s actually the resistance to feeling emotions when they arise that causes difficulty. as m. kathleen casey once wrote, “ pain is inevitable, suffering is optional. ” pain is something we all experience. suffering is caused when we attempt to suppress the discomfort we feel. feeling isn ’ t fatal. but it ’ s tough to convince emotional eaters of that. one of the greatest obstacles to working with emotions is fear of the unknown and fear of the unexpected. when beginning to work with emotions it is natural to feel afraid. much effort was formerly spent treating emotions as if they were deadly. as a result, all that emotion has been locked up and kept under control. it ’ s scary to think what would happen if all those suppressed emotions were release. the process of opening up to hidden feelings often takes time. at first, it may feel like a flood of emotion, but as the pressure of unexpressed emotions releases, you will feel lighter. you will not cry forever. the anger will not keep on exploding forever. the pain will not go on forever. learning to gently and compassionately be with what you are feeling allows healing to occur. emotional exploration exercise each day for a week write down the emotions you experience. you may choose to write them down as you go through your day, last thing at night, or first thing in the morning. whatever suits you. don ’ t justify or excuse or give reasons. simply list them to get some idea of how emotional your life actually is. the next week, repeat the exercise above ( writing down your emotions ), but this time consider how you dealt with each of those emotions. how does food ( or the lack of food ) seem to help? if the end result wasn ’ t so good for you, consider other ways that may be appropriate expressions of those emotions. the first question to ask yourself is “ what am i feeling? ” - identifying emotions can be difficult if you habitually minimize or deny what you feel. if you ’ re not used to acknowledging your feelings, the answer might well be, “ i don ’ t know. ” - there is always a cause for our feelings. the problem may be that we ’ ve hidden our emotions from ourselves and others for so long. you might try locating the specific area in your body where the emotion is coming from. check your head, shoulder, throat, chest, heart, or stomach. notice the areas that are and are not feeling the emotion. - try asking yourself, “ what feelings am i not expressing? ” if that still


the emotion is coming from. check your head, shoulder, throat, chest, heart, or stomach. notice the areas that are and are not feeling the emotion. - try asking yourself, “ what feelings am i not expressing? ” if that still draws a blank, then ask yourself, “ if i knew what i was feeling, what would it be? ” feelings are by their very nature unclear, vague, and foggy. allow yourself to be with what is still unknown. a starting place might be to state, “ i feel an uncomfortable feeling in my ( example ) stomach area. ” - decide which general category the ‘ uncomfortable ’ feeling falls into. is it sad, angry, or fearful? once you have the category, refine the description until you find the emotion or feeling that most closely resonates with the feeling in your body. - having uncovered the emotions that had formerly been stored or repressed, take a look at them. no need to analyze and criticize. no need to judge yourself, blame yourself, or tell yourself that you “ shouldn ’ t ” feel that way. only look at them objectively, and tell them ( the feelings ) and tell yourself that it is okay to feel this way. remind yourself that what you resist, persists. realize that no matter how severe the emotions seem, feeling them is not dangerous. identify the feeling with your head, acknowledge them with your heart, and let them flow through you. - let yourself feel your anger, your sadness, your fear. really feel it! go ahead and cry, or beat your pillow … whatever you feel you need ( just don ’ t hurt anyone ). feel them. experience them. feeling them will allow space inside to feel other, more positive, experiences. - when you focus on a feeling, it may become larger and stronger. this can be scary and we may think we can ’ t stand it. if you begin to get overwhelmed by the emotion, redirect your awareness. notice again the areas of your body that don ’ t feel the emotion. find some distance from the place in your body where the emotion dwells. - remember to make the distinction that you are not your emotions. you are a person having an experience. if you are currently experiencing hopelessness, it is not the same as you – you are not hopelessness. you are a person experiencing hopelessness because of the thoughts you are thinking. ask yourself, “ what would i have to be thinking in order to create a feeling of hopelessness?


never before had there been such a total air victory in the history of aerial combat. the name " flying tigers " burned itself in the pages of world history for all time. for years after the flying tigers disbanded in 1942, they had been known as a mercenary air force in the service of the chinese government. finally on july 4, 1991, in a ceremony honoring the flying tigers, the united states government belatedly admitted the truth - the flying tigers had been created by secret order of president franklin roosevelt months before pearl harbor to help the chinese defend their cities from the relentless bombing by the japanese, who had invaded china in 1937. three hundred men and women were recruited from within the ranks of the u. s. armed services. pilots, aircraft mechanics, propeller specialists, doctors, nurses, clerks and even a chaplain joined what was called the american volunteer group. they signed a one - year contract to protect the only supply route open for the united states to deliver war material to china - the burma road. they boarded ships from the west coast in the spring and summer of 1941, traveling as missionaries, planters, even circus performers - disguises to mask their true mission and protect fdr ' s secret effort to keep china from falling to the japanese without provoking a war with japan. a. v. g. the american volunteer group the japanese had been bombing chinese cities since 1937 and had virtually destroyed china ' s air force. war between the united states and japan seemed imminent. the idea for a " lafayette escadrille " to assist the chinese in their struggle had been brewing for some time. claire lee chennault, a retired army air corps captain and air advisor to china, was authorized by generalissimo chiang kai - shek to form a volunteer group consisting entirely of american airmen to help train chinese aviators and protect china ' s skies. with the help of t. v. soong, chiang ' s brother - in - law, tom corcoran, an advisor to the president, and other high - ranking officials, chennault sold the idea to roosevelt. on april 15, 1941, president franklin roosevelt signed the executive order authorizing the formation of the american volunteer group. the order permitted members of the navy, marine corps, and army air corps to resign from their branch of the service with the assurance that they would be reinstated to their former rank or grade upon completion of their contract. the group was to defend the burma road, china ' s lifeline to burma and indian ocean ports. since the u


from their branch of the service with the assurance that they would be reinstated to their former rank or grade upon completion of their contract. the group was to defend the burma road, china ' s lifeline to burma and indian ocean ports. since the u. s. was technically at peace with japan, the plan required some subterfuge. central aircraft manufacturing co. ( camco ) was elected as the middleman. camco, owned by william pawley, had an aircraft factory at loiwing, china, supplying parts and planes to chiang ' s air force. the " volunteers " would sign a contract with camco for one year, performing certain services not technically relating to combat. recruiters fanned out across the country. the rumors soon spread that there was adventure and excitement in the exotic orient. pilots and crewmen of two carrier groups, temporarily at norfolk, virginia, for the christmas holidays, were contacted by retired commander rutledge irvine in early 1941. many were fascinated, but most were somewhat skeptical. the pay, perks, and rewards sounded too good to be true. a few months later, and after three more meetings with our supersalesman, a group of pilots and crew were off to san francisco on the way to the land of kipling. other recruiters signed up army and marine personnel. chennault had some bad experiences with the international squadron. he now wanted to put his own theories to the test. as the author of the controversial book, the role of defensive pursuit, and as a member of the famous aerobatic team " three men on the flying trapeze ", chennault was held in awe by many airmen who wanted to fly with him. the avg recruiters signed up 100 pilots and 200 mechanics, armorers, parachute riggers, radio operators, photographers, meteorologists, and other ground support crews. the pay was good : $ 600 to $ 675 per month for pilots and from $ 250 up for ground crews. the contract didn ' t mention another important perk - $ 500 bonus for each enemy plane shot down - but it was understood ( this point was not understood by all - ed. note ). the first contingent sailed from san francisco aboard the dutch vessel jaeggersfontaineon july 11, 1941. chennault had left a few days before on a pan american clipper. the group was supposed to sail under complete secrecy. the passports read school teachers, entertainers, surveyors, farmers, engineers, and other innoc


