Sunday, May 21, 2017

The Blood of Emmett Till

Timothy B. Tyson, The Blood of Emmett Till (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2017), 291 pages.  Index, bibliography and notes.  

The story is well known.  In 1955, Emmett Till, a fourteen year old boy from Chicago travels to Mississippi to spend the summer with relatives.  He says something to Carolyn Bryant, a clerk in a small grocery store and whistles at her as she goes out to fetch a pistol from her car.  Till is later kidnapped in the middle of the night, brutally tortured, killed, and his body is dumped in a river.  We know so much about this story, compared to other lynchings, because of Till's mother.  She refused to let the story be buried.  She insisted that her son have an open casket funeral.  She contacted Chicago black community leaders who helped spread the word around the world, creating a media event.  Soon, Emmett Till is a well-known name, synonymous with lynchings.  

Much of this story has been told many times.  What is new with Tyson's account is his interview with Carolyn Bryant.  Even after reading the book, we still don't know exactly what happened between Emmett and Carolyn inside that grocery story.  However, in the interview, Carolyn admits he didn't grab her around the waist.  She doesn't remember all what what was said that evening.  There have been so many years and the stories been told and retold, leaving her questioning what was said.  However, one thing she is certain of, "Nothing that boy did could ever justify what happened to him."(7)

Carolyn's husband and brother-in-law were arrested shortly after Till's body was discovered by a fishermen.  Their trial brought reporters from all over the world along with an African American congressman from Detroit.  The trial became a showcase of life in the segregated South. (They had to have separate reporter tables in the courtroom for African-American press).  Although there were irregularities in the handling of the case, such as the Sheriff visiting a key witness to suggest that he think about what he testifies in court, the trial itself goes smoothly and appears fair.  Yet the jury only deliberated a short time before returning a not-guilty verdict.  Although many expected the verdict, most knew the men were guilty and a few years later, with them safe from another trial, they admitted as much.  Most of the the African-Americans who testified in the trial, in fear for their lives, immediately leave Mississippi and relocated up north.  

In telling the story, Tyson doesn't just show the horrifying conditions of African-Americans in the South.  He tells of the conditions in the North, especially in segregated Chicago, where Till grew up.  There are also questions left hanging such as what happened to the two black men who worked on the plantation Carolyn Bryant's brother-in-law ran, who helped subdue Till in the back of the truck as they rode around in the early morning hours looking for a place to do the terrible deed.

Although the book is well written, it is not an easy story to read.  Yet, it is a story that needs to be told and retold.  This event only happened a little over sixty years ago.  In the Epilogue, Tyson attempts to bridge the events in 1955 with the current “Black Lives Matter” campaigns.   As a member of the dominant culture, this book provides interesting insights into what other have had to endure not that long again.

This is the third book I've read by Timothy Tyson. The first was Democracy Betrayed: The Wilmington Race Riot of 1898 and It's Legacy, which he co-edited with David Cecelski. In 2007, I read and reviewed Blood Done Signed My Name. Tyson seems to have a thing for books with blood in the title, yet sadly much of the racial history of our country is stained with blood.

23 comments:

  1. Hi Sage - I'd never heard of Emmett Till's sad story - but very appropriate it should be brought to the public's attention with the difficulties we seem to have with other humans ... cheers Hilary

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  2. In reading your post today I couldn't help but wonder how it was for the writer in researching and writing this tragic and gruesome story. It's important to keep the scab of racial inequality open in the hopes we'll finally find a way to heal that wound. Thanks for the great review of this book.

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  3. I know of the story but haven't read much a bout. I think at the moment I need lighter fare

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  4. Gut-wrenching and heart-breaking.

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  5. I absolutely remember learning about this case and the sheer horror of it. What a tragedy. Definitely something that needs to be well remembered today. Thanks for the review--this needs to be on my TBR list.

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  6. Wow that sounds like a really sad book. Stories like these are just heartbreaking.

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  7. As a Brit, I haven't heard of this story, but it sounds fascinating, if horrifying. Thanks for highlighting it - I'll have to try to fit the book in somehow.

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  8. A horrifying event. I really didn't know this story.

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  9. What happened to Emmett Till was horrendous.

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  10. As a nurse practising for some 40 years, I have never seen a black dead person ... but I have seen a lil dead still born black male child once ... and I remember noticing: "He is so white ... he is just like me ..." ... Ya, friend Sage ... Love, cat.

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  11. You are right about that, and for me just the word blood usually draws up something sad or unfortunate more times than not! This writer does seem to write on interesting and important history, and is surely a worthy read. I hope you're having a great spring!

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  12. A lot of people seem to be reading this book right now. I’m considering reading it, too. I remember learning about Emmett Till in school, but I only know the basic story. I don’t know many of the details. Great review!

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  13. I had not heard of this event, quite horrifying.

    All the best Jan

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  14. This would be a difficult book for me to read for sure. Such a sad and horrifying story.

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  15. It's shocking that these incomprehensible horrors occurred only 60 years ago - a fraction of a heartbeat in time. Sobering.

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  16. Wow! This sounds like a powerful and relevant read. I am sorry to say that I hadn't heard about this event before. I wasn't alive 60 years ago, but I am so sad to read what happened. Thanks for sharing. :)
    ~Jess

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  18. I made my comment again . This is a terrible and heartbreak story absolutely but you make good reviews books!
    (BTW Im reading a lot again)

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  19. Terrible and heart-wrenching. And "only" 60 years ago? Doesn't stuff like this happen still to this day? Except now the cops skip the middle man and do it themselves...

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  20. It was a shocking event whose effects are still felt today. In my opinion, it is one of those issues that won't be solved for many years - centuries even - to come. Thanks for the review.

    Greetings from London.

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  21. The issue is structural in all Common Law jurisdictions. The very Laws themselves lend to the creation of a them and us. Yes you have to say religion plays a part, as does race. But when you form a system with internal tensions it's no shock when they manifest themselves.
    Loosely, underlying the issue with health insurance is one of a created difference. And this largely within homogenized white races. It's the same spectrum with a noose on one end (or as in Australia the Peoples were called animals and could be shot on sight. Or South Africa. Or Northern Ireland.) and poisoned attitudes to slight differences on ones own street.

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  22. There are many things in this country's history that sadden me. Of course it's all pretty much glossed over, or outright ignored in our text books. This also saddens me.

    I'm going to read the book. Thanks for the review!

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  23. It's terrible that this happened, and I am sure it is very difficult to read about it. Sixty years isn't that long ago. And so much hatred still exists today. All the prejudice and hatred needs to stop!

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