I said, "I haven't signed anything, and I haven't made any promises, and if you can't open those box -- that box, I can,", Harry Caise, Mortician:And we opened the casket, there was a terrible odor that came from the body because the body had been in the water and began to deteriorate. Card:After the trial, black customers boycotted Bryant's store, forcing it out of business. The blacks feared for their lives and their family's lives. Check your inbox to be the first to know the hottest news. She said, "Mr. Rayner, I want to see my son.". His badly disfigured body was found in the Tallahatchie River three days later. One of Roy Bryants defence lawyers told National Public Radios Soundprint program in 1994 that he regretted defending the case. When Bryant and Milam could not afford a legal defense, five local lawyers stepped up to represent the two suspectspro bono. Nancy Farrell And it said, "This is Mr. Sekou Shepard Narrator:Fifty thousand people in Chicago had seen Emmett Till's corpse with their own eyes. And I told him I did. David T. Beito Zora Neale Hurston: Claiming a Space (espaol). Milam, will always be considered in history as the trio that got away with murder. Milam's trial for murder opened in Sumner, Mississippi, which touted itself as "a good place to raise a boy." The jury foreman said the deciding factor was the states' failure to prove the identity of the body pulled from a river near Sumner Mississippi. For three hours that morning we had a big old fire in the yard. Mamie Till:In the courtroom they recorded 118 degrees, and, of course, there was no air conditioning. Till offended Donham in some way, though accounts of the events differ. He spoke of it again, he went over it again. Milam and had been seen washing blood from Milam's truck, disappeared. Emmett finished seventh grade, and in July, he turned 14. Moses Newson:People were thoroughly disgusted at what happened in that situation. April Grayson But he turned around and he came back and he kissed me good-bye and he said, "Here. Patrick Antizi Don't even look at her. But history holds these three accountable. He was an expert platoon leader, expert street fighter, expert in night patrol, expert with the "grease gun," with every device for close range killing. Carolyn testified under oath, but outside the presence of the jury, that Emmett said "ugly remarks" to her before whistling. Milam were acquitted of murder charges, but eventually confessed in an interview with a magazine. His body was taken to a funeral home owned by A.A. Rayner, who had promised Mississippi authorities that he would keep the casket nailed shut. I was just willing to bear it all. They even alluded to Carolyn as "Roy Bryant's most attractive wife" and a "crossroads Marilyn Monroe.". What was the motive for their brutal acts? Bryant, who was an outspoken supporter of Jim Crow. A triumphant Bryant is seen smoking a cigar as Carolyn . Narrator:Emmett's body had been weighed down with a 75-pound cotton gin fan tied around his neck with barbed wire. But his murder, and the trial and acquittal of his killers, sent a powerful message: If change was going to come, people would have to put themselves on the line. Just anything, just any excuse to acquit these two men. Milam and Roy Bryant got away with murdering Emmett Till when an all-white jury acquitted them. Both men were ostracized. Milam and Roy Bryant were arrested on a kidnapping charge in 1955, but a grand jury failed to indict them. ", Wheeler Parker:The two in the next room, my cousin and uncle they never woke up. Roy Bryant (far . Most white people, I think, had had convinced themselves that this was a defensible social system in which they lived. Also a trained anthropologist, Hurston collected folklore throughout the South and Caribbean reclaiming, honoring and celebrating Black life on its own terms. And, Beau if you see a white woman coming down the street, you get off the sidewalk and drop your head. Rose M. Compagine Drinking fountains are segregated. They were really surprised at what they found. During the 1950s, the couple ran a small grocery, Bryant's Grocery & Meat Market, that sold provisions to black sharecroppers and their children. Black Man: You're welcome. My eyes were so full of tears until I couldn't see. Mamie: I do know that this is my son. Chicago Defender But I didn't accept it. He was just 13 just a few weeks before we went down there. Mamie Till Mobley, Mother:I saw a hole, which I presumed, was a bullet hole and I could look through that hole and see daylight on the other side. There was an almost irrational fear of black men as if every black man was ready to attack or rape a white woman if you gave him a chance. I mean -- I mean someone come and stand over you with a pistol in one hand and a flashlight and you're 16 years old; it's a terrifying experience. Discover short videos related to roy bryant interview on TikTok. Narrator:Emmett's family lived on the outskirts of Money, a whistle-stop town in the heart of Delta cotton country. All she received of his possessions was a signet ring inscribed with his initials, L.T. He laughed. Howard and author Devery Anderson each concluded that Roy Bryant learned of what happened at the store from someone other than his wife. Here's what you should know about the movie, 7 Inspiring Benefits of Breastfeeding Your Child: "Reduce Risks of Diseases", Lufthansa closes in on stake in Italy's ITA Airways, Will Smith Accepts Invite from Daring Zanzibari High Divers: "I'm on My Way", Who are Queen Naija's parents? Richard Heard, Emmett Till's classmate Mamie Till went to Washington to press the Federal Government to re-open the case. Prince Harry: The 60 Minutes Interview . Ed Clark/TimePix So it was just like you know hush hush you know so I was told to keep my mouth shut and that's what I did. Then we carried him to the, up to the other landin' and put him in the hearse. The killing would inspire both Bob Dylan and the Civil Rights movement. L'Humanite He gained popularity because of the brutal murder of Emmett Till. William Winter, Governor:It was argued in coffee shops all over the Deep South, that "If we give on this, then we'll, we'll start giving on everything else and the first thing you know, we won't have a segregated society, and black people will be taking over in this part of the country.". Grinberg Film Libraries When the black magazineJetran photos of the body, black Americans across the country shuddered. In the early morning hours of August 28, 1955, Roy Bryant, his half-brother, J.W. Shack Up Inn And it made an awful lot of people realize that they themselves had to get involved and do something. Milam, had barely been acquitted of the. In the summer of 1955, Roy and Milam abducted a 14-years-old African American boy named Emmett Till at gunpoint from his great uncle's home in Money, Mississippi. And he looked at me and he said, "Aw, Mama." Ernest C. Withers, Courtesy Panopticon Gallery, Waltham, MA Milam, Corbis, Bryant's Grocery & Meat Market, Chicago Defender, Sign up for the American Experience newsletter! Wheeler Parker:We went to South, near the beginning of cotton-picking time, late August, and we picked cotton for a half a day and we would go swimming, run the snakes out the river. At about 2:30a.m. It was just it just -- oh, it -- it was a mess. The Associated