Cold Open

CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains references to racial violence that may not be suitable for all audiences.

It’s August 24th, 1955, in the small town of Money, Mississippi.

21-year-old Carolyn Bryant, a white store clerk, sits behind the register inside Bryant’s Grocery and Meat Market, the only store in this remote backwater town. Carolyn co-owns it with her husband, Roy, mainly catering to local sharecroppers who come in to play checkers and drink soda on the sidewalk. 

Carolyn looks up as the door swings open and a pair of Black teenagers enters. She narrows her eyes and watches suspiciously as one of the boys approaches the counter. Carolyn doesn’t like his demeanor. He’s walking with confidence, almost a swagger. He reaches into the candy jar and removes a gumball.

Carolyn says coldly: “That'll be two cents.”

But as she goes to take the money, she freezes. The boy is looking her directly in the eye and smiling. Carolyn is speechless. She doesn’t remember the last time a Black person had the temerity to meet her gaze. Sensing Carolyn's shock, the boy’s smile fades. He slides the coins across the counter and hurries out of the store.

But Carolyn isn’t going to let such insolence go unpunished. She stands up… and follows the boy out onto the street, where he is already laughing and joking around with his friends. And as Carolyn stands outside the store, the boy turns to look at her. And then does something unspeakable.

Carolyn flinches.

The men playing checkers on the street all stop and stare, unable to believe that a black boy really just whistled at a white woman. For a split second, time seems to stop.

Then Carolyn bolts for her husband Roy’s truck. She yanks open the door and reaches into the glove box, her hand closing around the hilt of a pistol.

But by the time she whirls around… the panicked teenagers have already jumped inside their car and thundered off down the road.

Carolyn lowers the pistol, trembling with rage and hatred. She can’t wait for Roy to get home so she can tell him what happened – they can teach that boy a lesson about how Black people should behave here in Mississippi.

When 14-year-old Emmett Till left his home in Chicago to visit family in Mississippi, his mother urged him to watch his manners around white folks, reminding him that they treat Black people differently in the Deep South. It was a warning that will be borne out with devastating consequences. Because whether or not Emmett deliberately wolf-whistled at Carolyn Bryant, the young woman will tell her husband that he did, and her word will be enough to set in motion a tragic series of events that will shock America and galvanize its civil rights movement, after Emmett Till is kidnapped, tortured, and killed on August 28th, 1955.

Introduction

From Noiser and Airship, I’m Lindsay Graham and this is History Daily.

History is made every day. On this podcast—every day—we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world.

Today is August 28th, 1955: The Murder of Emmett Till.

Act One: The Funeral

It’s 2:30 in the morning on August 28th, 1955, in rural Mississippi.

Moses Wright startles to the sound of someone banging on the door of his cabin. The 64-year-old preacher sits bolt upright and listens intently, feeling of dread settling over him. He climbs out of bed and rushes to the front door, the banging growing louder and more insistent. In as steady a voice as he can muster, Moses asks who’s there.

But he already knows the answer.

Four days ago, Moses’s great-nephew Emmett caused a stir in the nearby town of Money when he whistled at Carolyn Bryant, a white store clerk. Emmett denies that he did it. But Moses knows this doesn’t matter. The young boy’s claims won’t make a single bit of difference to Carolyn’s husband, Roy, who will take any opportunity to cut a Black person down to size.

The banging on the door stops and a hate-filled voice rings out from the dark: “Open the door preacher. We’ve come for the boy who did the talking down in Money.” Moses knows it’s no good resisting; Roy will breakdown the door if he needs to. All Moses can do is trying to reason with Roy. But when he cracks the door open, he is immediately blinded by the bright glare of a flashlight. He assures Roy that whatever Emmett did, he’s awfully sorry about it and he’ll never do it again.

But Roy hasn’t come for an apology.

He barges past Moses and steps inside the cabin, followed by another man who Moses recognizes as J.W. Milam, Roy’s half-brother. The two men march through the house, opening doors and shining their flashlights inside bedrooms. They find Emmett lying in bed next to his cousin. Moses can only watch in horror as Roy and Milam force Emmett to get dressed before dragging the terrified child out of the house.

When Moses rushes after them, pleading with them to let the boy go, Milam spins around and points a pistol at the preacher’s head. He asks how old he is, and when Moses replies: “I’m sixty-four.” Milam cocks the pistol and snarls: “If you tell anyone what you saw here today, you won’t see sixty-five.” With that, he turns and helps Roy tie Emmett’s wrists together, before bundling him into the back of a pick-up truck and speeding off into the night.

