The brutal kidnapping and murder of Emmett Till in 1955 changed the course of history and galvanized the modern Civil Rights Movement. Acclaimed journalist Christopher Benson has a unique perspective on this history and the importance of preserving it.
Christopher Benson, associate professor of journalism at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, has worked for years to preserve the story of Emmett Till. He coauthored two books with members of the Till family that counter widespread misinformation and emphasize the humanity of the child at the center one of America’s most heinous crimes.
Now, as anticipation builds around a potential new national park site honoring Emmett Till and his mother, civil rights icon Mamie Till-Mobley, host Jennifer Errick speaks with Benson on both of his groundbreaking books with the Till family, the enduring significance of this history, and the importance of uncovering and preserving the truth.
The Secret Lives of Parks is a production of the National Parks Conservation Association. This episode was produced by Jennifer Errick with help from Todd Christopher, Bev Stanton and Vanessa Pius.
Special thanks to Alan Spears and Kyle Groetzinger.
Original theme music by Chad Fischer.
Learn more about The Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley Institute at thetillinstitute.org.
Learn more about this podcast and listen to the rest of our stories at thesecretlivesofparks.org.
The Secret Lives of Parks is a production of the National Parks Conservation Association. With more than 1.6 million members and supporters, NPCA is the nation’s only independent, nonpartisan advocacy organization dedicated to protecting national parks.
Learn more and join us at npca.org
Episode 19
Memorializing the Truth
Jennifer Errick: Acclaimed journalist Christopher Benson has worked for years to preserve the story of Emmett Till. He co-authored two books with members of the Till family that counter widespread misinformation and emphasize the humanity of the child at the center of one of America's most heinous crimes.
I speak with Benson on the enduring significance of this history and the importance of preserving it.
I'm Jennifer Errick, and this is The Secret Lives of Parks.
The brutal kidnapping and murder of Emmett Till in 1955 changed the course of history and galvanized the modern Civil Rights Movement. Two white men, Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam, kidnapped Till, a 14-year-old Black boy, at gunpoint, then brutally tortured and killed him — all for allegedly whistling at a white shopkeeper, 21-year-old Carolyn Bryant. Till's murderers were acquitted just two months after the killing, and 68 years have passed without any convictions in the atrocity.
Over the years, public figures — from Rosa Parks to the late Congressman John Lewis to protestors marching against police brutality — have continued to evoke the memory of Emmett Till in the struggle for civil rights in America.
As anticipation builds for a national park site honoring Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley, a new book provides fresh insight into the lasting significance of this history and the importance of preserving it.
Christopher Benson: We went into it recognizing that there could be no justice. Justice would've meant that Emmett Till would've come home alive and intact. There can never be justice. There can be accountability.
Jennifer Errick: That's Christopher Benson, associate professor of journalism at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. He has a unique perspective on the history of Emmett Till and what this accountability could mean, having co-authored two books 20 years apart with members of the Till family. His book, “Death of Innocence,” with Mamie Till-Mobley came out in 2003. And earlier this year, Random House released “A Few Days of Trouble,” Benson's book with Reverend Wheeler Parker, Emmett Till's cousin and best friend — and one of the last people to ever see him alive.
Christopher Benson: Horrible crimes certainly inflict pain. They inflict pain on the immediate victim, they inflict pain on the families of the victims, and when it comes to racial violence, they also inflict harm and pain on everyone who identifies with the victim and the family. And here we have family members who have lived with traumatic memory and the pain of that traumatic memory for all these years. Setting the record straight is part of the remedy for that.
Jennifer Errick: Benson first learned about the story of Emmett Till long before he began his career as a journalist.
Christopher Benson: As a 10-year-old, years after Emmett's Lynching, I was shown a copy of Jet magazine, which, as you know, included the horrifying images of the mutilated remains of Emmett Till. That stuck with me. And so many families have similar stories where older members of the family had kept that to share with the coming generations as our “stranger danger” story. These are the horrible things that can happen to you if you do something objectionable with white people. I didn't know what that meant. I just knew to stay away. And this was our lesson in race relations.