Press fielded queries from Paris, Copenhagen, Tokyo. In 1955, Mamie Till was unwillingly thrust into American history by her son's murder. Milam and Bryant were acquitted of the murder of Emmett Till. Carolyn Bryant testified under oath that Emmett said ugly remarks to her before whistling. January 24 Emmett Till murderers make magazine confession On January 24, 1956, Look magazine publishes the confessions of J.W. Rose Jourdain:It stunned white America. Soundprint Media Center They knew that there were strange things going on in places like Sumner, but they did not know it would be quite like that. As I kept looking, I saw a hole, which I presumed was a bullet hole and I could look through that hole and see daylight on the other side. Discussion centeres on the Emmett Till case and his interviews with J.W. Till's death was a spark that helped mobilize thecivilrights movement. During that time, the arrest warrant against Donham was publicized. She graduated from high school at the top of her class, and became one of the first black women in town to hold a civil service job. In front of Wright's family, Milam and Bryant kidnapped his 14-year . In 1981, Milam died of cancer of the bone. Narrator:In Chicago, a desperate Mamie Till notified the local newspapers of Emmett's disappearance. However, they faced major backlash from their community after confessing to the murder in an interview. The Commercial Appeal Aborted babies do not have names, but they have stories. Out washing J.W. Historian, public speaker and author Danielle McGuire PhD and journalism professor and author Allissa Richardson speak with the Gen-Z historian Kahlil Greene about the role of the media in shaping public perception around the murders of Black Americans. Narrator:Putting his life at risk, Willie Reed agreed to step forward. Narrator:Reed spoke in a voice barely louder than a whisper. Everyone is wondering what he's up to today, considering he doesn't have hit songs that put him in the limelight in the first place. June 24, 2022 - 12:55 BST Hannah Hargrave. We ain't going to mix 'em. Mamie Till:They summed up by saying, "Isn't it true that you and the NAACP got your heads together and you came down here and with their help, you all dug up a body and you have claimed that body to be your son? Years later, both men would return to Mississippi. He later went to welding school. Narrator:After he testified, Wright left his cotton blooming in the field, his old car sitting at the station, and slipped onto the train to Chicago. We don't mix 'em down here. There's a spot about a mile and a half from the bridge where the banks are steep. Description. Damn if that nigger didn't have crepe sole shoes. The entire article is available on PBS, and it is quite graphic. She joins us in discussion. C. A. Moses, "Original arrangement of 'Old Ship of Zion'" Tijwan Levan Scott Bryant." However, he married Vera Jo Orman later in life. (Enter your ZIP code for information on American Experience events and screening in your area.). Roy Bryant and his half-brother J.W Milam were accused of brutally slaying Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African American boy from Chicago. A Mississippi sheriff becomes a symbol of southern intransigence in the Emmett Till case. His actions at the trial were more I think, not to so much to say justice, or what was going on, but to be sure that his courtroom was totally segregated. Television networks chartered a plane to send footage to New York for the nightly news. We went to grammar school together. Narrator:Roy Bryant and J.W. My uncle Simmie did wake up, but they told him to go back to sleep. Milam, were . Milam I come at ya'. Carolyn told her sister-in-law, Juanita, who was in the back of the store with their children, what had happened. Milam, of the 1955 kidnapping and murder of Till. Episode 264: Segment 3, David Holmberg, long-time journalist opens up about the day he interviewed Roy Bryant, the husband of the woman who accused Emmett Till of touching her inappropriately.. Ernest Withers:One of the attorneys asked, "Do you know the man that came to your house that night to get Emmett Till out of your house? Unfortunately, Vera passed away on May 2, 2012, at 79. Sumner, Mississippi: Co-defendant J.W. Lois Walker, Archivist, Chicago Defender Hugh Stephen Whitaker They had two sons and lived in two small rooms in the back of the store. One or two at a time, the boys drifted into the store and back out again with a cold drink or a piece of candy. Milam, who were found not guilty in a trial for the 1955 murder of black teenager Emmett Till, confess in an article in Look magazine published Jan. 24, 1956. Willie Reed, Mississippi resident During the 1950s, the couple ran a small grocery, Bryant's Grocery &. The verdict shocked the entire country. I said, "What all that blood come from?" Donham's husband, Roy Bryant, and brother-in-law, J W Milam, kidnapped and brutally murdered Till on August 28, 1955, and dumped his body in the Tallahatchie River. So, what happened to Roy Bryant, one of the accused in the murder of Emmett Till? Milam) who brutally lynched Emmett Till, a 14-year old African-American boy who allegedly "wolf-whistled" at his wife, Carolyn Bryant, at a supermarket that they owned when he went to visit his relatives in Money, Mississippi. Elaine Owens Greg Smith, PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS Meanwhile, African American spectators were relegated to the back and looked on in fear. They wouldn't have taken so long to return to the courtroom, he said, "if [they] hadn't stopped to drink pop.". His half-brother, Milam, also died of cancer of the bone in 1981. Robin Kelley Robert E. Luckett Jr. He was 63 . Roy Bryant was reported to have passed away on 1st September 1994, in Ruleville, Sunflower County, Mississippi. He said, "I won't need this where I'm going." Mamie Till:He was running up the steps to try to make it to the train and I said, "Emmett, or Beau" -- I called him Beau, I said, "Where are you going? He would pay people to tell him jokes. I just can't go into detail to tell you the silly things, the stupid things that were brought up as probabilities and they swallowed it like a fish swallows a hook. In 1955, J.W. Under the glare of the spotlight, white Mississippians began to close ranks. You could hear guns firing. Mamie Till was in Chicago, surrounded by worried family and friends, when she was told that her only child was dead. Mamie Till:The verdict came in "not guilty". CBS News Archive Investigations from civil-rights leader Dr. T.R.M. Bryant died in 1994, while Milam died in 1981. Milam killed Emmet Till, a murder they had been acquitted of months before in a trial. Milam were charged with Till's murder. Carolyn Bryant,the daughter of a plantation manager and a nurse, hailed from Indianola, Mississippi, the nucleus of the segregationist and supremacist white Citizens' Councils. And that is what led to the brutal murder of Emmett Till by Roy Bryant. But tragedy soon followed. We forgot about it. Mikro Press Narrator:After the trial, sheriff Clarence Strider told reporters, "I hope the Chicago niggers and the NAACP are satisfied.". Three months after his body was pulled from the Tallahatchie River, the Montgomery bus boycott began. I saw that his tongue was choked out. Leon Finney Jr. And