11, 1941. chennault had left a few days before on a pan american clipper. the group was supposed to sail under complete secrecy. the passports read school teachers, entertainers, surveyors, farmers, engineers, and other innocuous professions. no one was fooled. a few days after the ship sailed, the japanese newspapers announced that a group of american pilots has sailed for the far east to fight japan in china. " the ship will be sunk " the paper said. but it made it. a month later the second contingent sailed aboard another dutch ship, the " bloemfontaine. " the name of david lee " tex " and mine appeared on the passenger list. we had flown together as dive bomber pilots aboard the navy carriers ranger and yorktown. those of us who expected to enjoy the mysterious beauties of the far east and the exotic orient were in for a rude awakening. when we arrived in burma we had little time to explore the forbidden fruits of rangoon. instead we were sent 170 miles north to toungoo in the heart of the jungle. kyedaw airdrome, an abandoned raf field, was to be our training headquarters. it had a 4, 000 foot blacktop runway with decent barracks of bamboo and teak. but the heat in september, 1941 was stifling and every biting critter known to man infested the area. and when we saw the planes we were to fly, it didn ' t make us much happier. some of the pilots had only flown bombers or transports. even hill, neale, myself, and others with fighter experience had a tough time learning the quirks of the p - 40 tomahawk. but claire chennault was a great teacher. he inspired confidence and a fierce loyalty. even the hottest pilots forgot their prior training and absorbed chennault ' s lessons in tactics. for over three months he personally instructed and drilled us in his innovative tactics. " the japanese are superbly trained pilots... they have proved themselves in years of combat in china... the japanese fighter planes are more maneuverable, have a better rate of climb but are more vulnerable than the p - 40... the p - 40 has better armor, more firepower and can dive at an extraordinary speed... use the p - 40s good points and you ' ll stay alive and beat the enemy... ", he lectured day after day. he sent us aloft to practice his strategies while observing our performance from


at an extraordinary speed... use the p - 40s good points and you ' ll stay alive and beat the enemy... ", he lectured day after day. he sent us aloft to practice his strategies while observing our performance from his bamboo tower. accidents occurred daily while pilots tried to get the hang of the temperamental p - 40. the heat, training, lack of entertainment, the insects and boredom caused growing dissatisfaction. some quit the avg and went home. some asked for other duties. but chennault finally whipped a highly trained gung - ho group together. we were ready. he had our admiration and respect. most called him " colonel " or referred to him as " the old man. " december 7, 1941, " pearl harbor attacked by japan. " it was december 8th in burma. chennault ordered his men on the alert. we would not be caught on the ground. but nothing happened at toungoo. chennault had organized his group into three squadrons. on december 12th, he sent the 3rd squadron, ft1st. gif ( 3230 bytes ) " hell ' s angels " to rangoon to assist the raf. the other two squadrons stood by on continuous alert. on december 18th, the japanese attacked kunming, china with a large force of bombers. the 1st squadron, ft3rd. gif ( 4859 bytes ) " the adam & eves " and the 2nd, ft2nd. gif ( 1942 bytes ) " the panda bears, " were sent on the 650 mile trip to kunming early the following day and immediately went out on patrol, but there was no action. there was an early morning patrol on the 20th and again nothing. but chennault was certain that the enemy would attack after its successful raid on the 18th. his intuition and early warning net paid off. early during the morning of december 20th, a report was received warning that enemy bombers had been sighted 60 miles away. " the old man " said this is what he had been waiting for, american planes with american pilots with a little advance warning. he fired his red flares and the two squadrons took to the air. the enemy never reached kunming. the first report was that six of the ten japanese bombers had been shot down. later in the war chennault learned that only one of the enemy returned to its base. but the mission had one casualty. me! chennault wrote, " the last the other pilots saw of rector, he was still


been shot down. later in the war chennault learned that only one of the enemy returned to its base. but the mission had one casualty. me! chennault wrote, " the last the other pilots saw of rector, he was still chasing the japes at full throttle ". i had chased a little too far and didn ' t have enough gas to return. i bellied my p - 40 in... and walked back to base ( i was credited with shooting down the first enemy bomber that day ). the 20th of december, 1941 was a costly day for the japanese. the lost nine out of ten bombers and never hit the target. the japanese never again tried to bomb kunming as long as the avg defended the city. it was not until two years later that they made another try, and this time escorted by a large number of fighters. during january and february, 1942, the avg started to rack up the extraordinary record that gained them fame. over the skies of burma and china we destroyed 217 enemy aircraft in thirty one encounter and probably destroyed at least another 50. during that same period, we lost six pilots. the grateful chinese dubbed us the " flying tigers " and the name stuck. when the avg was disbanded on july 4, 1942, after only seven months in combat, we had destroyed 297 enemy planes with another 153 probably destroyed. twenty - two avg personnel lost their lives : four in aerial combat, six on strafing missions, ten in training accidents and two on the ground from bombing ( four were pows, three returned ). unfortunately, because of lack of tact and shortsightedness on the part of army brass, much of this valuable talent left china. most of the avg would have stayed on if they had been given decent treatment. all most wanted was a short leave and recognition of the service they had performed for their country. eighty - two members of the avg stayed on for various periods. forty - four pilots and ground crew agreed to stay an extra two weeks because of their loyalty to chennault. two pilots, john petach and arnold shamblin paid for that two weeks with their lives. bob neale, the top avg ace. led the newly formed 23rd fighter group until july 19th, when col. robert scott, jr. assumed command. in addition to the 20 pilots and 24 ground crew that stayed two extra weeks, five avg pilots and 28 ground personnel joined the army air corps and stayed in china. they formed the


19th, when col. robert scott, jr. assumed command. in addition to the 20 pilots and 24 ground crew that stayed two extra weeks, five avg pilots and 28 ground personnel joined the army air corps and stayed in china. they formed the cadre of the 23rd fighter group. five of chennault ' s staff stayed on to form headquarters of the china air task force. the 1st, 2nd and 3rd pursuit squadrons were redesignated the 74th, 75th and 76th fighter squadrons. frank schiel was named c. o. of the 74th. tex hill commanded the 75th with gil bright as his second in command, and i commanded the 76th, with chuck sawyer as my deputy. one chapter in history ended july 4, 1942, and another began the same day with the same equipment, the same planes, and many of the same men. most of the avg who did not stay in china returned to their former branches of the service and performed brilliantly in other theaters. some later returned to china and served with the 14th air force. we did not consider ourselves mercenaries or soldiers of fortune. we were paid sums considerably larger than our military salaries. most of those who volunteered felt his was a unique opportunity to serve in a cause important to our country and a chance to improve our skills. a chance to get in on the ground floor with excitement and adventure thrown in make an irresistible combination. ( " the original flying tigers " by ed rector, 2nd sqdrn, vice squadron leader ) * in 31 encounters they destroyed 217 enemy planes and probably destroyed 43 others. * the tiger ' s losses in combat were four pilots killed in the air, one killed while straffing and one taken prisoner. * in the initial day in rangoon, between christmas and new year ' s eve of 1941, the americans officially shot down 75 planes with a loss of two tiger pilots and six planes of their own. never before had there been such a total air victory in the history of aerial combat. the name " flying tigers " burned itself in the pages of world history for all time. * in the seven months of combat that followed, the 85 surviving pilots and their tiger - toothed p - 40s shot down, by official count, 299 enemy planes. they destroyed another known 240 japanese aircraft. in addition, the tigers estimated a kill total upwards of a thousand aircraft which could not be confirmed officially, but which pilots recounted having watched disappear into the mountains or sea. absolutly brilliant!!! review by george i


240 japanese aircraft. in addition, the tigers estimated a kill total upwards of a thousand aircraft which could not be confirmed officially, but which pilots recounted having watched disappear into the mountains or sea. absolutly brilliant!!! review by george i just got my flying tigers g1 in goatskin seal brown,, and it is absolutely awesome!!! it fit perfectly and its very warm ( posted on 9 / 26 / 11 ) could not be any better!!! review by tom sullivan ( december 2007 ) my g1 flying tigers arrived today, i dont see how the jacket could be any better. customer service was the best. thanks guys. tom - colorado springs ( posted on 7 / 28 / 10 ) fits like a glove review by lee adens ( october 2006 ) received my jacket yesterday, fantastic, fits like a glove, very impressed. thank you very much for all your help in my purchase and i hope to buy more in the future, once again many thanks. ( posted on 7 / 23 / 10 ) by far the best jacket i have ever owned review by dave morrow i just opened up the box with my new flying tiger g1 flight jacket. i want to tell you that i am very impressed with the quality of the materials and the workmanship. i have owned many flight jackets over the years but this jacket is by far the nicest and best quality of any of the jackets i have ever owned. the leather patches, stiching, lining are all exceptional. great job. thank you. ( posted on 7 / 22 / 10 ) - absolutly brilliant!!! review by george - i just got my flying tigers g1 in goatskin seal brown,, and it is absolutely awesome!!! it fit perfectly and its very warm ( posted on 9 / 26 / 11 ) - could not be any better!!! review by tom sullivan ( december 2007 ) - my g1 flying tigers arrived today, i dont see how the jacket could be any better. customer service was the best. thanks guys. tom - colorado springs ( posted on 7 / 28 / 10 ) - fits like a glove review by lee adens ( october 2006 ) - received my jacket yesterday, fantastic, fits like a glove, very impressed. thank you very much for all your help in my purchase and i hope to buy more in the future, once again many thanks. ( posted on 7 / 23 / 10 )