Jennifer Errick: Jet magazine published those pictures in 1955, shocking the world with horrifying images of Emmett Till's disfigured body. Till's mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, had insisted on an open casket funeral and allowed the magazine to publish the photos so the world could see what the murderers had done to her son. Years later, after Benson established himself as a writer, a fortuitous meeting with Till-Mobley would then change the course of his life.
Christopher Benson: Later, after I had become a journalist and a lawyer, I was introduced to Mamie Till-Mobley with a group of people who wanted to talk to her about turning her story into a motion picture. But once she found out I had written a book, she pushed aside the whole discussion about a motion picture turned to me and said, "I've always wanted to write a book." And instantly I decided that that could be the most important thing I could ever do.
Jennifer Errick: Mamie Till-Mobley had served as a teacher in the Chicago public school system for more than 20 years, and according to Benson, her time as an educator had convinced her that writing a book would have a more enduring effect than a movie would. Benson had written a novel at that point and had plans for a second book of his own, but he immediately postponed those plans to work with her. She was in failing health at the time, and he wouldn't know until months later how critical that decision was.
Christopher Benson: I decided instantly to work with her on this project, and six months later she was gone. So, we would've lost her incredible story forever had I waited.
Jennifer Errick: According to Benson, Till-Mobley seemed eager to work with him from the start, but she insisted they meet a second time so he could pitch her more formally on the concept of a book.
Christopher Benson: What I saw in her story was not just a story about Emmett Till, not just a story about racial violence, but a story of how we had become the America we had become in the 1950s, and to some extent, how that dynamic was continuing in the contemporary moment. And what I said to her, I'll never forget, is that your story will resonate with anyone who has had a mother and anyone who has been a mother, and she laughed. And it was that point of connection, I think, that that sealed the deal, if you will.
Jennifer Errick: “Death of Innocence” shares Till-Mobley's memories of her own sheltered childhood and young adulthood, and it paints a rich, vibrant portrait of her son, from his bout with polio at age six to his love of games and fancy clothes, to the cozy life the two shared, cooking and renovating their apartment together. Readers experience the horror of the murder and trial from her perspective, and her determination to channel her grief into educating and supporting others. Benson brought Till-Mobley's story to life by conducting a series of conversational interviews, transcribing her thoughts and memories and reading them back to her in a process he describes as a feedback loop.
Christopher Benson: It was just the most amazing experience to be able to sit down and talk to her, to find the story, to find her voice in the story, and to be able to present that in the most compelling way. One, to humanize Emmett Till in ways that we hadn't seen before. He had been an icon, he had been seen as a martyr, but not as a fully developed human being. So, a mother will tell that story. Then to put it in the context of Black life and the dehumanization of Black life in this country, which is purposeful.
Jennifer Errick: Mamie Till-Mobley was very careful about the people she trusted. Her son's killers were acquitted based in part on testimony from the shopkeeper, Carolyn Bryant, that eyewitnesses have long refuted. And myths have circulated for decades about Emmett Till's actions and personal life. That Benson earned Till-Mobley's confidence from the start was no small feat.
Christopher Benson: There were so many attempts to tell the Emmett Till story over time that amounted to either misinformation or misappropriation. There were people who wanted to own the story to control the narrative. The story of Emmett Till is about more than Emmett Till. It's about more than racism in this country. It's about power.
Jennifer Errick: Despite her failing health, Mamie Till-Mobley was motivated by the need to tell her story. For Benson, the experience gave his career new meaning.
Christopher Benson: I finally found the reason for my journalism, as a truth-teller, but a contextual truth-teller — to tell people what stories mean, not just what they say. And as a lawyer, as an advocate, it helped me to see my role in shaping the deep understanding that we need in order to make enlightened choices in this democratic society.