we don't intend to. You know how hard they are to burn? Chicago Tribune Company It was in a curve in a drift and a foot was stickin' up and we tore into the drift and got to him and, you know, got him out. Milam and Bryant were acquitted in the murder of Emmett Till. I said, "What about your ring?" According to the release forms signed by Milam and Carolyn Bryant (no release signed by Roy Bryant appears to exist), the men were paid $3,150 for their story. Is Roy Bryant still alive? Narrator:Protected from further prosecution, Roy Bryant and J.W. I held up the gun. The message to black people was clear: hide what you know; hide even what you think, or face the consequences. Emmett Till, a teen from Chicago, didn't understand that he had broken the unwritten laws of the Jim Crow South until three days later, when two white men dragged him from his bed in the dead of night, beat him brutally and then shot him in the head. Author and historian Timothy Tyson interviewed Bryant as part of his research for the book The Blood of Emmett Till back in 2008, and some of. They just disappeared. It was from this shack the state alleges Emmett Till was taken by Roy Bryant & J.W. And when I opened the door there was a man standing with a pistol in one hand and a flashlight in the other. The photos of Emmett Till's mutilated body stunned the nation. Apart from it, he is an owner of a grocery store. Shortly afterwards, the defendants sold their story, includingtheir tale of how they murdered Till, to a journalist. Roy died of cancer in September 1994. Now in her mid-80s, her current status and whereabouts are kept private by her family, though. Yeah. New York Public Library Mrs. Fannie Ware Following their acquittal the two men confessed to murdering Till in 1955 to journalist at Look magazine. The jury of 12 white men who acquitted Emmett Till's killers in 1955. Roy Bryant (far right) and half-brother, J.W. His half-brother J. W. followed him soon after. The story revealed how Roy Bryant and J.W. And as she went to the car, we all jumped in my uncle's car. Moses Newson, journalist, CONSULTANTS If there was a group there, Emmett was in front. Lamar, much like his brother, has been kept away from public view in the decades since his family first came into public notoriety. He said, "I got a writ for you. The Center for Documentary Studies, Duke University After the murder trial, he lost his store and moved, doing various jobs over the years. That was a way of life. He was the sacrificial lamb of the movement. Stock footage of commentator on the trial:Here is Money, Mississippi, the home of Roy Bryant. ", Narrator:J.W. Milam, and one other white man with Emmett Till early that Sunday morning, and had heard the sounds of a beating coming from Milam's shed. Moses Wright's testimony in the trial of his great-nephew'skillers stands as one of the bravest moments in American history. You see 'em. The three defendants in the case, Roy Bryant, Carolyn Bryant, and J.W. I fired and the Chicago boy twisted around and caught it right in his ear. The two men were indicted and tried in September 1955. The murder trial of Roy Bryant and his half-brother J.W. Interviewer: What do you mean you don't know? Milam and Roy were later arrested for the murder. Margaret Crimmins Lawyer for Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger thinks evidence can be 'attacked' Idaho murder victim had moved out of home but came back to see roommate The woman accused of setting off the 1955. Milam, received notoriety for the alleged murder of a 14-year-old Black youth named Emmett Louis Till. Today a situation exists in Mississippi that is unlike the situation in most states in the nation. People disappeared. They brought their children, picnic baskets and ice cream cones. Wright had been in hiding since the night of the kidnapping, and had been threatened with death. It was traumatic for me for -- for months. Narrator:Moses Wright stood and pointed first at Roy Bryant, then at J.W. He was born on January 24, 1931, and died in September 1994 of cancer. Those who have not been to the Delta find themselves gasping at the sight as they come over the lowest hills and see that expanse of flat agricultural land. And this said to them clearly, "Hey, it's right here. Donham's husband Roy Bryant and his half-brother JW Milam were tried on murder charges about a month after the teenager was killed, but an all-white Mississippi jury acquitted them. Contributors to Civil Rights groups soared. John Herbers:The reaction of reporters from out of the South was one of just absolute amazement. Their account appeared just four months after the acquittal. But soon after the article came out, both men were ostracized. Milam came out. Carolyn Bryant, who set off the lynching of Emmett Till by accusing the Black teen of improper advances in 1955, rests her head on her husband Roy Bryant's shoulder on Sept. 22, 1955, after she . Robert E. Luckett, Jr. J.W. Stock footage of commentator on the trial:This was the home of Moses Wright. Oudie Brown, Mississippi resident Narrator:On the first day of the trial, presiding judge Curtis Swango named the jury -- all white men from Bryant and Milam's home county. I don't know why he can't just stay dead .". Their trial, where he was cleared, gained international attention and sparked a Civil Rights movement that brought about massive changes. He asked. As the agent indicated, it will stress the possible involvement of Carolyn Bryant. Narrator:On August 31, three days after Emmett Till had disappeared, a boy fishing in the Tallahatchie noticed a body caught on a gnarled root in the muddy water. AP/Wide World Photos Milam? Willie Reed, Mississippi Resident:I could hear all this beatin' and I could hear this beatin' and I could here this cryin' and cryin' and beatin', and I'm saying to myself, "They beatin' somebody up there." Roy Bryant and J.W. Wheeler Parker Chatem: The federal indictment is that they did willfully, unlawfully, feloniously and of their malice of forethought kill and murder Emmett Till, a human being. ET In 1955, after being accused of flirting with a white woman (Carolyn Bryant), 14-year-old Emmett Till was beaten to death by Carolyn's husband Roy and his half-brother J.W. MS. State Sen. David Jordan According to witnesses, on his way out of the store, Emmett turned to Carolyn Bryant and whistled. Milam and Roy Bryant, two white men from Mississippi who were. which is solely responsible for its content. Police can now seek her arrest. Donham was quiet about her. You could hold your head up in Chicago. Roy Bryant was married to Carolyn Bryant Donham until his death. Mr. Rayner was, he told the mother, he said, "If I was you I wouldn't look at this body because this body in such a horrible condition." Wheeler Parker:As far as I was concerned, that wasn't him there, yet at the same time, as confusing as it may sound, it was him. FILE - In this Sept. 23, 1955, file photo. And I guess to me it didn't happen. Wright said he saw a person in the car, possibly Carolyn, who helped identify Emmett. Stock Footage, Mamie Till Arrives at Trial News Conference:Interviewer: What do you intend to do here today? The Bryants lived with their two boys in cramped rooms behind the store. We knew what we was going to do. After hearing about the interaction, Donham's husband