emmett louis " bobo " till " have you ever sent a loved son on vacation and had him returned to you in a pine box, so horribly battered and water - logged that someone needs to tell you this sickening sight is your son - - lynched? " about this page this page is locked. want to contribute to this page? contact bgill emmett louis " bobo " till ( july 25, 1941 % u2013 august 28, 1955 ) was an african - american teenager from chicago, illinois who died in what has been characterized as a " brutal murder " in a region of mississippi known as the mississippi delta in the small town of money in leflore county. his murder was one of the key events that energized the nascent american civil rights movement. the main suspects were acquitted but later admitted to committing the crime. till ' s mother had an open casket funeral to let everyone see how her son had been brutally killed. he had been shot and beaten ; he was then thrown into the tallahatchie river with a 75 - pound cotton gin fan tied to his neck with barbed wire as a weight. his body stayed in the river for three days until it was discovered and retrieved by two fishermen. emmett till was the son of mamie till and louis till. emmett ' s mother was born to john and alma carthan in the small delta town of webb, mississippi ( " the delta " being the traditional name for the area of northwestern mississippi, at the confluence of the yazoo and mississippi rivers ). when she was two years old, her family moved to illinois. emmett ' s mother largely raised him on her own ; she and louis till had separated in 1942. emmett ' s father, louis till, was drafted into the u. s. army in 1943. while serving in italy, he was convicted of raping two italian woman and killing a third. he was executed by the army by hanging near pisa in july 1945. before emmett till ' s killing, the till family knew none of this, only that louis had been killed due to " willful misconduct ". the facts of louis till ' s execution were only made widely known after emmett till ' s death, by segregationist senator james eastland, in an apparent attempt to turn public support away from mrs. till just weeks before the trials of roy bryant and j. w. milam, the implication being that criminal behavior ran in the till family. in 1955, till and his cousin were sent for a summer stay with till ' s great -


mrs. till just weeks before the trials of roy bryant and j. w. milam, the implication being that criminal behavior ran in the till family. in 1955, till and his cousin were sent for a summer stay with till ' s great - uncle, moses wright, who lived in money, mississippi ( another small town in the delta, eight miles north of greenwood ). before his departure for the delta, till ' s mother cautioned him to " mind his manners " with white people. till ' s mother understood that race relations in mississippi were very different from those in chicago. the state had seen many lynchings during the south ' s lynching era ( ca. 1876 - 1930 ), and racially motivated murders were still not unfamiliar, especially in the " delta " region where till was going to visit. racial tensions were also on the rise after the united states supreme court ' s 1954 decision in brown v. board of education to end segregation in public education. till arrived on august 21. on august 24, he joined other teenagers as they went to bryant ' s grocery and meat market to get some candy and soda. the teens were children of sharecroppers and had been picking cotton all day. the market was owned by a husband and wife, roy bryant and carolyn bryant, and mostly catered to the local sharecropper population. till ' s cousin and several black youths, all under 16, were reported to have been with till in the store. depending on who tells the story, as till was leaving the store, he either whistled at or physically assaulted and propositioned carolyn bryant. she stood up and stormed to her car. the boys were terrified thinking she might return with a pistol and ran away. the news of this greatly angered her husband when he heard of it upon his return from out of town several days later. till ' s cousin, wheeler parker, jr., who was with him at the store, claims till did nothing but whistle at the woman. " he loved pranks, he loved fun, he loved jokes... in mississippi, people didn ' t think the same jokes were funny. " carolyn bryant later asserted that till had grabbed her at the waist and asked her for a date. she said the young man also used " unprintable " words. he had a slight stutter and some have conjectured that bryant might have misinterpreted what till said. by the time 24 - year - old roy bryant returned from a road trip three days after his wife ' s


, 000 " blacks and thrown their bodies into the delta ’ s swamps and bayous. some supposed that relatives of till were hiding him out of fear for the youth ’ s safety or that he had been sent back to chicago where he would be safe. moses wright, a witness to till ' s abduction told the sheriff that a person who sounded like a woman had identified till as " the one " after which the men had driven away with him. bryant and milam claimed they later found out till was not " the one " who allegedly insulted mrs. bryant, and swore to sheriff george smith they had released him. they would later recant and confess after their acquittal. in an editorial on friday, september 2, greenville journalist hodding carter, jr.. asserted that " people who are guilty of this savage crime should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, " a brave suggestion for any mississippi newspaper editor to make. after till ' s horribly disfigured body was found, he was put into a pine box and nearly buried, but mamie till wanted the body to come back to chicago. a tutwiler mortuary assistant worked all night to prepare the body as best he could so that mamie till could bring emmett ' s body back to chicago. the chicago funeral home had agreed not to open the casket, but mamie till fought it, and after the state of mississippi would not allow the funeral home to open it, mamie threatened to open it herself, insisting she had a right to see her son. after viewing the body, she also insisted on leaving the casket open for the funeral and allowing people to take photos because she wanted people to see how badly till ' s body had been disfigured. news photographs of till ' s mutilated corpse circulated around the country, notably appearing in magazine, drawing intense public reaction. some reports indicate up to 50, 000 people viewed the body. emmett till was buried september 6 in burr oak cemetery in alsip, illinois. the same day, bryant and milam were indicted by a grand jury. when mamie till came to mississippi to testify at the trial, she stayed in the home of dr. t. r. m. howard in the all - black town of mound bayou. others staying in howard ' s home were black reporters, such as cloyte murdock of ebony magazine, key witnesses, and congressman charles diggs of michigan, the first chairman of the congressional black caucus. howard was a major civil rights leader


others staying in howard ' s home were black reporters, such as cloyte murdock of ebony magazine, key witnesses, and congressman charles diggs of michigan, the first chairman of the congressional black caucus. howard was a major civil rights leader and fraternal organization official in mississippi, the head of the regional council of negro leadership ( rcnl ), and one of the wealthiest blacks in the state. on the day before the trial, frank young, a black farm worker, came to howard ' s home. he said that he had information indicating that milam and bryant had help in their crime. young ' s allegations sparked an investigation that led to unprecedented cooperation between local law enforcement, the naacp, the rcnl, black journalists, and local reporters. the trial began on september 19. mose wright, emmett ' s great - uncle, was one of the main witnesses called up to speak. pointing to one of the suspected killers, he said " dar he, " to refer to the man who had killed his nephew. another key witness for the prosecution was willie reed, an 18 - year - old high school student who lived on a plantation near drew, mississippi in sunflower county. the prosecution had located him because of the investigation sparked by young ' s information. reed testified that he had seen a pickup truck outside of an equipment shed on a plantation near drew managed by leslie milam, a brother of j. w. and roy bryant. he said that four whites, including j. w. milam, were in the cab and three blacks were in the back, one of them till. when the truck pulled into the shed, he heard human cries that sounded like a beating was underway. he did not identify the other blacks on the truck. on september 23 the jury, made up of 12 white males, acquitted both defendants. deliberations took just 67 minutes ; one juror said they took a " soda break " to stretch the time to over an hour " to make it look good. " the hasty acquittal outraged people throughout the united states and europe and energized the nascent civil rights movement. aftermath of the trial even during the trial, howard and black journalists such as james hicks of the baltimor afro - american named several blacks who had allegedly been on the truck near drew including three employees of j. w. milam : henry lee loggins, levi ' too - tight ' collins, and joe willie hubbard. in the months after the trial, both hicks and howard called


who had allegedly been on the truck near drew including three employees of j. w. milam : henry lee loggins, levi ' too - tight ' collins, and joe willie hubbard. in the months after the trial, both hicks and howard called for a federal investigation into charges that sheriff h. c. strider had locked up collins and loggins in jail to keep them from testifying. in a january 1956 article in look magazine for which they were paid $ 4, 000, j. w. milam and roy bryant admitted to journalist william bradford huie that he and his brother had killed till. they did not fear being tried again for the same crime because of the constitutional double jeopardy protection. milam claimed that initially their intention was to scare till into line by pistol - whipping him and threatening to throw him off a cliff. milam claimed that regardless of what they did to till, he never showed any fear, never seemed to believe they would really kill him, and maintained a completely unrepentant, insolent, and defiant attitude towards them concerning his actions. thus the brothers said they felt they were left with no choice but to fully make an example of till. the story focused exclusively on the role of milam and bryant in the crime and did not mention the possible part played by others in the crime. in february 1956 howard ' s version of events of the kidnapping and murder, which stressed the possible involvement of hubbard and loggins, appeared in the booklet time bomb : mississippi exposed and the full story of emmett till by olive arnold adams. at the same time a still unidentified white reporter using the pseudonym amos dixon wrote a series of articles in the california eagle. the series put forward essentially the same thesis as time bomb but offered a more detailed description of the possible role of loggins, hubbard, collins, and leslie milam. time bomb and dixon ' s articles had no lasting impact in the shaping of public opinion. huie ' s article became the most commonly accepted version of events. in 1957 huie returned to the story for look magazine in an article which indicated that local residents were shunning milam and bryant and that their stores were closed due to a lack of business. milam died of cancer in 1980 and bryant died of cancer in 1994. the men never expressed any remorse for till ' s death and seemed to feel that they had done no wrong. in fact, a few months before he died, bryant complained bitterly in an interview that he had never made as much money off till ' s