Jennifer Errick: The experience also laid the groundwork for Benson's latest book with Reverend Wheeler Parker. Benson first met Parker while working on Till-Mobley's book. As a boyhood friend, parker helped refresh his aunt's memory and added details to the story that only another child could have known. Sharing what Till was like on those moments when he could escape his mother's watchful eye for a little while, and play games and tell jokes with his friends. Parker would refer to him by his childhood nickname, Bobo, just as Till-Mobley used her own special name for him, Bo.
Christopher Benson: Mamie Till-Mobley knew the Emmett who wanted to go out and play, but Wheeler Parker knew the Bobo who played his mama. And that's a boy kind of story. That's a unique perspective on the story that even his mother didn't have.
Jennifer Errick: Benson and Parker kept in touch over the years and sometimes gave public presentations together. In 2017, when Parker, like Mamie Till-Mobley, realized he wanted to tell his own story to counter decades of myths and falsehoods about his beloved friend, he thought of Benson.
Christopher Benson: He lived with the misappropriation and the misinformation, really disinformation if you understand the purpose of it, for 67 years before his book was done to set the record straight.
Jennifer Errick: But just as the two began working together, a breaking news story on the decades-old case changed their entire approach to the project.
Christopher Benson: As that conversation was beginning, a story broke in the national news about another book that purported to include a confession, a recantation, however you want to characterize it, by Carolyn Bryant Donham, who as Carolyn Bryant had accused Emmett Till of so many bad things that eyewitnesses at the store in 1955 refuted.
Jennifer Errick: Timothy Tyson, a scholar at Duke University, claimed that he had interviewed Donham in 2008, and she had denied statements she'd previously made under oath, including her testimony in 1955 that Till had grabbed her and made lewd remarks. If the book was accurate, it was a bombshell that could provide proof Donham had perjured herself, and it would finally expose that the story that had been repeated for decades in the media was a lie.
"It's been 60 some years that we have lived with this idea that Emmett Till got what he deserved," writes Reverend Parker in the book. "I want to see that get straight," he continues. "I want to get as much information as we can, by any means necessary."
Christopher Benson: The FBI saw that and determined that there might be something else to look into. Were there charges that could be brought against Carolyn Bryant Donham? Were there other elements of the case they should explore? And so, they summoned the Parkers down to Oxford, Mississippi. And because I'm a lawyer, the Parkers asked if they could include me as their lawyer. And so, I did. I went with them, and we had a meeting, that first meeting in March of 2017, and we had a very long conversation. I sat at the end of a long, long conference table and just started taking notes. And out of those notes grew a new frame for our story.
Jennifer Errick: Benson accompanied the family through the twists and turns of the investigation, interspersing developments in the case with Reverend Parker's personal reflections on his relationship with Emmett Till and the weight of the grief he's felt in the years since losing his closest friend.
Christopher Benson: As, at the time, his lawyer and co-author, I was able to also participate in strategy with these government officials. The investigation triggered the memory and the memory drove the investigation. So, what you see unfolding there is this parallel between the ride along that we had with the FBI, and the core story that's informing everything that we're exposed to during the course of the investigation, which took four years.
Jennifer Errick: The FBI ultimately determined there was not enough evidence to bring new charges, and Carolyn Bryant Donham passed away last month at age 88, without ever being held responsible for her role in the murder. I asked Benson what a meaningful path forward could look like after so many years without legal justice in this case.
Christopher Benson: Sadly, Carolyn Bryant will never be held to account, at least by her own admission. We are holding her to account based on our analysis of all the documents we've been through, but in a way, we all have to be accountable for Emmett Till. And what I mean by that is that we have to learn the ultimate truth of this story, not just the facts that have been presented, but also the meaning of those facts. We have to understand the context of racial violence in this country, that it's about something even more than that. It's about the politics of place in this country, about making sure that people stay in their assigned place in this country, in this society. It's about democracy itself.
