Emmett Till: Fifty Years Later
To mark this event, I was one of the speakers yesterday for a non-academic conference at Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi.
As readers of L and P know, my co-author, Linda Royster Beito, and I have have written several articles (including here and here) on theories that more than two individuals may have taken part in the crime. We have expressed skepticism that the recent reopening of the case will lead to any new connvictions. Earlier this week I was quoted on some of these issues in USA Today.
Other speakers at the event included Wheeler Parker, Till's cousin, who was at Mose Wright's house the day that Emmett was kidnapped. Parker was compelling, sincere, and down-to-earth. Another speaker was Betty Pearson, a resident of Sumner, who attended the trial.
During the tour of Money, Mississippi, which was part of the event, I was struck by just how much the abandoned store where Till had his famous enounter with the Carolyn Bryant has deteriorated since I first saw it about four years ago. The facade is no longer recognizable and one of the side walls has fallen in.
The focus of my speech, which included some remarks by my co-author Linda Royster Beito, was Dr. T.R.M. Howard, a now forgotten, and very politically incorrect, black Mississippi enterpreneur who played a key role in finding evidence and in providing" command center" in the all-black town of Mound Bayou, Mississippi for black reporters and witnesses during the trial.
The crowd at the event yesterday, which included many students from Chicago and Mississippi, seemed quite interested in hearing more about Howard and his message of self-help, armed self-defense, mutual aid, and business success.
From September 15 to September 17, Linda Beito will be directing the only national academic conference thus far on the Till murder. The speakers will include Ralph Luker, the heart and soul of our fellow blog at HNN, Cliopatria.
For more information on the Stillman conference, see here (scroll down).