the men never expressed any remorse for till ' s death and seemed to feel that they had done no wrong. in fact, a few months before he died, bryant complained bitterly in an interview that he had never made as much money off till ' s death as he deserved and that it had ruined his life. mamie ( as mamie till mobley ) outlived them, dying at the age of 81 on january 6, 2003. that same year her autobiography death of innocence : the story of the hate crime that changed america ( one world books, co - written with christopher benson ) was published. in 1991, a seven - mile stretch of 71st street in chicago was renamed " emmett till road, " after the slain boy in 2001, david t. beito, associate professor at the university of alabama and linda royster beito, chair of the department of social sciences at stillman college, were the first investigators in many decades to track down and interview on tape two key principals in the case : henry lee loggins and willie reed. they were doing research for their biography of t. r. m. howard. in his interview with the beitos, loggins denied that he had any knowledge of the crime or that he was one of the black men on the truck outside of the equipment shed near drew. reed repeated his testimony at the trial that he had seen three black men and four white men ( including j. w. milam ) on the truck. when asked to identify the black men, however, he did not name loggins as one of them. the beitos also confirmed that levi ' too - tight ' collins, another black man allegedly on this car, had died in 1993. in 1996, keith beauchamp started background research for a feature film he planned to make about till ' s murder, and asserted that as many as 14 individuals may have been involved. while conducting interviews he also encountered eyewitnesses who had never spoken out publicly before. as a result he decided to produce a documentary instead, and spent the next nine years creating the untold story of emmett louis till. the film led to calls by the naacp and others for the case to be reopened. the documentary included lengthy interviews with loggins and reed, both of whom the beitos had first tracked down and interviewed in 2001. loggins repeated his denial of any knowledge of the crime. beauchamp has consistently refused to name the fourteen individuals who he asserts took part in the crime, including the five who he claims are still alive. on


first tracked down and interviewed in 2001. loggins repeated his denial of any knowledge of the crime. beauchamp has consistently refused to name the fourteen individuals who he asserts took part in the crime, including the five who he claims are still alive. on may 10, 2004, the united states department of justice announced that it was reopening the case to determine whether anyone other than milam and bryant was involved. although the statute of limitations prevented charges being pursued under federal law, they could be pursued before the state court, and the federal bureau of investigation and officials in mississippi worked jointly on the investigation. as no autopsy had been performed on till ' s body, it was exhumed on may 31, 2005 from the suburban chicago cemetery where it was buried, and the cook county coroner then conducted the autopsy. the body was reburied by relatives on june 4. it has been positively identified as that of emmett till. in february 2007, the jackson clarion - ledger reported that both the fbi and a leflore county grand jury, which was empaneled by joyce chiles, a black prosecutor, had found no credible basis for keith beauchamp ' s claim that 14 individuals took part in till ' s abduction and murder or that any are still alive. the grand jury also decided not to pursue charges against carolyn bryant donham, roy bryant ' s ex wife. neither the fbi nor the grand jury found any credible evidence that henry lee loggins, now living in an ohio nursing home, and identified by beauchamp as a suspect who could be charged, had any role in the crime. other than loggins, beauchamp still refuses to name the 14 people who he says were involved although the fbi and district attorney have completed their investigations of his charges and he is free to go on the record. a story by jerry mitchell in the clarion - ledger on february 18 describes beauchamp ' s allegation that 14 or more were involved as a " legend. " the same article also labels as " legend " a rumor that till had endured castration at the hands of his victimizers. the castration theory was first put forward uncritically in beauchamp ' s " untold story " although mamie till - mobley ( emmett ' s mother ) had said in an earlier documentary directed by stanley nelson, " the murder of emmett till, " ( 2003 ) that her son ' s genitals were intact when she examined the corpse. the recent autopsy, as reported by mitchell, confirmed mobley - till


dead but the fbi believes others who may have assisted bryant and milam may still be alive and can be brought to justice. she was born mamie carthan on november 23, 1921, in a small town near webb, mississippi, the only child of john and alma carthan. ironically, she was born just two miles from the town of sumner, where the trial of her son ' s killers would one day be held. her father wanted to leave the south and the cotton fields, and made plans soon after his daughter was born. he found work in the small industrial town of argo, illinois, near chicago, at the argo corn products refining company. alma carthan joined her husband in january 1924, and brought their two - year - old daughter mamie with her. they settled in a predominately black enclave in argo where everyone knew each other. but mamie ' s world was shattered at age 13 when her parents divorced. a bright girl and a good student, mamie buried herself in her schoolwork. a strict mother mamie ' s mother, a member of the fundamentalist church of god in christ, was strict. she had high hopes for her only child. " in my day, the girls had one ambition - - to get married. very few kids finished high school, " mamie would recall. but her parents encouraged her to finish. mamie was the first black student to make the a honor roll, and the fourth black student to graduate from the predominately white argo community high school. " my mother always had been a firm disciplinarian and she kept me to a rigid code of conduct, " she said. " i wasn ' t allowed to run around with the gang and i had to give strict account for my whereabouts outside of school. " every year, mamie would return to mississippi to visit relatives. she would spend the steamy summers with an aunt and socialize with other kids at church picnics. when she turned 18, she met a fellow from madrid, missouri named louis till. he worked at the argo corn company, was an amateur boxer, and was popular with many women. but louis till had his eye on mamie. when they met, he took her to an ice cream parlor for her first banana split. her parents disapproved, thinking the charismatic till was " too sophisticated " for their daughter. at her mother ' s insistence, she broke off their courtship. but the persistent till won mamie ' s heart,


for her first banana split. her parents disapproved, thinking the charismatic till was " too sophisticated " for their daughter. at her mother ' s insistence, she broke off their courtship. but the persistent till won mamie ' s heart, and they married on october 14, 1940. both were 18 years old. nine months later, their only child, emmett louis till, nicknamed " bobo, " was born at cook county hospital in chicago. the boy was the apple of his mother and grandmother ' s eyes. aside from a bout with polio at age five, after which emmett would speak with a mild stutter, he was a healthy and happy boy. emmett would never know his father, who was shipped out to europe as an army private. mamie and louis till separated in 1942. three years later, mamie received a letter from the department of defense informing her, without a full explanation, that till was killed in italy due to " willful misconduct. " by the early 1950s, mamie and emmett had moved to chicago ' s south side. both of her parents had remarried and left argo, her mother to chicago and her father to detroit. mamie met and married gene " pink " bradley, but they divorced two years later. a terrible burden in 1955 mamie decided to take a long - awaited vacation to nebraska to visit relatives. she wanted her son to go with her. but emmett was set on joining his cousins and spending the end of the summer in mississippi. when she put her son on a southbound train, it was the last time she would see him alive. when her boy was killed, mamie turned to the strength of her family and faith. " 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. and that ' s when i realized that this was a load that i was going to have to carry. i wouldn ' t get any help carrying this load. " horrified by the mutilation of her son ' s body yet determined that it would not happen again, mamie made a stunning decision - - emmett would have an open casket funeral. " i think everybody needed to know what had happened to emmett till, " she said. some 50, 000 people streamed in to view emmett ' s corpse in chicago, with many people leaving in tears or fainting at the sight and smell of the body. after two of her son ' s killers, j. w. milam and roy bryant,


000 people streamed in to view emmett ' s corpse in chicago, with many people leaving in tears or fainting at the sight and smell of the body. after two of her son ' s killers, j. w. milam and roy bryant, were acquitted of murder, the till case became an international cause clbre with news articles and editorials across the country and in europe condemning the verdict and mississippi. with the international firestorm, the naacp, black leaders and mamie were hopeful that milam and bryant would at least be punished for kidnapping. but just weeks before the grand jury met, mississippi senator james o. eastland, a staunch segregationist and plantation owner, dug up information on louis till ' s past and leaked it to the press. the u. s. army had executed private till in italy in 1945 for raping two italian women and killing a third. the insinuation : emmett ' s behavior ran in the family. on november 9, 1955, a mississippi grand jury refused to indict milam and bryant on kidnapping charges. both men were free. no government help mamie turned to the federal government for help, to no avail. she had not received her ex - husband ' s army records, and she asked how a senator, but not a widow, receive that information? she also tried to meet with president dwight eisenhower, but he refused. and fbi director j. edgar hoover wrote in a memo : " there has been no allegation made that the victim [ emmett till ] has been subjected to the deprivation of any right or privilege which is secured and protected by the constitution and the laws of the united states... " taking the fight to the people thousands of letters protesting the mississippi verdict poured into the white house. mamie took her fight to the people and gave speeches to overflowing crowds across the country. blacks were galvanized. membership in the naacp soared. african americans were angered by emmett ' s killing and the injustice, and moved by the loss of an only child to a young mother. those in the trenches of the civil rights movement realized they had to move their fight boldly to the front lines. in december 1955, rosa parks refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a montgomery city bus and was arrested for violating alabama ' s bus segregation laws. soon after, a 26 - year - old minister, martin luther king jr. called for a city - wide bus boycott. the civil rights movement was officially born. more than thirty years passed before emmett till


