Emmett Till

by Devery S. Anderson

  38. Parker, Smith, and Wright, author interview, comments by Parker.

  39. Sanchez, “Murder’s Horror,” B7; Wright and Boyd, Simeon’s Story, 94; Parker, Smith, and Wright, author interview, comments by Wright.

  40. Clenora Hudson-Weems, Emmett Till: The Sacrificial Lamb of the Civil Rights Movement, 4th ed. (Bloomington, Ind.: AuthorHouse, 2006), 134.

  41. Wheeler Parker Jr., author telephone interview, October 1, 2007.

  42. Argo Temple Church of God in Christ 80-Year Celebration, program distributed for event held October 8, 2006, 2.

  43. Shostak, “Crosby Smith,” 325.

  44. Joe Atkins, “Slain Chicago Youth Was a ‘Sacrificial Lamb,’” Jackson Clarion–Ledger/Jackson Daily News, August 25, 1985, 20A; Parker, Smith, and Wright, author interview, comments by Smith.

  45. Parker, Smith, and Wright, author interview, comments by Parker and Wright.

  46. Parker, Smith, and Wright, author interview, comments by Parker.

  47. Willie Reed, author interview, February 6, 2007, Chicago.

  48. Reed, author interview; Parker, Smith, and Wright, author interview, comments by Parker.

  49. Reed, author interview.

  50. “Till Case People,” 72; Reed, author interview.

  51. Reed, author interview.

  52. Becky Schlikerman, “Emmett Till Witness ‘Never Got Over’ Case,” Chicago Sun-Times, July 24, 2013, 13; Margalit Fox, “Willie Louis, Who Named the Killers of Emmett Till at Their Trial, Dies at 76,” New York Times, July 24, 2013, A25; Emily Langer, “Witness Dared to Testify in Emmett Till Lynching,” Washington Post, July 25, 2013, A6; Naomi Nix, “Willie Louis: 1937–2013,” Chicago Tribune, July 24, 2013, 6.

  53. Reed, author interview.

  54. Langer, “Witness Dared to Testify,” A6.

  55. Reed, author interview; Add Reed death certificate, Cook County, Illinois, Death Records, state file no. 606929, filed March 27, 1977.

  56. “World Eyes Mississippi Grand Jury,” Chicago Defender, November 12, 1955, 2; Lee Blackwell, “Two Who Fled Mississippi Tell Stories,” Chicago Defender, October 1, 1955, 1–2. The papers referred to Brooks as Mandy Bradley’s granddaughter, but a confidential source told me that Brooks is indeed Bradley’s daughter. Confidential source D, author telephone interview, June 6, 2014.

  57. “Ticker Tape U.S.A.,” Jet 9, no. 11 (January 19, 1956): 13; “Till Case People,” 68, 72.

  58. Confidential source D, author telephone interview.

  59. “3 Who Refused to Testify Have Dropped Out of Sight,” Jet 13, no. 25 (April 24, 1958): 11, 13.

  60. “3 Who Refused,” 12–13.

  61. Marsha Gaston, author telephone interview, February 17, 2014; “3 Who Refused,” 12–13.

  62. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Prosecutive Report of Investigation Concerning . . . Emmett Till, Deceased, Victim, February 9, 2006, 29 (hereafter cited as Prosecutive Report; names of living people are redacted in the report); Clint Gaston and Treola Collins, marriage certificate, King County, Washington, filed August 10, 1960, no. 245340; Gaston, author telephone interview. While serving in the military, Wheeler Parker met one of Levi Collins’s nieces, who told Parker that her uncle eventually “lost his mind” (Parker, Smith, and Wright, author interview, comments by Parker; Richard A. Serrano, “After 49 years, Case Reopened in Racial Slaying of Emmett Till,” Oakland [Calif.] Tribune, May 11, 2004, 1).

  63. Gaston, author telephone interview.

  64. Gaston, author telephone interview.

  65. David T. Beito and Linda Royster Beito, Black Maverick: T. R. M. Howard’s Fight for Civil Rights and Economic Power (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2009), 151–52; Henry Lee Loggins, telephone interview with Linda Beito, July 21, 2001, transcript in author’s possession; “Man’s Father May Have Been Involved in Terrible History of Small Mississippi Town,” Lodi (Calif.) News-Sentinel, August 10, 2005, 7.

