatham Sr., Doris Colon, Roosevelt Crawford, Bobby Dailey, Myrlie Evers-Williams, John Herbers, Gene Herrick, Macklyn Hubbell, Willie [Reed] Louis, Bill Minor, Wheeler Parker Jr., William Parker, Betty Pearson, Bill Pearson, W. C. Shoemaker, Crosby Smith Jr., Bill Spell, Ygondine Sturdivant, Dan Wakefield, Steve Whitaker, Ernest Withers, and Simeon Wright. Others who became part of the Till story did not have to go back quite so far, but their input was just as important. Therefore, thanks go to Jim Abbott, Dr. Jeffrey Andrews, Keith Beauchamp, Phil Benninger, Christopher Benson, Robert Garrity Jr., Susan Glisson, Jim Greenlee, John Hailman, Jan Hillegas, David Holmberg, Dale Killinger, Stanley Nelson, Steve Ritea, Mike Small, and Alvin Sykes. I am extremely grateful to others whom I interviewed or corresponded with who have or once had a relative with some connection to the Emmett Till saga. Most of these people reached out to me first, but I learned about a few of them on my own and contacted them. So I give a special thanks to James Boyack Jr., Randall Bradley, Amy Chatham, Rita Dailey, Robbie Duke, Marsha Gaston, Airickca Gordon-Taylor, Minter Krozer, Allie Ledford, Katherine Malone-France, Mary Lou Ray, Johnny B. Thomas, Ellen Whitten, and Rosalind Withers. Five people I interviewed have asked that their names not be included in this book, but I remain as grateful for their valuable input as I do any of the others I talked to and wish so much that I could publicly recognize them.
I also thank Clare Anderson, Brigid Bennett, Tim Bethea, Guenaëlle Blanchet, Jenny Blue, Shayla Brown, Jimmy Carpenter, Suzy Carter, Norma Chase, Lou Chesterton, Camille Chivers, Ronald Coleman, Cassie Cox, Forrest Crawford, Chris Crowe, Jessica Donaldson, Alan Donnes, Michael Ellery, Amber Etchells, Reena Evers, Ayan Farah, Elizabeth Snyder Fortino, Jim Fox, Mary Francis, Michelle Freeman, Mel Gardner, Whitney Gealta, Devon Geary, Betsy Glick, Isaac Goldberg, Michael Granger, Lisa Gross, John Hatch, John Hays, Tillie Henson, Ronald Herd, Frances Holland, Mark Johnson, Romilly Jones, Ryan Jones, Kurt Kemper, Tony King, Susan Klopfer, Philip Kolin, Rebecca Jane Langwell, Tiffany Littlejohn, Darryl Mace, Deborah Madden, Lee McGarrh, Nick Meakins, Zoe Meakins, Jerry Mitchell, Ed Modestino, Scott Norris, David Nystrom, Neil Padden, Denn Pietro, Virginia Schafer, Mariana Skillen, Priscilla Sterling, Belinda Stewart, Dave Tell, Lois Emily Toole, Timothy B. Tyson, Claire Ward, Kandy Warner, Minnie Watson, Meghan Riley Wheeler, Brian Whitney, John Wilson, former Mississippi governor William Winter, and Dan Wotherspoon for a multitude of kindnesses along the way.
From 1996 until her passing in 2003, I maintained a friendship with Mamie Till-Mobley, mother of Emmett Till. I regret that I did not record every word of the numerous conversations we held, many of which seemed casual at the time, but now, over a decade after her passing, I realize were priceless.
I also express appreciation to staff members at the interlibrary loan department at the J. Willard Marriott Library at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City for processing never-ending orders of microfilm, and to the Salt Lake City Library for its generous policy allowing free photocopying. The staffs at the National Archives offices in Oxford, Mississippi, and Morrow, Georgia, processed orders for me; personnel at the Mississippi Department of Archives
and History were most gracious during numerous visits to their facility. I was given equally helpful treatment at the Mitchell Memorial Library at Mississippi State University in Starkville, the Ned R. McWherter Library at the University of Memphis, and the Greenwood Leflore Library in Greenwood, Mississippi. Brittany Bell and Emily Erwin Jones of the Charles W. Capps Jr. Archives and Museum at Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi, were very helpful to me during a two-day visit to their facility in February 2006. Both have since become good friends. The Family History Library of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City, Utah, with its seemingly limitless resources, was a treasure trove where I obtained information on many of the players in the Emmett Till story.