for violating alabama ' s bus segregation laws. soon after, a 26 - year - old minister, martin luther king jr. called for a city - wide bus boycott. the civil rights movement was officially born. more than thirty years passed before emmett till ' s story would find renewed national interest, becoming the subject of scholarly research and publication. filmmaker stanley nelson interviewed mamie, other family members, journalists, and eyewitnesses who remembered what had happened in mississippi so long ago, and by 2002, mamie was working on her own memoir. but in a sad turn of events, just two weeks before the national television premiere of the murder of emmett till, mamie till mobley died of heart failure in a chicago hospital. she was 81 years old. emmmitt till law moves in house this week, as the house oversight committee jousted angrily over the guilt or innocence of a bush appointee and as the senate sparred over an energy bill, members of the house judiciary committee came together to advance a bill that seeks to provide closure to the family members of men like till, many of whom are still alive and hopeful for justice. the bill, called the emmett till unsolved civil rights crime act, is a clean piece of legislation that will do exactly what its official heading says : it will create " an unsolved crimes section in the civil rights division of the department of justice, and an unsolved civil rights crime investigative office in the civil rights unit of the federal bureau of investigation. " to do that, it authorizes $ 10 million annually to federal agencies, which will be tasked with unearthing cold cases from the civil rights era and investigating them fully. there are nearly 100 stale cases that will immediately benefit from the bill ' s provisions and hundreds more that could potentially be brought back to life. rita schwerner bender, whose husband michael was murdered by the ku klux klan for registering black voters in mississippi, points out that there have been 518 unsolved lynchings in mississippi since 1955. as evidence has withered and witnesses have all but disappeared, many of those cases desperately require the sort of help that the so - called " till bill " will offer once signed into law. the hearings this week weren ' t without moments of politicking. rep. mike pence ( r - ind. ) asked one witness whether the bill would help solve cases of black on white violence. the answer is that it will in theory, but that in spirit % u2014and likely in practice


go anywhere in the 109th congress. but everybody % u2014congressmen, senators, aides and observers % u2014seems confident that this time around it will sail through. " this bill upholds the integrity of the judicial system and ensures that those guilty of civil rights crimes will finally be held accountable, " says caroline frederickson, aclu ' s washington director. " we are encouraged that the house and senate judiciary committees voted in favor of the bill, and we strongly urge their colleagues to do the same when it comes to the floor. " if they do follow suit, then stories like this one might not be so unusual in the months to come. cold case : the murder of emmett till people in the chicago neighborhood where emmett " bobo " till lived knew the 14 - year - old as an attention - getter. despite the stutter left by a bout with polio in his infancy, he had a confident, even cocky, personality and relished pranks and jokes. in an interview that appeared in the pbs documentary, the murder of emmett till, childhood acquaintance richard heard recalled how emmett entertained his schoolmates one day in gym : " i remember emmett raising his shirt up to about his navel and making his belly roll, waves of fat rolling and it just broke us up. the whole gym went crazy. " in early august 1955, emmett ' s great - uncle, moses " preacher " wright, traveled to chicago from mississippi and asked emmett ' s mother, mamie till mobley, if her son could spend the summer with his family. wright also invited two of emmett ' s chicago cousins to come on the trip. mamie agreed to let emmett go but worried about how he would behave in the south. although chicago was racially segregated, its racism was not of the jim crow stripe. chris crowe in getting away with murder quotes mamie saying, " emmett was born and raised in chicago, so he didn ' t know how to be humble to white people. i warned him before he came down here ; i told him to be very careful how he spoke and to say ' yes sir ' and ' no ma ' am ' and not to hesitate to humble himself if he had to get down on his knees... i was trying to really pound into him that mississippi was not chicago... i explained to emmett that if he met a white woman, he should step off the street, lower his head, and not look up. and he thought that was the silliest


to really pound into him that mississippi was not chicago... i explained to emmett that if he met a white woman, he should step off the street, lower his head, and not look up. and he thought that was the silliest thing he ' d ever heard. " mamie may have been especially protective of emmett because he was her only child and she had long been raising him on her own. she had divorced his father, louis till, in 1943, when emmett was only 2. in 1945, she received word that louis till, a private in the military serving overseas, had died. sent along with the letter informing her of his death was one of his prized possessions : a signet ring with his initials, " l. t. " mamie gave that ring to emmett right before she kissed him goodbye for his visit to mississippi. emmett and his cousins arrived in money, a hamlet in the mississippi delta with only 55 residents on sunday, aug. 21, 1955. three days later, on a wednesday evening, emmett and his cousins were in church listening to moses wright preach. restless and bored, the boys made an early exit from the church, took wright ' s car, and drove to bryant ' s grocery & meat market. the murder of emmett till describes bryant ' s as a store that sold candy and provisions, primarily to blacks. roy bryant, 24, and carolyn bryant, 21, a white couple, owned and operated it. as the documentary states, " the bryants lived with their two boys in cramped rooms behind the store. " the bryants owned neither a car nor a tv. they were unable to eke out a living from the store alone so roy frequently took trucking jobs. on this particular day, roy was on the road, hauling a load of shrimp from new orleans to brownsville, tex. according to " the shocking story of an approved killing in mississippi " by william bradford huie that was published in look magazine in january 1956, when roy was absent, carolyn and their sons did not spend the night in the rooms behind the store. juanita milam, her sister - in - law, would come to the store during the day to stay with carolyn until the store closed at which time her husband would pick both women up, together with their kids, and drive them to his home. outside of bryant ' s, emmett and his cousins joined a group of young blacks already gathered there. emmett was soon bragging about his romantic success with white women and flashing photos of white women


together with their kids, and drive them to his home. outside of bryant ' s, emmett and his cousins joined a group of young blacks already gathered there. emmett was soon bragging about his romantic success with white women and flashing photos of white women, he had in his wallet, bragging that they were his " girlfriends. " according to crowe, emmett and his cousins had cut photos of white women out of magazines and put them in the compartments of their wallets for precisely this purpose. crowe continues, " one of the boys pointed at the store and challenged emmett : ' you talkin ' mighty big, bo. there ' s a pretty little white woman in there in the sto '. since you chicago cats know so much about white girls, let ' s see you go in there and get a date with her. " emmett went into bryant ' s while the others crowded around its window to watch the interaction. the account of what happened next is pieced together from the courtroom testimony of carolyn bryant and the recollections of those who watched through the window. carolyn bryant claimed the teenager requested two cents worth of gum and that, when she held her hand out for the payment, he grabbed her hand and brashly asked, " how about a date, baby? " she jerked her hand away and headed to the apartment at the back of the store to summon her sister - in - law. according to carolyn bryant ' s account, before she could get to that apartment, the boy stepped in front of her and put his hands around her waist, saying, " you needn ' t be afraid of me, baby, i ' ve been with white women before. " the store ' s door flew open and another black male rushed inside, grabbed emmett and hustled him out the door, but before they left, emmett said, " bye, baby. " carolyn left the store to get a gun from her sister - in - law ' s car. according to emmett ' s friends as well as carolyn bryant, emmett let out a wolf whistle – a whistle that would turn out to be the most infamous in the history of civil rights. then he and his friends piled into the pickup and sped off. stephen j. whitfield in a death in the delta writes that carolyn bryant confided the story of the incident to her sister - in - law. both women agreed to keep quiet because they feared what their husbands might do if they knew about it. while carolyn bryant and juanita milam kept silent,


that carolyn bryant confided the story of the incident to her sister - in - law. both women agreed to keep quiet because they feared what their husbands might do if they knew about it. while carolyn bryant and juanita milam kept silent, emmett ' s amazed young friends did not. soon just about everyone in money had heard about it. when roy bryant came home from his texas trip on saturday, a black customer at his store told him of the encounter that was the talk of the town. bryant was infuriated. he asked his wife about it. according to crowe, she confirmed the truth of it but begged him to let it pass. bryant learned that emmett was staying at his great - uncle ' s home and decided to confront the boy. lacking a car, he asked his 36 - year - old balding half brother, j. w. " big " milam, juanita ' s husband, if he could borrow one. when bryant explained what he wanted it for, milam insisted on accompanying him. each man brought along a. 45 colt revolver. according to both crowe and whitfield, a loud call at the door awakened moses wright in the wee hours that sunday morning. wright went to the door to find milam and bryant standing there. milam carried his pistol in one hand and a flashlight in the other. he demanded to see " the boy who done the talking at money. " wright pleaded with them to leave the boy alone, saying, " he ain ' t got good sense. he was raised up yonder. he didn ' t know what he was doing. " wright ' s wife elizabeth joined her husband and said they would " pay you gentlemen for the damages, " but milam brushed aside her desperate offer. all accounts say that before leaving the home, milam asked wright how old he was. wright said he was 64. " if you tell anybody about this, you won ' t live to get 65, " milam warned. wright later testified that the boy was " marched " to a car where someone was asked if he was the " right boy " and a woman ' s voice answered, " it is. " one of emmett ' s cousins, curtis jones, rushed to a neighbor ' s house to use the phone to call the county sheriff to report the abduction. then he called his own mother in chicago who in turn called emmett ' s mother. mamie till - mobley phoned chicago police and asked them to ask their mississippi counterparts to find her son '