  66. “Man’s Father,” 7.

  67. “Gerald Chatham Dies,” New York Times, October 11, 1956, 39.

  68. Tom Brennan, “World Watched Drama Unfold in Rural County Courtroom,” Jackson Clarion-Ledger/Jackson Daily News, August 25, 1985, 2H; Gerald Chatham Oral History Interview (OH293), courtesy of Charles W. Capps Jr. Archives and Museum, Delta State University, Cleveland, Miss.; Gerald Chatham Sr., author interview, February 24, 2012, Hernando, Miss.

  69. David Brown, “Sumner Revisited: How Several Lives Altered by Till Trial,” Delta Democrat-Times (Greenville, Miss.), August 19, 1956, 7. The letters that Chatham received were donated to Delta State University in 2005 by his family.

  70. “Prosecutor in Till Case Dies Tuesday,” Delta Democrat-Times (Greenville, Miss.), October 10, 1956, 1; Maria Burnham, “Till Case Is Also About Attorney,” Desoto (Miss.) Appeal (Southhaven, Miss.), May 4, 2004, DS1; “Adjourn in Honor of Gerald Chatham,” Delta Democrat-Times (Greenville, Miss.), October 11, 1956, 3.

  71. “Charleston Banker Drowns in Enid Lake,” Clarksdale (Miss.) Press Register, September 4, 1962, 8.

  72. Danny McKenzie, “Ripley Attorney Played Major Role in Till Case,” Tupelo (Miss.) Daily Journal, September 21, 2003, 1A.

  73. “Prominent Local Attorney Dies,” Southern Sentinel (Ripley, Miss.), December 7, 1967, 1; Jak and Bruce Smith Oral History Interview (OH289), comments by Bruce Smith, courtesy of Charles W. Capps Jr. Archives and Museum. Sadly, Bruce Smith died in an auto accident on August 13, 2014.

  74. “Heart Attack Is Fatal to Sumner Attorney,” Mississippi Sun (Charleston, Miss.), June 30, 1966, 1.

  75. “Jesse Breland Dies at 80,” Clarksdale (Miss.) Press Register, March 26, 1969, 1.

  76. J. W. Kellum and Amzie Moore, interview, conducted by Blackside, Inc., August 29, 1979, for Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Years (1954–1965), Henry Hampton Collection, Washington University, St. Louis, http://digital.wustl.edu/eyesontheprize/, comments by Kellum.

  77. Richard Rubin, “The Ghosts of Emmett Till,” New York Times, July 31, 2005, F33.

  78. Kellum and Moore, interview, for Eyes on the Prize.

  79. “Attorney J. W. Kellum Dies,” Charleston (Miss.) Sun-Sentinel, July 25, 1996, 1.

  80. Rubin, “Ghosts of Emmett Till,” F33; “Attorney J. W. Kellum Dies,” 1.

  81. Betty Pearson, author interview, February 6, 2006, Sumner, Miss.

  82. Brennan, “World Watched Drama Unfold,” 2H.

  83. Paul Hendrickson, “Mississippi Haunting,” Washington Post Magazine, February 27, 2000, 26, reprinted in Rhetoric & Public Affairs 8, no. 2 (Summer 2005): 185.

  84. Plater Robinson, The Murder of Emmett Till, Soundprint, copy of audio in author’s possession, http://soundprint.org/radio/display_show/ID/398/name/The+Murder+of+Emmett+Till.

  85. “Retired Attorney John Whitten Dies,” Charleston (Miss.) Sun-Sentinel, February 2003.

  86. Robert H. Henderson Sr. obituary, Charleston (Miss.) Sun-Sentinel, October 11, 2007, 3.

  87. “White Jurors Acquit Sheriff of Bludgeoning,” Morgantown (Miss.) Post, August 8, 1958, 3.