Tim Kalich, editor and publisher of the Greenwood Commonwealth, was kind enough to search his archives for photos for me; Tom Owen of Archives and Special Collections, University of Louisville, tried hard to find a newspaper article I needed. Brigette Billeaudeaux, Edwin G. Frank, and Christopher Ratliff of the University of Memphis were helpful in providing photos, as were personnel at the Chicago Defender. Joel Hornbostel at the Pitch in Kansas City took the time to scan and email an article to me from the paper; Clay McFerrin, editor and publisher of the Charleston Sun, sent me several obituaries and other items from his paper. Thanks to Stanley Nelson, Alvin Sykes, and Patrick Weems for sending me photos from their own collections, and to Keith Beauchamp for sitting for a photo shoot with my photographer daughter, Amanda Sharise Cooney, while she was visiting in Brooklyn. A special thank you to Jason Francis, who designed the map of the relevant locations in the Mississippi Delta included as the frontispiece in this book.
To friends who critiqued this manuscript, I express my sincere gratitude: Chris Crowe, Jani Fleet, Davis Houck, Ellen Nickenzie Lawson, Erin Metcalfe, and Bill Morgan. I called upon them because I knew their input would be beneficial, and I was right. Although this is a much better book because of their suggestions, I must allow that my own shortcomings have undoubtedly left it an imperfect work. Therefore, I alone am responsible for any errors of fact and interpretation.
It was a great pleasure to work with Cynthia Foster, Craig Gill, Valerie Jones, Courtney McCreary, Leila Salisbury, Anne Stascavage, and Shane Gong Stewart of the University Press of Mississippi. I also appreciate Robert Burchfield for his stellar job at copyediting my manuscript.
Civil rights legend Julian Bond took time out of his busy life to read the manuscript in order to write the foreword. It remains an extreme honor to me that he agreed to do this. A highlight of my involvement in writing this book has been getting to know Mr. Bond and his wife, Pam Horowitz.
Matthew Beachum, Hahn Jackson, and Tracy McKay-Lamb traveled to libraries to look over important collections or hard-to-find microfilm for me, which saved me tremendous amounts of time and money. A former coworker, J. L. Looney, set up my first website on the Emmett Till case in 1999. In 2004, John Hatch and Erin Metcalfe helped me establish a new one, www.emmetttillmurder.com, which has served as a valuable resource for scholars and students worldwide. Both sites opened doors for me that I never could have imagined. Thank you all for your help. Thanks also to Patrick Weems of the Emmett Till Interpretive Center for keeping me updated on current events in Tallahatchie County. This information helped shape the closing chapter of this book.
I enthusiastically give thanks to several friends who helped out financially when it came time to purchase photographs for this book, which was an expensive process. I set up a fund-raiser and they came through quickly and generously. So thank you to my good friends Andrea Alexander, Gary James Bergera, Greg Bragg, Kim Burkart, Cassie Cox, Loyd Ericson, George Fisher, Mel Gardner, Gary Goodell, Mario Hemken, Davis Houck, Romilly Jones, Nick Literski, Tiffany Littlejohn, Ron and Terrie May, Ardis Parshall, and Chris Rohrbach Pedersen.
Special thanks go to Kevin and Christine Elkington for providing much appreciated assistance at a critical phase of my research. Their kindness and support also led to some valuable contacts.
Through my website, I hear regularly from students living in many parts of the world. Several within the United States have made the Till case their subject for National History Day. I want to give a special shout-out to Allie Stutting, Daniel Stutting, Ali Watkins, and Halle Wilmot. Their hard work and dedication took them all the way to the national competition in Washington, DC, in 2013. Many will never forget the Till case because of them.
Last, but by no means least, I want my three children, Amanda Anderson Cooney, Tyler Anderson, and Jordan Anderson, to know how much their patience and support have meant to me throughout the years that this case has consumed me. My two sons probably do not remember life at all without Emmett Till being a major part of it, and all three were taught early in their lives about the racial divisions that have plagued our country. They have taken trips with me to the South and have seen firsthand the places and people of the Emmett Till story. They also read and critiqued the manuscript, for which I am grateful.