Roy and Roy's half-brother John William "J. W." Milam kidnapped, tortured, and lynched Till. And all a white woman had to say was, "That nigger kinda looked at me or sassed me." Michael Flug Narrator:Mamie Till testified that the body she'd examined and buried was indeed her son. Carolyn Bryant was a plantation manager and nurse's daughter who hailed from Indianola, Mississippi. Narrator:With Sheriff Strider and courtroom sentiment clearly on the side of the defendants, reporters began their own desperate search for witnesses. - The graves of Roy Bryant & J.W. Mamie: To answer any questions that my, that the attorneys might ask me to answer. This program was produced by WGBH Boston, He just loved jokes. But I saw enough that I knew he was intact. He pulled his watch off and gave it to me. J.W. A Supreme Court decision had struck down school segregation the year before. It was just the spot. Roy Bryant, Donham's husband at the time, and his half-brother J. W. Milam were acquitted of the murder, but later admitted to it inan interview with Look Magazine. I heard that beatin' even, before I got to, even before I got to the barn. He had served in World War II and received combat medals. Narrator:At one end of Money was Bryant's grocery, which made a business of selling candy to black kids and provisions to field hands from nearby plantations. Blacks stopped frequenting groceries owned by both the Bryant and Milam families. In this Sept. 23, 1955, file photo, J.W. Mamie Till Mobley Before she let them go, Mamie schooled the boys on the ways of the South. Narrator:Emmett rode the Illinois Central 16 hours out of Chicago to the Mississippi Delta. It was the beginning of the focusing on the problems between the races in the Deep South that culminated in the ultimate Civil Rights battles of the, of the rest of the 50s and, and, and into the 60s. That took an awful lot of courage for him to get up there and do what he did. Other customers were sitting outside, talking and playing checkers in the cool of the shade. John Herbers, journalist "The . David Lee Jordan, Mississippi State Senator:When white womens was on the streets you had to get off of the street. Vanessa Ruiz Narrator:Among African Americans, there was outright fear. But, he said, "I had decided to tell it like it was.". Wheeler Parker:The concern for Emmett was that he could be, with his fun-loving, free-spirited way of living, he could get in trouble, could have a lot of problems. Milam. In every community in Mississippi, there is segregation of the races. Carolyn Bryant, right, was 21 when her husband Roy Bryant, left, lynched and murdered Emmett Till after he . Black men did not touch white women. Roy Bryant was one of the people indicted for murder in 1955. SOUND RECORDISTS Narrator:Mainstream newspapers and magazines spread the story of the 14-year-old black boy who'd been brutally killed for whistling at a white woman. They had two sons and lived in two small rooms in the back of the store. Everybody knew we were under attack and that attack was symbolized by the attack on a 14-year-old boy. Every lawyer in the county joined their defense team. You are not going to permit the NAACP to control your state. Biography and latest updates. Interviewer: And Mrs. Bryant? To earn extra cash, Roy worked as a trucker with his half-brother J. W. Milam, an imposing man of six-feet-two inches, weighing 235 pounds. Milam and Roy Bryant never faced additional charges connected with the murder. Emmett, her only child, was four years old. As if this was either the last straw or maybe it was the spark. It looked like all of Chicago was there. Willie Reed:Well, when you walked in that courtroom and you know what you -- that you're going testify. Meet the influential author and key figure of the Harlem Renaissance. Milam's truck out. Who was Roys wife? Bryant died on September 1, 1994 about 14 years after Milam. in starched white shirts while their wives donned cotton dresses. Emmett was a Black boy visiting family in Mississippi. Narrator:By the time Mamie received her son's body back in Chicago, two weeks after she had kissed him goodbye, Emmett's murder was front page news. They reacted after Emmett, who was visiting from his native Chicago, reportedly flirted with Bryant's wife. It blew my mind. And when I began to make the announcement that Emmett had been found and how he was found, the whole house began to scream and to cry. Historic Films And the way the jury chose to believe the ridiculous stories of the defense attorneys. We were goin' pretty fast and dust is flying behind us. Prince Harry: The 60 Minutes Interview Transcript. Roy Bryant (born January 24, 1931 - died September 1, 1994) was an American Store Owner and Former Soldier from Money, Mississippi. Notes taken during your interview are added to your application for review. Corbis Motion Enduring Legacy: The Emmett Till murder shaped the . Stock Footage, Man on the Street Interviews with two black men about trial:Interviewer: Young man do you think these two men should be indicted? Stock Footage, Sheriff Strider on NAACP:We never have any trouble until some of our Southern niggers go up North and the NAACP talks to 'em and they come back home. Narrator:On August 19th, Mamie gave Emmett the ring that had belonged to his father. I think he had decided that he was going to do it no matter what happened. Bill Minor William Winter:Many white Southerners, perhaps most Deep South Southerners had convinced themselves that black people were relatively happy in their -- in their segregated relationships with white people. Months later, Bryant and Milam confessed to Look magazine they had killed Till, and the journalist who wrote the article helped conceal the names of the other killers. And I wondered was it necessary to shoot him? But it did happen. On January 24, 1956, Look magazine published the confessions from the two men. When Roy and J. W. returned, one of the kids at the scene told them what had occurred. He kind of scolded me for saying something like that. So I told 'em what I saw. Interviewer: Thank you very much. New York Post Milam and Roy Bryant, who confessed to Huie that they murdered Till. We were just all good friends. Mamie: I don't know, just by answering whatever questions that they ask me. The family of Emmett Till, a black boy murdered in Mississippi 64 years ago after allegedly whistling at a white woman, have reacted with fury after the woma. A childhood case of polio left him with a stutter, but by the time he was a teenager, Emmett Till had grown into a cocky, self-assured boy who loved to be the center of attention. Two nights later, Donham's then-husband, Roy Bryant, and his half-brother, J.W. The prosecutors had collected enough evidence with the assistance of NAACP Mississippi field secretary Medgar Evers and other black activists. I wouldn't get any help carrying this load. Roy Bryant and his half-brother J.W. Chicago Burr Oak Cemetery Performed by Sweet Honey In The Rock Is you goin?" Wheeler Parker, Cousin:The house was a dark as a thousand midnights. Mamie Till:Those words were like arrows sticking all over my body. Clara Davis, Mississippi resident While whites begrudgingly recognized African Americans, they were unwilling to accept them as social and racial equals. Clara Davis:The town of Money was one street