  88. “Judge Swango’s Rites Held on Saturday,” Batesville (Miss.) Panolian, December 12, 1968, 1; Chatham, author interview. For more on the sanatorium and its influence, see Ashley Baggett, “The Rise of the Surgical Age in the Treatment of Pulmonary Tuberculosis: A Case Study of the Mississippi State Sanatorium” (Master’s thesis, Louisiana State University, 2003).

  89. Al Kuetiner, “Till Case Rarely Discussed at Site of Famous Murder Trial,” Delta Democrat-Times (Greenville, Miss.), September 4, 1957, 15.

  90. “Former Sheriff Dies; Served Two Terms,” Greenwood (Miss.) Commonwealth, October 9, 1975, 1. For an account of Cothran’s term as sheriff (1960–64), see Paul Hendrickson, Sons of Mississippi: A Story of Race and Its Legacy (New York: Knopf, 2003), 83–113.

  91. “Former Sheriff Dies,” 1; “John Ed Cothran, 1914–2008; Investigated 1955 Death of Emmett Till,” Chicago Tribune, March 21, 2008, 9; “John Ed Cothran; Investigated Till Killing,” Washington Post
, March 20, 2008, B7.

  92. Hugh Stephen Whitaker, “A Case Study of Southern Justice: The Emmett Till Case” (Master’s thesis, Florida State University, 1963), 164–65, reprinted as Hugh Stephen Whitaker, “A Case Study in Southern Justice: The Murder and Trial of Emmett Till,” Rhetoric & Public Affairs 8, no. 2 (Summer 2005): 213.

  93. “Ross Found Guilty, Faces Huge Fine,” Laurel (Miss.) Leader Call, September 29, 1962, 1, 2.

  94. “Lee County Runoff Vote Is Scheduled,” Delta Democrat-Times (Greenville, Miss.), February 17, 1965, 6; “H. C. Strider Dies on Hunt,” Clarksdale (Miss.) Press Register, December 28, 1970, 13.

  95. “Mississippian Says He Paid for Votes,” New York Times, July 6, 1968, 8; Wilson F. Minor, author interview, August 24, 2009, Jackson, Miss.

  96. “Two Delta Senators Offer Negro Relocation Measure,” Hattiesburg (Miss.) American, February 25, 1966, 1. Crook would later represent Roy Bryant in a federal criminal case. This is discussed later in this chapter.

  97. “H. C. Strider Dies,” 13.

  98. “JBW Attends Funerals,” Delta Democrat-Times (Greenville, Miss.), December 29, 1970, 10; Mississippi Code of 1972, as amended, http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/mscode/.

  99. “Witness in Till Case Vanishes,” St. Louis Argus, October 28, 1955, 1, 10; Richard B. Henry, “Charges Milam Killed 4,” Tri-State Defender (Memphis, Tenn.), January 21, 1956, 1, 2.

  100. National Cemetery Administration. U.S. Veterans Gravesites, ca. 1775–2006 [database online], Provo, Utah, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2006. California, Death Index, 1940–1997 [database on-line], Provo, Utah, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000; http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=91930730&; www.umbcbarstow.com.

  101. Brown, “Sumner Revisited,” 7.

  102. William Bradford Huie, “What’s Happened to the Emmett Till Killers,” Look, January 22, 1957, 65–66.

  103. Huie, “What’s Happened,” 66; “Till Trial Defendant Refused Gun Permit in Sunflower County,” Delta Democrat-Times (Greenville, Miss.), January 8, 1957, 1.

  104. Whitaker, “Case Study in Southern Justice,” 161, reprint, 212.

  105. Ygondine Sturdivant, author telephone interview, August 7, 2013.

  106. “Ex-Farm Manager Freed in Till Murder Now in Bread Line,” New York Post, February 14, 1958, 20; “Till ‘Suspect’ on ‘Breadline,’” Pittsburgh Courier, February 22, 1958, 30; “J. W. Milam Denies Reports He Stood in Miss. Bread Line,” Jet 13, no. 18 (March 6, 1958): 6–7.

  107. Photo and caption under the title “Honored at Reception,” Delta Democrat-Times (Greenville, Miss.), May 6, 1962, 16; Myrtle Thompson obituary, Delta Democrat-Times (Greenville, Miss.), June 23, 1963, 2; Albert Thompson obituary, Delta Democrat-Times (Greenville, Miss.), November 22, 1965, 2; Confidential source A, author telephone interview, April 7, 2014.