to call the county sheriff to report the abduction. then he called his own mother in chicago who in turn called emmett ' s mother. mamie till - mobley phoned chicago police and asked them to ask their mississippi counterparts to find her son ' s kidnappers. crowe records her as recalling, " i began calling every newspaper i could think of... i had expected no response from the newspapers, but to my surprise, everyone i called responded instantly. " bryant and milam were arrested for kidnapping the following day, a monday. they admitted forcing the boy away from his home but claimed they let him go after carolyn bryant said he was not the one who had offended her. the two men stayed in jail while police searched for emmett. crowe writes that on the following wednesday, aug. 31, 17 - year - old robert hodges was fishing on the tallahatchie river when he was shocked by what looked like a human body. he contacted the tallahatchie county sheriff ' s office. fearing it was the body of the missing child, officers took moses wright to the river with them. a ferocious beating and days underwater had rendered the corpse ' s face unrecognizable, but it had a ring bearing the inscription " may 25, 1943, l. t. " crowe wrote, " mose wright recognized it as the ring of louis till, emmett ' s father, a ring that emmett had worn. " murder charges were filed against the jailed bryant and milam. emmett ' s body was shipped to chicago for burial. the mutilated body was displayed under glass at the roberts temple church of god. as mamie till related in an interview shown in the murder of emmett till, she wanted to " let the people see what i ' ve seen... everybody needed to know what had happened to emmett till. " about 50, 000 african - americans massed into the church to look at the dead child. many burst into tears ; some fainted. the chicago defender, a black newspaper, and jet, a national black magazine, ran photographs of emmett ' s disfigured face. much of the country viewed this slaying as symbolic of racism ' s evil. as whitfield wrote, an outraged roy wilkins, executive director of the naacp, observed, " it would appear that the state of mississippi has decided to maintain white supremacy by murdering children. " journalist rose jourdain recalled for the murder of emmett till, " i think black people ' s reaction was so vis


the naacp, observed, " it would appear that the state of mississippi has decided to maintain white supremacy by murdering children. " journalist rose jourdain recalled for the murder of emmett till, " i think black people ' s reaction was so visceral. everybody knew we were under attack and that attack was symbolized by the attack on a 14 - year - old boy. " whitfield records that while some white southerners were horrified that their region had been the cradle for this dreadful homicide, others were swept by a wave of sympathy for men they regarded as defending the " southern way of life. " many derided the " outside agitators " they blamed for the burgeoning civil rights movement as well as the prosecution of bryant and milam. the trial in sumner bryant and milam were tried in the city of sumner, the county seat of tallahatchie county. as whitfield notes, there were only five attorneys practicing law in sumner, but sympathy for the accused men was so strong among whites that all five attorneys agreed to defend the impoverished defendants pro bono. leading the defense team was j. j. breland, whom crowe quotes as saying that he and his co - attorneys wanted to " let the north know that we are not going to put up with northern negroes ' stepping over the line. ' " crowe further quotes breland as telling the greenwood commonwealth, " the state has got to prove three things : that the boy was murdered. that it happened in the second judicial district of tallahatchie county. that bryant and milam did it. " d. a. gerald chatham was the lead prosecutor. mississippi assistant atty. gen. robert b. smith assisted him. the judge was curtis m. swango. an all - white, all - male jury was impaneled. the trial opened sept. 19, 1955. dozens of journalists descended on sumner, including reporters from the daily worker, the nation, the african - american amsterdam news, and the new york post. whitfield reports that their courtroom seating was assigned according to race. white reporters sat close to the judge and jury while their black counterparts, along with emmett ' s mother, sat at a distant bridge table. u. s. rep. charles c. diggs jr. of michigan came to the trial to observe it. whitfield records how james hicks, a reporter for the amsterdam news and the national negro press association headed for the bench to secure rep. diggs a place in the courtroom. w


[ chatham ] asked her if she could identify the body in the photo. she looked at it and nodded. " that ' s my son, my son, emmett till. " her voice broke, and she took off her glasses to wipe away tears. " are you sure? " chatham asked. " if i thought it wasn ' t my boy, i would be out looking for him now. " mamie till recalled for the murder of emmett till how the defense suggested she conspired in an elaborate scheme to pretend her son had been murdered. she was asked if it was not true that she had plotted with the naacp to dig up a body, throw it in the river, and then pretend it was emmett for political purposes. " isn ' t it true, " a defense attorney prodded, " that your son is in detroit, michigan with his grandfather right now? " willie reed, 19, a sharecropper ' s son, testified that on that sunday, he saw four white men and two black men drive to a barn on property owned by milam ' s brother leslie. crowe recorded that he claimed, " the two black men rode in the back of the pickup with emmett till. when the truck stopped, the men carried emmett into the barn from where willie later heard screams and ' licks and hollerings. ' " on cross - examination, reed admitted that he had not seen milam in the truck. according to whitfield, reed ' s aunt, amanda bradley, " also testified to hearing the beating from the shed. " whitfield further writes that lefore county sheriff george smith testified that bryant had confessed to kidnapping emmett but claimed he had released him alive and unharmed. deputy sheriff john edd cothran testified to a similar confession from milam. then the defense began. it called carolyn bryant to the stand. whitfield states that " over the objections of the defense, " judge swango sent the jury out while she testified. the judge ruled that he believed the store incident occurred too long before the abduction for it to be legally admissible. carolyn bryant told the story recounted earlier in this article to the judge, attorneys, spectators and reporters. with the jury back, the defense called sheriff h. c. strider to the stand. according to crowe, " strider testified that based on his previous experience, the body found in the tallahatchie river on aug. 31 had been missing for at least 10 to 20 days. he said the corpse was so deco


the stand. according to crowe, " strider testified that based on his previous experience, the body found in the tallahatchie river on aug. 31 had been missing for at least 10 to 20 days. he said the corpse was so decomposed that it was impossible for him to recognize the victim or even determine if the body was black or white. " an african - american reporter noted that it was odd that if the sheriff was unsure of the victim ' s race, why had he asked a black undertaker to treat the body. another doctor and an embalmer both testified that the victim had been dead for over a week before his body was found. in their summations before the jury, both the prosecution and the defense appealed to the jurors as fellow segregationists. prosecutor smith urged the jury to prove wrong those who thought mississippi ' s racial policies meant it condoned murder. smith said, " i tell you, gentlemen, that emmett till was entitled to his constitutional rights ; he was entitled to his liberty, and once we go taking away his rights, then we are on the defensive and we can ' t complain what people do to us. those people, outside agitators, want j. w. milam and roy bryant turned loose. " defense attorney john whitten argued, " there are people in the united states who want to destroy the custom and way of life of southern white people and southern colored people.... they would not be above putting a rotting, stinking body in the river in the hope it would be identified as emmett till. " the trial was over in five days. on sept. 23, 1955, the jury – after 67 minutes of deliberations – came back with verdicts of not guilty for both defendants. ( one juror told a journalist that the jury would not have taken even that long had the jurors not interrupted their deliberations to drink soda pop. ) a photograph taken in the immediate aftermath of the verdict shows the defendants and their wives smiling and hugging ; roy bryant is chomping on a recently lit cigar. kidnapping charges were still pending but a grand jury refused to return indictments. on nov. 9. milam and bryant were set free. according to the murder of emmett till, a european newspaper commented that, " the life of a negro in mississippi is not worth a whistle. " the program continued that african - americans packed meeting rooms to hear mamie till ' s story. the grieving mother told an assembled crowd :