Moses spends hours driving around searching desperately for Emmett. But to no avail. The following day, Emmett’s cousin notifies the county sheriff, who arrests Roy Bryant and his half-brother on suspicion of kidnapping – though they claim they released Emmett later that same night, and the boy never came to any harm.

But that proves to be a lie.

Three days after his abduction, Emmett’s body is found floating in the Tallahatchie River. He’s been savagely beaten and shot in the head. His face is so badly torn up, that Moses can only identify the young boy from the signet ring he’s wearing. And when word of the murder reaches his mother, Mamie Till Bradley, she demands that Emmett’s body be returned to Chicago for burial – instead of being interred in Mississippi, where he was killed.

A few days later, at a funeral home in Chicago, Mamie stands over the body of her dead son. The grieving mother asks the coroner to remove the sheet. He advises her against it. But Mamie insists; she wants to see her boy. Reluctantly, the coroner reveals Emmett’s swollen and disfigured body. The smell is repellant, but Mamie doesn’t recoil. Trembling, she reaches out and gently touches her son’s barely recognizable face.

After leaving the morgue, Mamie addresses a crowd of reporters and onlookers who have gathered outside the funeral home. In a strong, unwavering voice, she announces that she intends to hold an open casket funeral for Emmett; she wants the world to come face to face with the horrific reality of racism, and to witness for themselves what those men did to her son. Maybe then people will start to understand the kind of barbarity Black Americans are subjected to, in a society that considers them less than equal.

Mamie invites a photographer to take a picture of Emmett’s mutilated face and soon, the shocking image becomes front-page news across the country. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or NAACP, uses its resources to spread awareness and lobby for Mississippi officials to prosecute Emmett’s killers. Meanwhile, in Chicago, Emmett’s murder galvanizes the Black community like never before. The funeral is held on the South Side of Chicago and almost 100,000 mourners come to pay their respects over the course of four days.

After witnessing the brutality inflicted upon 14-year-old Emmett Till, Black people across America will become more unified in their struggle for civil rights. Mamie will be asked by the NAACP to go on a speaking tour to raise further awareness for the cause. But before she goes on to campaign for justice for all Black Americans, Mamie must first travel to Mississippi, to testify before a jury and demand justice for her son.

Act Two: The Trial

It’s late September 1955, inside Sumner County courthouse in Mississippi; a few weeks after Emmett Till’s funeral.

While a ceiling fan beats the sweltering courtroom air, Moses Wright gets to his feet and approaches the witness stand. The 64-year-old preacher is about to provide his testimony in the trial of Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam, the men accused of abducting and murdering Moses’s great-nephew, Emmett Till.

Moses adjusts his shirt collar and gazes out nervously at the sea of white faces. The spectators and reporters can hardly believe what they’re witnessing. This seems like the first time in the history of the Deep South that a black person has testified against white defendants. Moses glances over at Bryant and Milam. They’re leaning back in their seats with arms crossed and bored expressions on their faces.

The prosecuting attorney proceeds to ask Moses a series of questions about the night of Emmett’s kidnapping. Moses answers as best he can, but the hostility in the room is so palpable, Moses feels as if he’s the one on trial. Finally, the attorney asks if Moses can identify the men who abducted Emmett. Moses hesitates. Then, slowly, he raises a finger and points at Bryant and Milam, saying loudly: “There they are.”

There’s an audible intake of breath in the courtroom. The defendants glower at the preacher, and Moses knows that after speaking out like this, he will either have to leave Mississippi or spend the rest of his life looking over his shoulder. But both of those are better than not speaking up at all.

After identifying Bryant and Milam, the lawyer turns to the main argument of the defense: that the body pulled out of the Tallahatchie River was not that of Emmett Till. As the first person to positively identify the remains, Moses assures the jury that the body was most definitely that of his great-nephew, for while the corpse was bloated and disfigured, he recognized the signet ring that bore the initials of Emmett’s late father.

The defending lawyer disputes Moses’ claims, reminding the jury that the presence of a ring does not prove anything beyond a reasonable doubt. But then the prosecutor calls his next witness, somebody whose testimony ought to move even the most hard-hearted of jurors: Emmett’s mother, Mamie Till Bradley.

Mamie stands and walks slowly to the witness box, clutching her purse to stop her hands from trembling.

Mamie’s decision to testify today was not an easy one. The media coverage of her son’s murder has provoked a strong, defensive reaction from many in Mississippi. A few days ago, the Executive Secretary of the NAACP declared that “the state of Mississippi has decided to maintain white supremacy by murdering children.” After hearing this, many local people who previously condemned Bryant and Milam subsequently reversed their position, objecting to the criticism of their state in the Northern press. So, Mamie knows that by traveling to Mississippi, she’s entering a potentially dangerous environment. But she doesn’t care; she’s determined to do everything in her power to help convict her son’s murderers.