  108. “City Court” section of Delta Democrat-Times (Greenville, Miss.), January 10, 1969, 2; May 10, 1972, 11; and August 30, 1972, 2.

  109. Confidential source B, author telephone interview, June 8, 2014.

  110. Joe Atkins and Tom Brennan, “Bryant Wants the Past to ‘Stay Dead,’” Jackson Clarion-Ledger/Jackson Daily News, August 25, 1985, 3H; John William Milam obituary, Delta Democrat-Times (Greenville, Miss.), January 2, 1981, 2A; Confidential source A, author telephone interview.

  111. J. W. Milam’s obituary listed Juanita as his spouse at the time of his death. Certificate of Search sent to author from Marilyn Hansell, chancery clerk of Washington County, Mississippi, May 24, 2005, indicates that Hansell checked divorce records from 1965 to 1980 and found nothing for John W. and Juanita Milam. It was later confirmed to me that the couple remained together until J. W.’s death during my telephone interview with confidential source A.

  112. Advertisement for National Beauty Salon Week, Delta Democrat-Times (Greenville, Miss.), February 13, 1972, 17; “Television Raffle,” caption under photo, Delta Democrat-Times (Greenville, Miss.), February 14, 1971, 20; “Delta Diary,” Delta Democrat-Times (Greenville, Miss.), October 2, 1973, 6; “Local Cosmetologists to Give Away Television,” Delta Democrat-Times (Greenville, Miss.), April 13, 1975, 15; Confidential source A, author telephone interview.

  113. Confidential source A, author telephone interview.

  114. Confidential source A, author telephone interview.

  115. Confidential source A, author telephone interview.

  116. Horace William Milam obituary, Delta Democrat-Times (Greenville, Miss.), October 9, 2008, A6; Mary Juanita Milam obituary, Biloxi-Gulfport (Miss.) Sun Herald, January 14, 2014, A4; Confidential source A, author telephone interview.

  117. Roy Bryant obituary, Memphis Commercial Appeal, September 3, 1994, A14; Roy Bryant obituary, Bolivar Commercial (Cleveland, Miss.), September 6, 1994, 12; Bill Minor, “Saga of Till Slaying Will Live On Despite Death of 2nd Killer,” Jackson Clarion Ledger, September 25, 1994, C3.

  118. “Ex-Farm Manager Freed in Till Murder,” 20; “Bryant Sought Job as Indianola Cop; He Didn’t Get It,” Delta Democrat-Times (Greenville, Miss.), May 2, 1956, 1; Huie, “What’s Happened,” 65; Atkins and Brennan, “Bryant Wants the Past,” 1H; United States v. Roy Bryant Sr., CRG-83-55, copy of case file in author’s possession.

  119. “Bryant Sought Job,” 1.

  120. “Three Hurt in Collision Here on Sunday,” Delta Democrat-Times (Greenville, Miss.), November 19, 1956, 1; “Till Figure Injured in Auto Crash,” Chicago Defender, December 1, 1956, 1.

  121. Comments of Carolyn Donham posted on her Facebook wall, November 19, 2010. Donham does not mention the accident but acknowledges in her comments that Frank Bryant would have turned fifty-four years old that day.

  122. David Holmberg, “The Legacy of Emmett Till,” Palm Beach (Fla.) Post, September 4, 1994, 10A; Confidential source C, author interviews, August 19 and December 3, 2014.

  123. Comments of Carolyn Donham on Linda Jean Bryant Facebook wall, April 7, 2013.

  124. Vinton High School, Souvenir, 1970, 21; Comments of Thomas Lamar Bryant posted on “Memories of Vinton [Louisiana]” Facebook wall; “About,” on Carol Ann Bryant Facebook wall; Comments of Carolyn Donham posted on Linda Jean Bryant Facebook wall, June 26, 2014; www.huntingwithtom.com.

  125. “Sunflower Success,” Delta Democrat-Times (Greenville, Miss.), September 19, 1974, 31; “About,” on Carol Ann Bryant Facebook wall; Carolyn Holloway Bryant v. Roy Bryant, Chancery Court of Sunflower County, Mississippi, complaint no. 16505, copy in author’s possession provided by Plater Robinson.

