Shedding Light and Lies
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Politics and Activism

Shedding Light and Lies

62 years later, the truth comes out.

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Shedding Light and Lies

On January 26, Vanity Fair broke long- awaited news on one of history’s most gruesome murders: Carolyn Bryant Donham admitted to lying about her accusations against 14-year-old Emmett Till. For many, this confirmed decades of suspicion. For others, this news opened eyes and hearts during times with eerily familiar racial and social tensions. Bryant’s “confession” also comes on the heels of one of former President Obama’s last acts, the Emmett Till Act, which “expands the responsibilities of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to include the investigation and prosecution of criminal civil rights statutes violations that occurred before 1980 and resulted in a death.” Sadly, for Emmett Till and many others who met similar fates, justice will never be properly served.

For those reading who aren’t familiar with this story, here’s what happened:

On August 24, 1955, Emmett Till, and a group of teenagers went into Bryant’s Grocery to get refreshments and candy after a long afternoon of cotton picking in the Mississippi sun. Till bought two cents worth of bubble gum before allegedly whistling at 21-year-old Carolyn Bryant, who was working in the store that day. It should also be mentioned that Till was born and raised in Chicago; he was visiting family in Money, Mississippi at the time, meaning young Emmett was new to the social do’s and don’ts of a very segregated Mississippi.

About three days later, August 28, Bryant’s husband, Roy Bryant, and brother-in-law, J.W. Milam, abducted Till from his uncle’s home around 2:30AM. From there, they proceeded to viciously beat Till, shoot him in the head, and tie a metal cotton gin fan around his neck with barbed wire before shoving his body into the Tallahatchie River. The next day, Milam and Bryant were arrested on kidnapping charges in connection with Till’s disappearance. On August 31, Till’s partially decomposed and gruesomely disfigured body was pulled from the river.

Emmett’s body was then sent back to Illinois where his mother, Mamie Till Mobley, collapsed at the sight of her dead son’s unrecognizable face. She bravely decided his casket would remain open so the world might see what those men did to her son. Thousands of Chicago residents, reporters, and others lined up to see Till’s body and pay their respects.

All this over a young black boy’s “whistle” at a white woman.

In mid- September of the same year, the case went to trial. During this time, Bryant furthered her claims against Till, claiming he had grabbed her and verbally assaulted her. Despite orders from the state governor to fully prosecute and investigate the case and the compelling evidence brought forth by the prosecution, Milam and Bryant were acquitted after the jury deliberated for 67 minutes. One juror said they’d have finished sooner had they not stopped to drink some soda. After their quick soda break, the jury declared Milam and Bryant not guilty.

How could any jury let two killers go free? The answer is aggravatingly simple: they were two white men going before an all white, male jury in a state where racism ruled. At this time, Mississippi had few, if any, convictions in white-on-black crimes and the highest number of lynchings in the country. How could any jury excuse these horrifying actions and feel they were justified based on such trivial accusations? The first answer is just as aggravatingly simple: any kind of social interaction between races was frowned upon. Answer number two: A version of Carolyn’s story had been related to reporters by her lawyer. Her testimony, a white woman’s words, carried that much weight in the local white community. Even though the jury was not present as Carolyn spoke those words, a copy of them went on record as evidence just in case an appeal was made if Milam and Bryant were convicted.

Want to know something that will really make your blood boil? Several months after kissing their wives and lighting cigars on the courthouse steps in celebration of their continued freedom, Milam and Bryant confessed to the murder in an interview with Look magazine. The best part: the two got $3,000 in exchange for their story.

Emmett’s horrifying murder is credited as being a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement. Reverend Jesse Jackson, who is an important civil rights leader, stated Till’s murder was, “a defining moment in the history of lynchings.” It was also the first major “lynching” since the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling to desegregate schools. Even Rosa Parks says she thought of Emmett when refusing to give up her seat. Ever since the trial, people have believed Bryant lied but could never prove it. Until 2007, she remained under the radar, hidden away by her family for safety. When she began writing her memoirs, she reached out to historian, Timothy Tyson, who was working on a book, The Blood of Emmett Till. In his new book, 72-year-old Carolyn speaks for the first time, claiming the most incriminating parts of her testimony were false; “Nothing that boy did could ever justify what happened to him.”

She’s right. Merely whistling at a woman does not validate a brutal murder. Whatever it was that happened will always remain unclear; Carolyn can’t remember what exactly happened and Milam and Bryant (her husband) are both dead. But what will always be remembered is the unjust, malicious beating Emmett suffered; the pictures of his disfigured face will live on for generations, carrying his story with them. Even now, 62 years later, those pictures still haunt me as they will haunt future generations.

Naturally, after this news came to light, there were people who felt Carolyn should spend the rest of her years doing time for perjury. While I see their point, I want Carolyn to be able to enjoy the rest of her time in this life. I believe living with that secret, knowing your false words working in cahoots with rampant white supremacy in a very segregated society set two killers free is no small thing; more likely than not, that secret ate away at her for the sixty years she kept it to herself.

In her interview with Tyson, Bryant said she "felt tender sorrow" for Mamie and all she went through in losing her son. Years later, Bryant lost a son of her own, and was able to experience for herself the grief of a mourning mother; the same grief Mamie experienced as she looked at her son's unrecognizable face and laid him to rest, living the rest of her life with the knowledge justice would never be served. Thinking of the suffering Mamie experienced only increased her own emotions. I'd say knowing you caused someone a lifetime of pain is punishment enough.

As I've been writing this, two things have become clear to me:

The first is that the passing of the Emmett Till Act may never truly bring justice to many families and loved ones affected by such gruesome crimes committed in the name of hate. It may only bring some peace of mind. However, it serves as one more step in the continuing journey forward, to making Dr. King's dream a true reality; making the brave sacrifices of every one involved in Civil Rights Movement worth it.

Secondly, not only do recent murders of young black men, like Trayvon Martin or Michael Brown echo the same injustices found in Emmett Till's murder, this revelation has come at a time where our country is once again divided by numerous things not limited solely to race or ethnicity. Instead, we are a nation divided against the one person, the one leader who is supposed to unite us. It is in times like these we must look to those who came before us, who have demanded justice in peaceful protests and marches. The answer is not to destroy our country with violent protests or to attack someone on social media. Rather, use your voice and stand up for what you feel is right while respecting those with different opinions and views. Most importantly, don't ever give up.


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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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