Jennifer Errick: He gives an example of the kind of social context that can help people understand the part of the Mississippi Delta where till's murder took place in 1955.
Christopher Benson: During the period of the trial, September 1955 in Tallahatchie County, the population was roughly 30,000 people. Of those 30,000 people, 19,000 of them were African American. Two-thirds of the population of Tallahatchie County was Black, and not a single Black person was registered to vote. That is a significant part of the Emmett Till story. And once you recognize that, you see how the jury pool is pulled from the voting rolls and the county sheriff is elected by the people. This story would've turned out dramatically differently had we enjoyed the rights that we have now. How can you recognize that and not step up? We have to be held to account.
Jennifer Errick: Staff at the National Parks Conservation Association have been working with a coalition of local and national partners in the Mississippi Delta and Chicago areas to establish a national park site that would help more people understand the story of Emmett Till and its larger social context.
Christopher Benson: The fact that the government is even considering this makes an important statement that these are lives that are valued. We talk about Black Lives Matter, but this is a concrete example of that by dedicating this park.
Jennifer Errick: Ultimately, Benson and the Till family want the truth of the story to have permanence, something a potential park site would provide.
Christopher Benson: Every time somebody walks through any of the sites that are going to be included in this national park, they will have to come to terms with the story itself, the reason they're there, and the things that they're absorbing about everything there. And frankly, in this moment of “erase-ism,” people trying to erase our history, there is no way they can erase the national park. So that story will continue, and it will continue to influence generations yet to be born.
Jennifer Errick: Benson, the Parkers and other members of the Till family continue to work toward education, community and economic development, and civic engagement through a nonprofit the family established, the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley Institute. The family also continues to work in partnership with other organizations, such as the Emmett Till Interpretive Center, to continue their larger mission toward social justice and equity.
Christopher Benson: Mamie Till-Mobley lived quite a long life after the loss of her son, and of course she was grief-stricken. She suffered tremendously, as you would expect, but she had to dig deeply to find a way to transform that pain into a lesson for us all. She became a school teacher in the Chicago public schools and taught generations of students over the course of her tenure. The importance of our experience, the importance of Emmett Till's story, certainly, and to also share with them the stake they had in continuing the struggle for full equality, for truth and justice in our society. So, the work that we're doing with the Till Institute and in cooperation with the interpretive center in Mississippi is to continue to teach.
Jennifer Errick: Reverend Parker echoes this commitment in one of many heartfelt passages that drive the emotional heart of the new book.
"I can share with you how a personal tragedy can lead to a great public responsibility, a duty, an obligation to make a difference," he writes. "I survived a night of terror for a reason, a purpose. I feel blessed that my purpose was revealed to me, even as it was through the pain and suffering of tragic loss. Now I feel challenged by that purpose every waking moment of my life," he continues, "and I am determined to live on purpose."
Benson points to the universal message behind this commitment.
Christopher Benson: What I would hope people take away from our work and from our joint effort with the National Park Service is that the stories we're telling are stories that are not just limited to African Americans. We see now that things that affect any of us, ultimately affect all of us.
Jennifer Errick: The Secret Lives of Parks is a production of the National Parks Conservation Association. Episode 19, Memorializing the Truth, was produced by me, Jennifer Errick, with help from Todd Christopher, Bev Stanton and Vanessa Pius.
Special thanks to Alan Spears and Kyle Groetzinger.
Original theme music by Chad Fischer.
Learn more about The Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley Institute at thetillinstitute.org.
Learn more about this podcast and listen to the rest of our stories at thesecretlivesofparks.org.
For more than a century, the National Parks Conservation Association has been protecting and enhancing America's national parks for present and future generations. With more than 1.6 million members and supporters. NPCA is the nation's only independent, nonpartisan advocacy organization dedicated to protecting national parks.
And we're proud of it, too.
You can join the fight to preserve our national parks. Learn more and join us at npca.org