with maybe five or six stores, but that's all. Local stores collected $10,000 in countertop jars for Bryant and Milam. Said, "She's going to the car to get a pistol." An only child, young Mamie was the hope of her family of former sharecroppers. The next morning, Emmett and his mother grabbed his bags and rushed off to the 63rd Street station. Richard Heard:It was grotesque. Other sources claim that he had spoken disrespectfully to her. Clara Davis, Mississippi Resident:You never in any way said anything that they didn't like. Despite being well-known because of their parent's case, their whereabouts are not public. Narrator:Roy Bryant was out of town, leaving his wife Carolyn alone behind the counter when Emmett and his cousins pulled up. After their acquittal in the Emmett Till trial, defendant Roy Bryant (right), smokes a cigar as his wife happily embraces him and his half brother, J.W. The two men later confessed to the killing in a paid magazine . If I could go high enough, I -- things could soak into his head that, "You have to be very careful.". Back of the house is a tool shed. Rose Jourdain, journalist The next day, Roy Bryant was arrested for kidnapping. Stock footage of Tallahatchie River w/commentary:This is the muddy back woods Tallahatchie River where a weighted body was found alleged to be that of young Emmett Till. Narrator:Strider consigned black reporters and Detroit Congressman Charles Diggs to a card table on the sidelines. And when you go to Mississippi, you're living by an entirely different set of rules. J. Fred MacDonald & Associates According to the interview Milam and Bryant gave to Huie, Milam killed Emmett with his . A few months after the trial, Look Magazine published The Shocking Story of Approved Killing in Mississippi by William Huie. Unfortunately, this happened because of a brutal murder where the killers were acquitted. He could not have that, you know physical show of affection, of sharing grief, or whatever. Ver la pelicula consubtitulos en espanol. Hurston, quien tambin se haba formado como antroploga, recopil el folclore del Sur de Estados Unidos y del Caribe, recuperando, honrando y celebrando la vida de la poblacin negra en sus propios trminos. Magnolia Cooksey-Mathious:And as we were led into the church, my girlfriends and myself, we walked up to the casket and it was covered with a glass and we all looked down; this was our friend laying lookin' like a monster. But they were still white folks. Milam admitted having taken Emmett Till, but claimed they'd let him go. In an interview in 1992, Roy Bryant said, " Emmett Till is dead. Roy Bryant and his brother Millam were taken to court to be judged for abducting and murdering Emmett Till. Discover the fascinating story of this iconic American garment. Carolyn also stated that she couldnt utter the unprintable word he had used. He throwed his head up there, just like that. Corbis Images When he reached Chicago, he was hospitalized with a nervous breakdown. In 1955, over a year after Brown had overturned separate but equal and just two months before Rosa Parks would change civil rights forever on a Montgomery bus, Huie sat in the law office of J.J. Breland and John Whitten, two of the five defense counsel for two of Till's killersJ.W. Get the latest on new films and digital content, learn about events in your area, and get your weekly fix of American history. Moses Wright, description of kidnapping:Sunday Morning about 2:30, I heard a voice at the door. "The life of a Negro in Mississippi," one European paper observed, "is not worth a whistle." Congressman Diggs said, "What, and miss the verdict?" No one ever did time for Emmett Till's murder. So I said, "Naw." Sulyn Silbar, CONSULTANTS Clenora Hudson-Weems The kids outside said she was going to get a pistol. J.W. The house was a dark as a thousand midnights. Narrator:When Mamie Till arrived, she had to make her way through an unsympathetic crowd gathered on the courthouse lawn. Mamie Till:And I decided then that I would start at his feet and work my way up, maybe gathering strength as I went. In the fall of 1957, Carolyn and her family were living in Morgan City, Louisiana. The boys went into the store one or two at a time to buy soda pop or bubble gum. In Mississippi, the family alerted the sheriff and then began to search for any sign of the boy along riverbanks and under bridges, "Where black folks always look," Emmett's uncle said, "when something like this happens." Milam Lamont At Large 449K subscribers Subscribe 19K Share 515K views 2 years ago visiting the graves of Roy Bryant and JW Milam the two men who after a trial. At a church on the South Side of Chicago, Emmett Till's mutilated body would be on display for all to see. Narrator:Moses Wright pleaded with the two men. Milam? I kept on up until I got to his chin and then I -- I was forced to deal with his face. Milam calmly smokes a cigar as his wife mugs for the camera, after he and his half-brother, Roy Bryant, were acquitted of having murdered Emmet Louis Till . In their cross-examination, Bryant and Milam's attorneys peppered her with hostile questions, and then presented the main argument for the defense: The corpse pulled from the Tallahatchie River was not Emmett Till. Bryant accused 14-year-old Till of sexual assault. That's the way I said it. Bryant and Milam had already been rounded up as murder suspects, and Southern papers were decrying the "savage crime." They confessed how they killed the young man. Tracye A. Matthews, ARCHIVAL FILM What happened to Roy Bryant and J.W. . In 1982, it was discovered by the Inspector Generals Office of the U.S Department of Agriculture that Roy was buying food stamps and selling them back to the government at full value. Be the first to get hottest news from our Editor-in-Chief, Check your email and confirm your subscription. The prosecution's best witness was Moses Wright, who had clearly seen the men who took Emmett Till from his home. Roy and his wife migrated to Indianola, Mississippi, where Bryant got a job as a mechanic. It's been almost three months since Will Smith shocked the celebrity world by slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars. Roy Bryant died of cancer 13years later. He said, "There's a shoe here. Too Tight was out there washing the truck out. ", Oudie Brown, Mississippi Resident:I was coming through there that mornin'. Furthermore, he was a 14-year-old Afro-Amerian boy who was from Chicago. Milam sold their story to a reporter forLook Magazinefor $4,000. He was 14, but he just turned 14. Interviewer: How do you think you could possibly be a help to them? He informed Tallahatchie County sheriff Clarence Strider. That's what he did. She stormed out. Harry Caise, mortician Evidence indicated a woman, Donham, who identified the young boy to the men who later killed him. He died in 1994. And then they began to question me about this here. And I heard a voice say, "Yes" and they drove off toward Money with him. His father's name was Henry Ezra Bryant. In the summer of 1955, two men, both of them white, abducted a 14-year-old African-American boy named Emmett Till from his great-uncle's house in Money, Miss. and Juanita had divorced years earlier, as did Roy and Carolyn Bryant, but when J.W. The pair confessed in a magazine interview the following year, while protected . Narrator:Mamie Carthan arrived in Chicago at the age of two. Till's brutal beating death in Mississippi in 1955, the acquittal of his professed killers by an all-white jury and the photos of his dead body sparked outrage outside the state becoming a. Are Roy Bryant and J.W. If I was on the grand jury that is what I would do. Richard Gardner Roy Bryant's Death. Her then-husband Roy Bryant and his half-brother J.W. Adam Green A Firelight Media production for American Experience Oct. 19: Ruby Bridges became a civil rights icon at the age of 6, when she became the first African-American child to attend a previously all-white elementary school in New Orleans. Emmett's death was the opening of the Civil Rights movement. I would have hated to have gone up against any of those guys. Library of Congress The store was located at one end of the main street in the tiny town of Money, the heart of the cotton-growing Mississippi Delta. The local theater is segregated. After Emmett Till's murder trial, Carolyn and Roy's store in Money was closed upon the African-American community's boycott. Too Tight Collins, who worked for J.W. We tied the gin fan to his neck with barbed wire and rolled his body into 20 feet of muddy water. University of South Carolina, ARCHIVAL PHOTOGRAPHS According to her, she was scared to death. Willie Reed, Mississippi Resident:And I was in the cotton field and I was pickin', I was pickin' cotton, pickin' cotton, and I looked across the field and there was about seven or eight peoples comin' across the field towards me, was white and black comin' that way. I hear it. With the words "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal," the Supreme Court reversed legalized segregation. You didn't disagree with 'em on a whole. Reporters overheard members of the jury laughing and joking in the jury room. Stock Footage, News Anchor Reports Till Verdict tape:In the Emmett Till Murder trial, the all white jury has acquitted the two white defendants accused of killing the 14-year-old Negro youth. I was trying to exaggerate. Narrator:It was the summer of 1955 when Emmett Till arrived in Mississippi from Chicago. Gode Davis The trial opened in September 1955, and the international press flooded the courtroom. He said, "Oh, I'm gonna show it off to the fellas." Akilah Kweli, SPECIAL THANKS This was on a Wednesday. I said, "It's time for us to go." Black Man: No sir. Roy Bryant was one of the people indicted for murder in 1955. First my brother, then me, then him, then me. The men later admitted to the killing in a 1956 interview with Look magazine. Plater Robinson Stock Footage, Mamie Comments on Trial Verdict:And what I saw was a shame before God and man. Two of their defense attorneys helped facilitate the interview that was published in Look magazine in January 1956. He was that kinda kid. And when push came to shove the -- the white community rallied in support of them against a, a, a young black person for whom they had even greater disdain. Moses Wright's testimony in the trial of his great-nephew'skillers stands as one of the bravest moments in American history. J.W. Isn't it true that your son is in Detroit, Michigan with his grandfather right now?". Milam, left, and Roy Bryant, right, sit with their wives in a courtroom in 1955. "64," Wright replied, "You make any trouble, you'll never live to be 65.". Clark County Tribune The two men, also white, were acquitted of this heinous and brutal crime. Ah, so Wednesday went by, Thursday went by, nothin'. Consequences was that almost anything could happen to anybody at anytime down there. Donham has stayed out of the public eye in the nearly 15 years since her interview with Tyson. Roy Bryant held American nationality and was Caucasian. Then, Emmett went in and bought two cents' worth of bubblegum. Even though the crime was savage, Roy and Milam got five local lawyers to represent them pro bono. Filmed interview with William Bradford Huie conducted for America, They Loved You Madly, a precursor to Eyes on the Prize. When did Roy Bryant die? They agreed not to tell their husbands, who were out of town on a trucking job. I'm gonna carry you dead or alive. Card:Mamie Till returned to Chicago, remarried, taught public school for 24 years, and continued to speak publicly about her son's murder. And with that, he was up the steps and on his way to get on the train. The murder trial of Roy Bryant and his half-brother J.W. John Malone The Till case had become a major international news story. Frightened, Emmett and his group left. Till's cousins later testified that they heard him . In 1945, Mamie got word that Private Till had died in Europe. Hilary Goldstein AP. If they would keep their nose and mouths out of our business we would be able to do more and enforcing the laws of Tallahatchie County and Mississippi. Milam. We put him back in the truck. James E. Dunford Friday. What was Roy Bryants ethnicity? The boys wore polyester pants, crepe soled shoes. Their acquittal created massive outrage and was the spark in the upsurge of activism and resistance that was later referred to as the Civil Rights movement. Wheeler Parker:We all got a-scared and someone said, "She's going to get a pistol." ET. Bryant and his half-brother J.W. Her family ran a small grocery, Bryant's Grocery & Meat Market, that sold provisions to black sharecroppers and their kids. Milam, kidnapped the 14-year-old boy from his great-uncle's house. Mamie Till:He thought I was exaggerating, which I was. In just over an hour, the jury returned. The air in the courtroom, a reporter wrote, was "as heavy and oppressive as the moss that hangs from the cypress trees.". I said "Who!?" Ryan was also interviewed for the same program but refused to discuss the case. You just didn't do that. Emmett walked in and bought two cents' worth of bubble gum. Roy, how about you? In this 23 September 1955, file photo, JW Milam, left, and Roy Bryant, right, sit with their wives in a courtroom in Sumner, Mississippi. Milam (far left) were charged with murder but were ultimately acquitted by an all-white jury. No one ever did time for the killing of the 14 year-old black boy from Chicago. Narrator:Hundreds of thousands of black people fled Mississippi for Chicago in the years between the World Wars. I mean it's -- I mean someone come and stand over you with a pistol in one hand and a flashlight and you're 16 years old it's a terrifying experience, very terrifying. Wheeler Parker:Anything goin' on, he's in the middle of all -- all of it and he just loved to play ball. Emmett Till, a 14-year-old Black boy visiting family in Mississippi from Chicago, was brutally murdered in August 1955. Milam laid bare the racism that ruled Mississippi. They both admitted to the murder but felt justified. Although his killers were arrested and charged with murder, they were both acquitted quickly by an all-white, all-male jury. The trial drew to a close after only five days. It was here, that the Chicago Negro boy Emmett Till is alleged to have paid unwelcome attention to Roy Bryant's most attractive wife. Narrator:In June of 1955, black Chicago swung to a new kind of music called rock 'n' roll. Yet Northern outrage prompted many Southerners to resent outside agitators and rally in support of the suspects. Narrator:Reports of the acquittal made front page headlines across