In 1955, a Young Boy's Brutal Murder Shocked the Nation

In 1955, a Young Boy's Brutal Murder Shocked the Nation Death of Innocence: The Story of the Hate Crime That Changed America By Mamie Till-Mobley and Christopher Benson (Random House, $24.95)

While the story of Emmett Till, the 14-year-old from Chicago who was lynched in Mississippi for allegedly whistling at a White woman, is a familiar one, few know the boy behind the tragic tale.

His mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, finally sets the record straight about the life of her only child in a new book, Death of Innocence: The Story of The Hate Crime That Changed America, which she wrote with Christopher Benson, a Chicago-based lawyer and journalist. Mobley died of heart failure on Jan. 6, 2003, before the book was completed. She was 81. Benson ushered the project to completion.

Death of Innocence provides the fullest account to date of the life of Emmett Till and his mother, whose courage and faith helped turn her son's death into a national call for freedom and Justice.

Born Mamie Carthan in Mississippi, Mobley's family moved to Argo, Ill., when she was 2 years old. The book details her teenage years in the Chicago suburb, as well as her three marriages.

When Emmett was born, doctors predicted that he would be disabled and have to be institutionalized because of complications during labor. At the age of 6, he was diagnosed with polio. He recovered after 30 days, but was left with a terrible stutter.

Emmett's father and Mobley's first husband, Louis Till, died when Emmett was 4 years old. He was lynched in Italy while serving in World War II, after being accused of raping one White woman and murdering another. The parallels between his and Emmett's deaths would not escape racist Southern papers, which would declare: like father, like son.

Emmett was a happy child. An average student, he had lots of friends and enjoyed telling jokes. He loved to work and earned extra money running errands for neighbors. He also helped take care of the house while his mother worked long hours handling sensitive documents for the U.S. Air Force. Even when a task looked impossible, like replacing the linoleum in the dining room, Emmett took charge and would tell his mother, "We can do it."

Mobley often thought about all that Emmett could be. She wanted him to go to college and become a minister or maybe a lawyer or politician. But Emmett wanted to be a motorcycle cop, the person who kept the peace and saved others from danger.

Mobley was apprehensive about letting her son go to Mississippi in 1955. She would regret her decision for the rest of her life. Growing up in Argo and Chicago, Emmett had never faced blatant Southern racism. Before his trip, Mobley tried to make him understand. She drilled him on how to act: Don't start up conversations with White folks; Speak only when spoken to; Always say "yes sir" and "yes ma'am"; Never look a White person in the eye; "Get on your knees, if you have to," she told him.

Ironically, Emmett nearly missed the train that would take him and his cousins to Mississippi. As the conductor announced "All aboard," he rushed up the steps. "Bo," Mobley said, calling him by his nickname. "You didn't kiss me goodbye. How do I know I'll ever see you again?"

They would be the last words Mobley would say to her son. His body was found in the Tallahatchie River, with a 70-pound cotton gin fan tied around his neck. The next time she would see him would be in a wooden box - his disfigured face and bloated body unrecognizable. "Let the world see what I've seen," she would say.

Mobley's decision to have an open casket at the funeral of her brutally lynched son is now legendary. The book details her identifying the body, the funeral and the subsequent trial. There were many brave souls who helped her, including many in the NAACP such as Medgar Evers, Ruby Hurley and Dr. T.R.M. Howard, who would find Black witnesses to testify against J.W. Milam and Roy Bryant, the White men who murdered Emmett. (The two were acquitted, although they later admitted to abducting and killing Emmett.)

The book tells of how many people took advantage of the grieving mother after the trial, profiting from her tragedy. Mobley fell out with the NAACP after a disagreement with Roy Wilkins, whom she says accused her of using her son's death for financial gain and cancelled the speaking tour the NAACP had arranged for her.

Death of Innocence conveys the unbearable suffering Mobley experienced. Out of the limelight, she retreated to Chicago and tried to resume a normal life. But it was difficult, and the grieving mother even contemplated suicide.

Though the murder of Emmett Till may have spurred the Civil Rights Movement, Mobley felt left out during the height of the era and watched the nation change from the sidelines. She would learn later on that her mother had hidden invitations to various civil rights rallies and demonstrations, fearing that her only child, like her grandson, might be killed. Mobley eventually went to college and became an elementary school teacher. Her life's work, though, would be getting justice for Emmett.

Mobley confides: "Although I have lived so much of my life without Emmett, I have lived my entire life because of him."

Lottie L. Joiner is senior editor of The Crisis.

Copyright Crisis Publishing Company, Incorporated Nov/Dec 2003
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