I have a passion for historical writing and research, and with the completion of this project, I will take up other subjects that also intrigue, fascinate, inspire, or sadden me. However, I cannot imagine any being more rewarding than this one. The friendships I have developed along the journey have alone been worth it.
FOREWORD
By Julian Bond
I “knew” Emmett Till—even though he was dead before I ever heard of him.
It was because he was dead that I knew him.
I was only fifteen years old, one year older than Emmett Till, when he was brutally murdered in Mississippi because he was believed to have violated the inviolable rule of white southern life. A black teenager, he had approached a white woman, infringing on the sacred canon of a treasured way of life.
I also “knew” his mother, his defenders, and his attackers, that body of white southerners who believed all black males were rapists, “knowing” them through the accounts of black newspapers in my home.
It is hard for us to remember when Till’s innocent breach was considered by many so severe as to be worthy of such a harsh reaction. That someone would torture and then kill him for this transgression—indeed, that it was viewed as a transgression at all—seems unthinkable now.
But there was such a time, and because there was and because I lived in the South, I “knew” Emmett Till. Like many, I first saw him in the pages of Jet magazine, the black pocket-sized weekly that carried the news of black America to thousands of families like mine.
With a circulation of almost half a million in 1955, and a hand-to-hand pass-along distribution of many, many more in barbershops and beauty shops, Jet covered the news and comings and goings of black America’s civil rights figures, society leaders, athletes, and entertainers. Each issue had a pretty centerfold beauty, and a few had an ugly photograph of some unfortunate victim of an untimely misfortune.
But none had the ugliness—and the power—of the photograph of Emmett Till’s bloated skull.
He was a boy, only fourteen. I was a boy one year older. My family was about to move south again, and I can remember saying, “If they can do that to him, what won’t they do to me?” Emmett Till’s murder haunted me as it haunted others across the country.
The Till story was a touchstone narrative of my generation. Among many southern horror stories, this was among the most morbid. The Till death picture was proof of white southerners’ malevolence. Their refusal to acknowledge the killers’ guilt was proof of their acceptance of evil.
Devery S. Anderson has done a marvelous job in putting the Emmett Till story together.
You may think, as I did, that you know the totality of this tale, but you will learn much that is new, as I did. That is because Anderson has tracked down every source; read every testimony, description, and transcript; interviewed every living witness; and read the memories of the departed. He has searched every newspaper and magazine story, including the most obscure, and gathered every conflicting version. Where
witnesses conflict, he offers the likeliest version and acknowledges the disagreement.
He places this horrendous crime where it belongs: centrally in the civil rights movement.
He has a focal, but little-known figure, Dr. T. R. M. Howard of Mound Bayou, Mississippi, speaking about Till at a mass meeting at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, a church with a new pastor. One member of the audience is an NAACP activist. Four days later, moved by Dr. Howard’s account of Till’s death, she refuses to give up her seat on a segregated bus to a white man, and the Montgomery Bus Boycott begins! The new pastor will lead it. She said later: “The news of Emmett’s death caused many people to participate in the cry for justice and equal rights, including myself.”
This is a courtroom drama, a murder mystery with villains not yet identified. This is a book that covers its subject magnificently.
Above all, this is a labor of love.
PREFACE
At one time, I thought I knew all I needed to about the racial struggles of America because I possessed a general knowledge of slavery and Jim Crow, and was familiar with the stories of Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. Eventually, however, I received a shocking wakeup call to just how little I really knew.
In the fall of 1994, I was newly transplanted to Salt Lake City and a sophomore at the University of Utah when I made a trip to the City Library, browsed the movie collection, and noticed a six-part PBS series on the American civil rights movement called Eyes on the Prize. A year earlier, my history professor at Lower Columbia College in Longview, Washington, Ellen Nickenzie Lawson, taught our class about slavery and its successor, Jim Crow. A timeline she provided recounted the 1963 murder of Medgar Evers, a tragedy that I had never heard of before. Because of that brief lesson, I recognized Evers’s name a few months later when I read that his killer was finally convicted on February 5, 1994.
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