the United States, and set off an international firestorm. Narrator:On September 19th, less than three weeks after Emmett's body was found, Roy Bryant and J.W. William Pearson, THANKS TO A high school dropout, she won two beauty contests and married Roy Bryant, an ex-soldier. I said, "I didn't hear anything," I said, "anything. I couldn't sleep at night. But after the acquittal, in the magazine article, Bryant and Milam described the killing. And he pulled away from me. Roy Bryant, a 24 year-old ex-soldier and his wife Carolyn owned the grocery and not much else. The Karla Brown story: What happened and the latest updates. At some point, Roy attempted to join the police force. You just as well to get ready to go." During the trial, the families arrived with their sons dressed in their Sunday best,Roy and J.W. Moses Newson:That was a dramatic moment. Oudie Brown:Said, "J.W., I got a writ for ya." Black Man: I really don't know sir. Milam were charged with Till's murder and acquitted by an all-white jury. Milam: I am too. Black Man: Yes sir. They would just go into a faint. There's one of his shoes here." Mamie Till:They said that about one in every five had to be assisted out of the building. Schedule an interview today! He did a few welding jobs but eventually returned to the grocery business. (Laughs) It was somethin'. Erich Hartmann/ Magnum Photos Interviewer: Do you have any evidence bearing on this case? Milam Bryant Scratch:We took him and we was just gonna whip him, scare some sense into him. So, what is the singer's story, and where does he live today? 24-year-old at the time of Emmett's death, Bryant confronted his wife Carolyn when he came to know that she was "approached" by an African American boy. If a white person did something to you, you had no recourse at all. Milam was at a store in nearby Minter City when the Leflore County sheriff caught up with him. He and his half-brother J. W. Milam kidnapped, tortured, and murdered Emmet Till. Mamie Till:I thought that pretty soon the crowd would die down. And 100 days after the death of Emmett Till, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white person, and the Montgomery bus boycott began. Richard Heard, Classmate:When we first met, we were in gym in Mr. Long's gym period. One of them was "Isn't that just like a nigger to swim across the Tallahatchie with a gin fan around his neck?". Emmett Till's body is taken to Chicago's Roberts Temple Church of God for viewing and funeral services. Written By: Ben Cosgrove. "Thar he," he said. (Enter your ZIP code for information on American Experience events and screening in your area.). The boys corpse would later be found decomposing in the Tallahatchie River. Takagi One-way train fare of $11.10 took them to a different world. And how do I know I'll ever see you again?" JW Milam (left) and Roy Bryant (right) confessed to Emmett Till's killing in 1956 after being found not guilty. When they were acquitted, the men later sold their story for $4,000 to reporter William Bradford Huie. Ah, they had the ceiling fans that were only stirring the air up, making it hotter when it reached your body. Now, with the eyes of the nation turning to Mississippi, the state appointed a special prosecutor and filed charges. Roy and Carolyn Bryant and J. W. Milam will always be linked to the 1955 murder of Emmett Till. He was the one that everybody kind of looked to. Civil Rights Opponent. They were found not guilty by an all-white jury. Magnolia Cooksey-Mathious, Classmate:I knew Emmett Till. Narrator:In August, Emmett's great uncle, Moses Wright, visited Chicago and invited Emmett and his cousin Wheeler home to Mississippi. I mean the whole gym went crazy. Magnolia Cooksey-Mathious, Emmett Till's classmate In 1955, Carolyn Bryant Donham (then just Carolyn Bryant), a 21-year-old white woman, accused Emmett Till, a 14-year-old Black boy, of making an unwelcome advance at her. You couldn't see. Special Collections, University of Mississippi Libraries Engineered by Bob Dawson, SOUND EDITORS Kristin Lesko Milam laid bare the racism that ruled Mississippi. Milam and his brother Roy Bryant, both white, were charged with the crime. Rose Jourdain, Journalist:I think black peoples' reaction was so visceral. That's when we became afraid. Trudy Williams It is now.". Roy, Carolyn and J. W. became celebrities. Milam turned to Moses Wright. Many whites in the surrounding counties showed up to watch the show. Mamie Till:I asked him, "Mr. Rayner, do you have a hammer?" Moses Wright, description of kidnapping:Near to the car they asked a question, "Is this the right one?" Columbus Short's bio: partner, net worth, children, what happened. Roy Bryant, with his half-brother J . Mrs. Milam: Fine. "Did you see anything?" It had sex, it had murder, it had mystery. Further, clearly speaking, he is a racist murderer. Clarence Strider Jr.:People are used to doin' thang normal around here. They thought they could run over the judge and the sheriff and everybody over there. And I wondered, was it necessary to shoot him? John Herbers, Journalist:The atmosphere among whites in Tallahatchie county and other-- the whole surrounding area was one of absolute scorn at the fact that these men were being put on trial for their lives. His family had worked cotton for generations, but this trip would be Emmett's introduction to the Delta, known as "the most southern place on earth.". Hollis Watkins Rose Jourdain:I think black peoples' reaction was so visceral. The boy laughed. Whites looking at you. The boy was so badly beaten that Moses Wright could identify Emmett only by his father's ring. Milam, showed up armed at the rural Leflore County home of Till's great-uncle, Mose Wright, looking for the youth. Stock Footage, Prosecutor Chatem w/charges:D.A. Moses Newson, Journalist:A lot of leadership was going around making outrageous threats and claiming they weren't going to obey the law and that sort of thing. Gerald Chatham Warren Hampton:Black people wasn't speaking out about the Emmett Till Case at that particular time because they knew that it could happen to them. I would wear flared skits with the crinoline underneath, you must have the crinoline. Betty Pearson:I remember looking at the -- at that jury and even though I knew a good many of the men who were on the jury and, and they looked mean to me. Clarence Strider Jr., son of Mississippi sheriff They be lookin' at you, rollin' their eyes and lookin' at you. He succumbed to cancer of the spine on New Year's Eve, 1980 at age 61. I said, "No, Mr. Rayner, let the people see what I've seen." Stock Footage, Interview with Milam & Bryant after the Verdict:Interviewer: How do you folks feel now that it's all over? We had a lot of fun. Mamie Till:When people saw what had happened to my son, men stood up who had never stood up before. They thought that they, you know, could just take over, but they didn't. Sign up for the American Experience newsletter! William Winter:When one drives through the lowest hills and looks out at the sweep of those fields below, flat as a pancake as far as the eye could see, it's breath taking. Huie also discusses James Earl Ray, Edward Aaron, and white Southern . She stated that Till had grabbed her and verbally threatened her. "Every last Anglo-Saxon one of you," he said, "has the courage to free these men. And we've