, a european newspaper commented that, " the life of a negro in mississippi is not worth a whistle. " the program continued that african - americans packed meeting rooms to hear mamie till ' s story. the grieving mother told an assembled crowd : " what i saw was a shame before god and man and the way the jury chose to believe the ridiculous stories of the defense attorneys. 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, just anything, any excuse to acquit these two men. " whitfield writes that roy wilkins denounced the trial as " a travesty, a farce, a joke as far as it demonstrated the american principle of trial by jury to secure a just verdict. " the injustice galvanized the civil rights movement. crowe notes that mamie till and moses wright had spoken to more than 250, 000 people by the end of 1955. just over three months after emmett till ' s death, seamstress rosa parks refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white passenger, leading to martin luther king jr. ' s famous montgomery bus boycott. according to whitfield, parks " acknowledged the impact of the till case in arousing blacks to indignation. " the success of the montgomery bus boycott led to similar and similarly successful protests in other major cities. milam and bryant confess all sources report that milam and bryant were ostracized after the trial. blacks boycotted the small stores that the extended milam and bryant families owned in money, glendora, and sharkey so that all three quickly went out of business. even segregationist whites, who supported bryant and milam during the trial, shunned them after it. their inability to get jobs led them to grant interviews for $ 4, 000 to reporter william bradford huie in which they purported to tell the truth of till ' s death. ( constitutional protection against double jeopardy meant they could not be prosecuted again for the slaying. attorneys for milam and bryant were in the room when they gave the interviews to huie. ) the january 1955 look magazine published huie ' s " the shocking story of an approved killing in mississippi. " the confessions should be taken as proof that milam and bryant got away with murder but cannot be assumed to be completely accurate. huie recalled, " milam did most of the talking... milam was a bit


killing in mississippi. " the confessions should be taken as proof that milam and bryant got away with murder but cannot be assumed to be completely accurate. huie recalled, " milam did most of the talking... milam was a bit more articulate than bryant was. bryant did some talking, particularly when they talked about what they were told had happened in the store. " milam told huie that when they rousted emmett till out of bed on the night of saturday, aug. 15, 1955 their intention was to " whip him... and scare some sense into him. " milam continued that they planned to drive him to a bluff over the big river that milam considered " the scariest place in the delta. " the " whipping " planned was no spanking but a pistol - whipping with the threat of being thrown down the bluff and into the big river. they drove about 75 miles but milam could not find that bluff in the darkness. he claimed that they also could not intimidate their captive. " we were never able to scare him, " milam said. " they had just filled him so full of that poison that he was hopeless. " after driving to the tool house in back of the milam home, milam and bryant told huie that they took emmett in there and began pistol whipping him. according to his killers, the 14 - year - old boy remained defiant even after vicious blows to his head from a. 45. " you bastards, i ' m not afraid of you, " emmett supposedly told them. " i ' m as good as you are. i ' ve ' had ' white women. my grandmother was a white woman. " milam claimed he felt he had to murder emmett. " i just decided it was time a few people got put on notice, " he said. " as long as i live and can do anything about it, niggers are gonna stay in their place... and when a nigger gets close to mentioning sex with a white woman, he ' s tired o ' livin. ' " milam decided to murder the 14 - year - old and sink his body into the tallahatchie river. needing a weight to drag the body down, he remembered a big discarded fan at a gin in which he had recently installed new equipment. the captors ordered the badly bruised emmett back into the truck. they drove to the progressive ginning company. " when we got to that gin, it was daylight,


a big discarded fan at a gin in which he had recently installed new equipment. the captors ordered the badly bruised emmett back into the truck. they drove to the progressive ginning company. " when we got to that gin, it was daylight, " milam recalled, " and i was worried for the first time. somebody might see us and accuse us of stealing the fan. " they claimed in the interview with huie that they forced emmett, who was strong for his age, to pick up the 75 - pound fan and load it into the truck. then they drove to the tallahatchie river and stopped beside a riverbank. milam ordered emmett to pick up the fan. the child staggered under its weight. milam ordered emmett to take off his clothes. it was a little before 7 a. m. on sunday morning. milam claimed the following exchange took place. milam : " you still as good as i am? " milam : " you still ' had ' white women? " with that, milam shot emmett in the head. he fell to the ground. milam and bryant tied the fan to his neck and rolled him into the water. parts of this account defy credibility. anyone who was pulled out of bed in the middle of the night by menacing people with guns would have to be disoriented and terrified and it is not believable that a teenager, however spunky, would have shown no fear under the circumstances. rather, it is more likely that milam and bryant described their victim as fearless and defiant because they believed such an attitude would justify the murder in the eyes of their peers. they do not mention anyone else with them but it is likely there were others. moses wright testified he heard a woman in the car identify emmett. many observers believe this must have been carolyn bryant. willie reed testified to seeing four white men and two black men in the truck in which emmett was driven to his death. after the trial, bitterly ironic information about the father emmett had never known, louis till, came to light. it was already widely reported that louis till had been a soldier in world war ii at the time of his death. an oct. 10, 1955 editorial in life magazine wrote that the elder till " was killed in france fighting for the american proposition that all men are equal. " army private louis till did not die honorably in combat. the american military executed him for raping two italian women and murdering a third. some saw a chance to visit the sins of


france fighting for the american proposition that all men are equal. " army private louis till did not die honorably in combat. the american military executed him for raping two italian women and murdering a third. some saw a chance to visit the sins of the father upon the son. on oct. 15, 1955, next to a story titled " till ' s dad raped 2 women, murdered a third in italy, " the jackson daily new ran an editorial accusing the naacp of raising " fabulous sums of money " based in part on the claim that private till had died fighting for his country. the editorial went on to tell " the negro organizations... to stop peddling manufactured stories to the nation about mississippi and about their own people. " filmmakers open the closed case the till case continued to send reverberations through society as years passed and the civil rights movement gained momentum. however, there was a persistent, gnawing sense of frustration on the part of mamie till - mobley and others because justice had been thwarted. the story of emmett till retained the ability to traumatize decades after the fact. according to an article entitled " documentarian keith beauchamp reveals the truth about the lynching of emmett till, " beauchamp was a 10 - year - old african - american boy living in baton rouge, la., when he first learned of emmett till. it was 26 years after the acquittal of roy bryant and j. w. milam. beauchamp happened to be leafing through old copies of jet when the famous photograph of emmett ' s mutilated remains arrested his gaze. the sight of a boy only four years older than himself murdered in such a grisly manner left beauchamp badly shaken. " i ' m looking at this angelic face of a 14 - year - old, " he recalled, " and i ' m looking at this horrific face beside it that looked like a monster, and i could not believe that a little boy could be brutally murdered for just a whistle. " as beauchamp grew up, he was frequently warned not to let what had happened to emmett till happen to him. he knew other young african - american men who received similar warnings. in an article called " murder he wrote, " sara faith alterman quotes beauchamp as stating, " the emmett till case is very deeply embedded in the african - american male psyche ; it was something that was mentioned to me all the time, to teach me that racism still existed in america. " alterman writes that beauchamp has


as stating, " the emmett till case is very deeply embedded in the african - american male psyche ; it was something that was mentioned to me all the time, to teach me that racism still existed in america. " alterman writes that beauchamp has said that the horror suffered by till was brought home to him in a most personal way when he went out to a nightclub with friends one evening in 1989 and danced with a white woman. a bouncer accosted him. then another man dragged beauchamp outside and started roughing him up. the stranger was an undercover police officer and arrested beauchamp. in " documentarian, " beauchamp recalled that at the station, " they tied me to a chair, pistol - whipped me, all kind of stuff. " he was asked for his identification. beauchamp told alterman that he was released only when the detective on duty realized that he a close friend of the son of a major with the sheriff ' s department. as a young adult, beauchamp studied criminal justice at southern university, but left before getting a degree to work with new york friends who owned a production company. he worked on music videos, and then was offered a chance to produce his own feature film. the emmett till case was his natural subject. beauchamp devoted nine years to researching what would become the untold story of emmett louis till, a documentary released by thinkfilm and till freedom come productions in 2005. alterman writes that beauchamp started his research in a library where he assiduously read microfilm of archived articles connected to the case. what he found astonished and dismayed him. the pieces named witnesses that the authorities had never even bothered to question and possible participants who had never been charged. alterman quotes beauchamp, " it was very strange that you have all of this overwhelming evidence that was just there, and nobody ever took the time to go back and research all of that stuff. " beauchamp was especially impressed by a series of articles published by james hicks in 1955 in the cleveland call and post. in these articles, later gathered by christopher metress in the lynching of emmett till, hicks recounts his own investigation of the till case while the trial was in progress. both moses wright and willie reed testified to seeing black men in the truck with emmett till. hicks was determined to discover who those men were and believed he did. however, he discloses, " i did not write it in mississippi for fear of bodily harm to myself, and to my colleagues. " early on in his investigation, a


. hicks was determined to discover who those men were and believed he did. however, he discloses, " i did not write it in mississippi for fear of bodily harm to myself, and to my colleagues. " early on in his investigation, a clearly frightened african - american woman offered a tip. she told him that a young man called " too tight " was in the truck and that he had since disappeared from the area. she suggested he go to " the only colored dance hall in town " to learn too tight ' s real name. hicks followed her suggestion and visited a tavern called king ' s. at king ' s, hicks writes that he posed as " a drifting guy who had dropped in for a beer. " he asked, " whatever happened to my boy too tight? " the manager of king ' s stopped and stared. a group of men playing cards dropped them and turned to look at hicks. hicks " grabbed [ the manager ] by the arm and moved over in a direction away from [ the card players ] and nearer the kitchen. " the manager asked what he wanted with too tight and hicks replied that too tight was a friend of his. the manager told him that too tight was in jail. when hicks inquired as to what too tight was jailed for, the manager referred him to a woman seated nearby. hicks asked the woman for a dance. as they twirled around, they exchanged pleasantries, then hicks asked about too tight. she confirmed that too tight was in jail, but claimed she did not know why. she told hicks that too tight had been residing with her and her boyfriend, henry lee loggins, with whom she was cohabiting. she said loggins was also in jail but did not know what he was charged with either, then added : " both of them worked for one of those white men who killed that boy from chicago and they came and got both of them. " she said too tight ' s real name was leroy collins. in researching the till case, beauchamp met mamie till - mobley. the 24 - year - old filmmaker and the then 74 - year - old bereaved mother forged a strong friendship. in an article beauchamp wrote called " the murder of emmett louis till : the spark that started the civil rights movement, " he stated, " our relationship would soon blossom and sculpt me into the man that i have become today. her charisma, wisdom and perseverance will always be a part of me. " according to " who killed