By even making it to trial, this case has already become unusual. The majority of lynchings and murders in the South go unpunished, with the authorities usually choosing to turn a blind eye. It won’t be easy, but Mamie is determined not to let that happen today.

Fighting back tears, she tells the courtroom that Emmett was a sweet, gregarious, and law-abiding boy, who never got in trouble with the police in Chicago. She adds that the body discovered in the river was undisputedly that of her son.

After Mamie’s testimony, the prosecution calls another witness who confirms that he saw Bryant and Milam drag Emmett into a barn. Then he describes the horrifying sounds and screams that he heard from inside, as the two suspects proceeded to savagely beat the teenager. By the time the prosecution rests its case, Mamie is feeling confident that the defendant’s guilt has been proven beyond all reasonable doubt.

But then the defense calls its witness to the stand: Carolyn Bryant, the 21-year-old store clerk and wife of the defendant. Carolyn claims that on the night of the 24th, while she was locking up the store, Emmett grabbed her by the wrist and asked her for a date. When she refused, she claims Emmett seized her by the waist and made sexually explicit remarks.

A ripple of shock passes through the courtroom. The judge rules Carolyn’s statement as inadmissible, given her lack of proof and the fact that she’s married to the defendant. But as Mamie watches the faces of the all-white jury, her heart sinks. They clearly believe Carolyn’s story, and there’s no doubt which way the verdict will go.

Sure enough, a few days later, the jurors will return from an hour-long deliberation to declare their verdict of not guilty. Despite the mountain of evidence to the contrary, Emmett Till’s murderers will be declared innocent of all charges.

But though his killers will walk free, Emmett Till’s death will not be in vain. This miscarriage of justice will inflame the hearts and minds of the next generation of young Black Americans, who will take up Emmett’s legacy and use the tragic story of his murder to inspire a movement.

Act Three: The Movement

It’s November 27th, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama; a month after the murder trial of Emmett Till.

Hundreds of people stream inside one of the city’s churches, here to listen to a speech by the civil rights activist, Dr. T. R. M. Howard.

In the month since Emmett Till’s murderers were acquitted, there has been a widespread outpouring of anger in Black communities across America. The image of Emmett’s mutilated face has acted as a powerful reminder of how the fight for civil rights is not just a question of representation and equality – but one of life and death.

Among the congregation today is a 42-year-old seamstress, named Rosa Parks. Like many in her community, Rosa was horrified by the events surrounding Emmett Till’s murder and the subsequent trial. But she has also been inspired by the incredible courage of Emmett Till’s mother, Mamie Till Bradley. She has been campaigning relentlessly to ensure that Emmett’s story is not forgotten. And when Rosa heard that Dr. Howard would be speaking today about Emmett Till, she knew she had to come and listen.

Rosa watches as the church’s 26-year-old minister, Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. takes to the pulpit. As he welcomes the congregation, Rosa marvels at how articulate and self-assured the Reverend is. After introducing the day’s speaker, Reverend King steps down from the pulpit and the doctor takes his place.

Dr. Howard adjusts his spectacles and peers out across the packed church with a grave expression. Then he launches into his sermon, railing against the disgraceful way that Emmett Till’s killers have been able to walk free. He urges the congregants to think of Emmett the next time their basic civil liberties are challenged – and to stand up for what is right.

Rosa will take Dr. Howard’s words to heart. A few days later, while riding a city bus in Montgomery, Rosa will be told by the driver to give up her seat to a white passenger. But instead of following orders, Rosa will think of Emmett Till. Reflecting on the terrible sacrifice Emmett made will give Rosa the strength to stand up to the bus driver and refuse to move to the back.

Rosa Parks’ courageous act of defiance will become another pivotal moment in the emerging civil rights movement. Over the course of the next ten years, Black communities across America will come together to participate in public demonstrations, marches, and acts of protest in their struggle to end racial segregation and systematic discrimination. This new generation of young Black activists and civil rights leaders will become known as the “Emmett Till generation” – a testament to the impact of the 14-year-old boy who invigorated a movement after his brutal murder on August 28th, 1955.

Outro

Next on History Daily. August 29th, 1997. Tech entrepreneurs Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph found Netflix, a new DVD rental service that will transform the entertainment industry.

From Noiser and Airship, this is History Daily, hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham.

Audio editing by Muhammad Shahzaib.

Sound design by Mollie Baack.

Music by Lindsay Graham.

This episode is written and researched by Joe Viner.

Executive Producers are Alexandra Currie-Buckner for Airship, and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.