got four seats over here for you colored boys. J.T. She was her girlfriend for a long time. From their roots in slavery to the Wild West, hippies, high fashion and hip-hop, jeans are the fabric on which the history of American ideology and politics is writ large. Bryant's then-husband, Roy Bryant, and his half-brother J.W. Fred Grabbe's story: Background, what happened, and where is he today? On a hot September in 1955, Roy Bryant and J.W. Clarence Strider Jr., Son of Mississippi Sheriff:My dad called me and asked me did I have a boat in the river. All rights reserved. Unable to find work, Roy took his family to East Texas and attended welding school. The next year Bryant and Milan were paid between $3600 and $4000 for an interview with Look magazine. Betty Pearson, Mississippi resident Then you look at all these white folks and everybody lookin' at you and they've got they frowns on their face and everything. When thetrial opened in September, the national and international press descended on the scene. Getty Images Milam helped out around the grocery. ", Mamie Till:As the jury retired, the black people who were standing around the walls began to ease out of the door. Roy died of cancer in September 1994. On August 28, 1955, a 14-year-old African-American named Emmett Till was kidnapped from his relative's home in Mississippi by two adult white men, who brutally beat him to death. He stopped at Roy Bryant's general store in Money, 20 miles south of Glendora, where he was alone for a moment with Bryant's young wife, Carolyn. Mamie Till Mobley, Emmett Till's mother White Woman: I'm almost convinced that the very beginning of this was by a communistic front. No one served time for the 1955 murder of Emmett Till. I say "Who?" Though exactly what happened next is unconfirmed. 2003 WGBH Educational Foundation BACK in 1955 Emmett Till was wrongfully accused of offending a white woman in her family's grocery store. The team discovered the warrant on Tuesday, June 21, 2022, in an archived file folder in the Leflore County Courthouse. Greg Shea, PROJECT ADMINISTRATION A group of Emmett Till Legacy Foundation, working with talented filmmaker Keith Beauchamp uncovered a warrant for the arrest of Carolyn Bryant Donham, the wife of Ryan Bryant. After the trial, Roy lost his store after a boycott from the black community. Neighborhoods and schools were segregated, but the city offered the kind of freedom black Mississippians could only dream about. We don't know what happened to them. On a steamy Wednesday afternoon, Emmett and seven other teenagers piled into Moses Wright's old Ford and headed to Bryant's grocery. In August 1955, a 14-year-oldBlack boyallegedly flirted with a white woman in a grocery store in Money, Mississippi. The two had already been tried and . The case may be closed, but the issue of racist-inspired violence against black males persists. In the wee hours of . Chris Coleman family murders trial, what happened, latest updates. You ain't goin' to be with the white folks and the white folks ain't goin' to be with you and y'all might be (Unintell. He was charged $750 for this crime and served three years probation. They were mad, they were angry. Natural born leader. Florence Mars Interviewer: And you don't know whether they should be indicted? Roy Bryant died in 1994. In. I said, "Congressman, this is one verdict you don't want to be present to hear.". Le Monde Wright later claimed he could feel the blood boil in hundreds of white people in the courtroom. I passed, they still beatin', they still beatin'. Two rooms about 12 feet square. You are already subscribed to our newsletter! It was just a magnificent reaction to a very ugly thing that had taken place in this country. The Murder Jurors had acquitted the two white men, Roy Bryant and J.W. During the three-day trial, prosecutors presented courageous testimony from Moses Wright, Till's great-uncle who witnessed his abduction, and Willie Reed, an African American sharecropper who . It was like a nightmare. The only way that Moses Wright, Emmett's uncle, could identify the body was through an initial ring belonging to Emmett's father, Louis Till. Don Richards John E. Allen, Inc. Milam as the men who abducted Till, but the all-white, all-male jury acquitted them. Two black men had recently been killed for registering black voters. Table of Biography [ show] Early life Roy Bryant was born on January 24, 1931, in Money, Mississippi, United States of America. Reference Center for Marxist Studies, New York City Watch popular content from the following creators: cam(@officiallycamunbothered), cam(@officiallycamunbothered), Xavier(@prowrestlingref_xazv1292), Missy 313(@missmissy3131), LOCK(@vroydrillations), (@roybal_interviews), michaela(@iatethis), sportstok.tik(@sportstok.tik), Keano . And so it was a lot of excitement leaving the South, leaving the cotton fields. Mrs. Bryant: I feel fine. Less than four days after Till's interaction with Carolyn Bryant, Roy Bryant and his half-brother, J.W. Wasn't much, wasn't really a town. And we were doing the bop, that's the bebop, and we just danced and had fun. Rebekah Suggs. The men ended up living unremarkable lives, each dying of cancer. Chicago Sun-Times That these kinds of things were not of their generation, that they no longer happened in America. And the cynicism ah, was ah, usually cached in very crude jokes. He, along with his half-brother J.W. So we're talkin' about a way of life that in this part of the country that was enforced by law. The two men are now longer alive and died many years ago. Roy Bryant and J.W. Helen R. Russell J.W. A high school dropout, she won two beauty contests and married Roy Bryant, an ex-soldier. Wheeler Parker:Nobody talked to anybody. Your interview will be conducted by an admission counselor or an Admission Fellow, a select group of our upperclass students. . The early 1950s and 1960s is considered the Civil Rights Era. By Bernice Johnson-Reagon, Songtalk Publishing Co. Stock Footage, Man on the Street Interviews with whites about trial:White Man: I can't understand how a civilized mother could put a dead body of her child on public display. Narrator:A juror later revealed that the jury had stalled to "make it look good." Narrator:In the 75 years before Emmett Till set foot in Mississippi, more than 500 black people had been lynched in the state. Interviewer: And how about you Mrs. Milam? People die, pictures don't. Pictures keep dead people alive. I saw him he had khaki pants on, had a green nylon shirt, and a .45 on his side. "Hell no, that's shit you talking." Narrator:Scores of reporters descended on the Delta. By Jennifer Tisdale. You couldn't seeand when they left, I was still afraid and so I'm waitin' for them to come back. The couple ran a small grocery, Bryant's Grocery & Meat Market, that sold provisions to black sharecroppersand their children. After the town's show of support at the trial, the men talked freely about how they killed the young teen from Chicago. However, he still claimed that he did not murder Emmett Till. White Man: Well sir, I'll tell ya' right now, if he gets justice they'll turn him a loose. William Bicket, INTERNS No longer than two hours, the high sheriff come back. And said they wanted the boy that did the talk at Money. 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