  126. Comments of Carolyn Donham posted on Linda Jean Bryant Facebook wall, April 7, 2013.

  127. Eula Bryant obituary, Delta Democrat-Times (Greenville, Miss.), August 27, 1974, 2; Carolyn Holloway Bryant v. Roy Bryant.

  128. “Sunflower Voters Have Wide Choice,” Delta Democrat-Times (Greenville, Miss.), May 9, 1977, 12; “Sunflower Candidates Chosen,” Delta Democrat-Times (Greenville, Miss.), May 11, 1977, 12.

  129. Darren, last name withheld, telephone interview with author, February 11, 2010.

  130. Roy Bryant headstone, Lerhton Cemetery, Ruleville, Mississippi, includes his and Vera Jo’s marriage date; Vera Jo Bryant obituary, Bolivar Commercial (Cleveland, Miss.), May 3, 2012, 3.

  131. United States v. Roy Bryant Sr., CRG-83-55.

  132. United States v. Roy Bryant Sr., CRG-87-82; Holmberg, “Legacy of Emmett Till,” 10A.

  133. The Samuels documentary is available at www.richsamuels.com/nbcmm/till/till.html; Atkins and Brennan, “Bryant Wants the Past,” 3H.

  134. Atkins and Brennan, “Bryant Wants the Past,” 1H–2H.

  135. Clotye Murdock Larsson, “Land of the Till Murder Revisited,” Ebony 41, no. 5 (March 1986): 57.

  136. Charles Ealy, “Mother of Teen Slain in ’55 Tries to Keep Case Alive,” Dallas Morning News, December 20, 1992, 16A; Holmberg, “Legacy of Emmett Till,” 10A.

  137. Holmberg, “Legacy of Emmett Till,” 10A; Robinson, Murder of Emmett Till.

  138. Hendrickson, Sons of
Mississippi, 11.

  139. Holmberg, “Legacy of Emmett Till,” 10A.

  140. Vera Jo Bryant obituary, 3. I confirmed that she was buried in the double plot she purchased with Roy Bryant during a visit to Lehrton Cemetery in Ruleville, Mississippi, on August 17, 2014.

  141. Comments of Carolyn Donham posted on her Facebook wall, November 4, 2010.

  142. Confidential source C, author interview, August 19, 2014; Comments of Carolyn Donham posted on her Facebook wall, November 19, 2010.

  143. Comments of Carolyn Donham posted on her Facebook wall, November 9–10, 2010; Comments of Carolyn Donham and Carol Ann Bryant posted on Thomas Lamar Bryant Facebook wall, August 12–13, 2013.

  144. Griffin Chandler and Madge Carolyn Holloway Bryant, marriage certificate, November 21, 1984, state file no. 123-84-25327, Mississippi State Department of Health Vital Records; Griffin Chandler obituary, Delta Democrat-Times (Greenville, Miss.), May 5, 1988, 3A; Confidential source C, author interview, December 3, 2014.

  145. David Alford Donham obituary, Delta Democrat-Times (Greenville, Miss.), April 11, 2002, A5; Confidential source C, author interviews, August 19 and December 3, 2014.

  146. Comments of Carolyn Donham posted on her Facebook wall, November 11, 2010; Confidential source C, author interview, December 3, 2014.

  147. Confidential source C, author interview, December 3, 2014.

  148. Confidential source C, author interviews, August 19 and December 3, 2014. I first learned that Carolyn Donham and her daughter-in-law were writing a book together when Carolyn’s granddaughter, Rachael Bryant, revealed that fact on the History News Network blog on April 13, 2008, in four separate posts: “There is a book coming out soon about the case. Look for it in about a year.” “I will not comment anymore about my Grandmother. She and my mom will be releasing a book in about a year. Look out for it.” “I will not comment to anything. Just look for a book to be out, written by my mom and biography of Carolyn. Be on the look out, maybe another year or so.” “My mom is in the process of getting Carolyn’s account published. Be on the look out. I will not comment on anything further.”