Emmitt Till

Murder in the South

I'm a little ashamed to say that I hadn't heard of the Emmitt Till murder. I spent quite a bit of time going through the internet to learn about the case, and understand it.

In short, Emmitt Till was a young black teenager who was murdered in Mississippi in 1955. He was dared by his friends to flirt with a young white woman. The two men who were strongly suspected of the murder – the woman’s husband, Roy Bryant, and his half brother, J.W. Milam - were acquitted. After their acquittal, they admitted to the crime, protected by double jeopardy, during an interview in Look magazine in 1956.

Here’s is part of Milam's  interview, which certainly sounds like a confession.

Well, what else could we do? He was hopeless. I'm no bully; I never hurt a nigger in my life. I like niggers -- in their place -- I know how to work 'em. But I just decided it was time a few people got put on notice. As long as I live and can do anything about it, niggers are gonna stay in their place. Niggers ain't gonna vote where I live. If they did, they'd control the government. They ain't gonna go to school with my kids. And when a nigger gets close to mentioning sex with a white woman, he's tired o' livin'. I'm likely to kill him. Me and my folks fought for this country, and we got some rights. I stood there in that shed and listened to that nigger throw that poison at me, and I just made up my mind. 'Chicago boy,' I said, 'I'm tired of 'em sending your kind down here to stir up trouble. Goddam you, I'm going to make an example of you -- just so everybody can know how me and my folks stand.'

I apologize for not editing it, but I want the authenticity to remain.

I’m by no means condoning this horrible murder (during which the young boy’s face was disfigured), but Emmitt Till’s murder was about fundamental things.

I wonder how Milam would have reacted to the likes of Henry Louis Gates? Would he say, "me and my folks fought for this country, and we got some rights."? Or would he let Gates, Cornel, Jackson, Sharpton et al. continue with their tirades? I’m afraid the latter is most likely the case.

Roy Bryant, one of the confessed murderers
of Emmitt Till, with his wife Carolyn, who Emmitt
flirted with. Bryant is holding their two sons.

The above photo is from a collection in Life magazine. There are too many to post here, but the photos of the trial and the surrounding days are worth seeing. It really was another world then.

Here is a pretty good site with articles, photos and the various personalities and events of the case, etc.