movement, " he stated, " our relationship would soon blossom and sculpt me into the man that i have become today. her charisma, wisdom and perseverance will always be a part of me. " according to " who killed emmett till? " an article by rebecca segall and david holmberg in the nation, feb. 3, 2003 " special assistant to the atty. gen. jonathan compretta agreed to have a conference call on jan. 6 with beauchamp, mamie till - mobley and alvin sykes, president of the justice campaign of america, as a possible first step [ to re - opening the case ]. unfortunately, mamie till - mobley died that very day of heart failure, on the eve of a visit to atlanta for an appearance with beauchamp. " beauchamp traveled to mississippi in his quest for the truth. according to alterman, " he tracked down the people he had read about who allegedly witnessed the crime, but found they were reluctant to speak out. many were african - americans from the delta who had kept silent for decades, afraid of meeting a similar persecution if they revealed what they knew about the people who brutally murdered a 14 - year - old boy. " eventually, beauchamp was able to persuade several witnesses to speak frankly with him and even to tell their stories on camera for the untold story of emmett louis till. almost half of a century after the events, some witnesses apparently remained fearful. ruthie mae crawford, a cousin of emmett who saw the incident in bryant ' s store from the window, allowed her name to be used and spoke on camera but only in shadow. mamie till - mobley, interviewed in the untold story of emmett louis till, asserts that several people helped murder her son : " i know that milam and bryant had help when they murdered emmett till. " she also stated that an african - american man, leroy " too tight " collins, was seen on the truck restraining emmett. another interviewee who appears on camera in shadow, " willie, " backs up her assertion about collins, claiming to have seen him and another man washing out blood from the truck. willie says they told him the blood was from a deer. " justice, delayed but not denied, " a magazine article published at the cbs news website on oct. 21, 2004, reports, " beauchamp said that after reviewing thousands of old documents and talking to numerous witnesses with knowledge of the crime, he believes that at least 14 people may have been involved in


article published at the cbs news website on oct. 21, 2004, reports, " beauchamp said that after reviewing thousands of old documents and talking to numerous witnesses with knowledge of the crime, he believes that at least 14 people may have been involved in the kidnapping and murder of till and that five of them are still alive. " according to an email from beauchamp to this writer, leroy " too tight " collins died several years ago. " justice, delayed but not denied " elaborates that the current justice department investigation focuses primarily on two individuals. one of them is the previously mentioned henry lee loggins, one of two local black men jailed shortly after till ' s murder. now in his 80s and living in ohio, loggins vociferously denies he played any part in the crime. loggins spoke to beauchamp and he appears in the untold story of emmett louis till. he claims he was not involved in the killing of till and knows nothing about it except what he has heard. however, beauchamp says that witnesses have identified him as the black man on the truck with collins and that fbi reports state that he was involved in it. the other person whose role is being closely examined is carolyn bryant. according to " justice, delayed but not denied, " she is now in her 70s, goes by the name carolyn donham, and lives in greenville, miss. in the commentary section of the untold story of emmett louis till, beauchamp reveals, " i discovered in the course of my research that a warrant was made out for carolyn bryant in 1955 but it was never served. " beauchamp hopes she will be charged and tried because he feels certain that she was present when emmett was abducted and that she identified him. another filmmaker, gode davis, who worked on a documentary about lynching, claims to have uncovered information about two other white men who participated in the till murder. segall and holmberg in their article in the nation about emmett till quote davis as saying that he interviewed a white man who claimed involvement in the crime and that this man knew the identity of another white man who may have been involved. the article also states that davis said he had contact with a white named billy wilson who claimed to have been a witness but not a participant. beauchamp, however, reports having a copy of a 1970 story in the mississippi southern patriot in which a man named billy wilson was said " by blacks to brag about being one of the killers of emmett till in 1955 in money, miss. " following a 22 -


, reports having a copy of a 1970 story in the mississippi southern patriot in which a man named billy wilson was said " by blacks to brag about being one of the killers of emmett till in 1955 in money, miss. " following a 22 - month fbi investigation, the u. s. justice department re - opened the emmet till case on may 10, 2004 by turning over more than 8, 000 pages of information about the case to joyce chiles, the district attorney for the 4th circuit court district of mississippi. in 2007, chiles sought a manslaughter charge against 73 - year - old carolyn bryant, the widow of one of the two confessed killers. on feb. 26, a grand jury in leflore county declined to issue any new indictments. the till case, for all intents and purposes, is now officially closed. solving cold cases cold cases are notoriously difficult to solve. memories and witnesses become extremely vulnerable to cross - examination. principals die. physical evidence gets misplaced or thrown out. a few major cold cases have been successfully prosecuted. one of the most significant was the june 12, 1963 murder of prominent civil rights activist medgar evers, who had been publicly investigating the murder of emmett till at the time he was shot. in the interview with mamie till - mobley shown in the untold story of emmett louis till, she says evers attended the trial every day, looked for witnesses, and escorted moses wright to and from the courtroom. ku klux klansman byron de la beckwith was arrested for the murder of medgar evers on june 23, 1963. he was tried twice before all - white juries that deadlocked, allowing him to go free. thirty years after his second trial, de la beckwith was brought to trial for a third time in 1994. new evidence about statements he had made bragging about the murder was entered into this trial before a racially mixed jury that convicted him. he died in prison in 2001. this intriguing story of belated justice was made into a movie released in 1996 and called the ghosts of mississippi that starred alec baldwin as bobby delaughter, the prosecutor, james woods as de la beckwith, and whoopi goldberg as evers ' widow, myrlie evers. according to " ' justice can ' t just forget ' civil rights era killings [. pdf ], " an article by bob kemper published in the atlanta journal - constitution on sept. 13, 2006, interest in several unsolved


evers. according to " ' justice can ' t just forget ' civil rights era killings [. pdf ], " an article by bob kemper published in the atlanta journal - constitution on sept. 13, 2006, interest in several unsolved cases from the civil rights era has been renewed. the article discusses a few of them. one is that of georgia couples george and mae dorsey and roger and dorothy malcom who were believed to have been pulled from a car on july 25, 1946 by a white mob and then beaten to death. their murders were in apparent retaliation for roger malcom ' s having cut a white farmer with a knife a few days earlier. another case mentioned by kemper is that of jimmy lee jackson who was fatally shot by police during a voter registration demonstration in marion, ala. kemper notes, " congress is weighing whether to create special cold - case units at the justice department and fbi that, with a $ 5 million annual budget, would exclusively focus on unsolved killings from the civil rights era. " while there are major problems with prosecuting cold cases, there are advantages to pressing those specifically of the civil rights era. as kemper writes, " once - terrified witnesses and relatives of suspects are increasingly willing to reveal what they know. " none of those cases is more notorious than that of emmett till whose death struck a chord with so many people, including the martyred medgar evers. decades after evers ' s murder, a measure of justice was meted out to his murderer. no such justice awaits emmett till. by denise noe burr oak cemetery murdered august 27th 1955 " the hate crime that changed america " it was the darkest day of july 2001 ; perpetua had just acquired chicago burr oak cemetery. the property had been neglected for years. the grounds were overgrown and out of control. the tractors and trucks were old and junky. the office was in a deplorable state, disorganized and dirty. the staff greeted customers from behind bullet proof glass. and there had been no form of professional management anywhere near the property. most would have just decided that there was no hope for this property. most would have done what previous owners had done for so many years % u2013just take the cash and not improve the place. but slivy edmonds cotton, president of perpetua, decided to step up to the plate and immediately began making improvements to the property. finally a ray of light had shown itself to chicago burr oak cemetery. early on,


the place. but slivy edmonds cotton, president of perpetua, decided to step up to the plate and immediately began making improvements to the property. finally a ray of light had shown itself to chicago burr oak cemetery. early on, perpetua developed a relationship with ms. mamie till - mobley. before her death in 2003, ms. mobley committed to lead the way in developing the emmett till historical museum at chicago burr oak. this museum honors and reflects ms. mobley ' s vision and will feature the emmett till story, and the story of many other african - americans who have made contributions to our community and to the world. this museum will include a mausoleum which will house emmett ' s remains, as well as those of his mother and step - father. groundbreaking ceremonies for the structure are scheduled to take place in the spring of 2005. you can contribute to this great cause by sending your tax - deductible donation to : chicago burr oaks cemetery emmett till historical museum 4400 west 127th alsip, il 60803 for more information, please contact carolyn towns at 773 - 233 - 5676 this article is the infamous confession of j. w. milam and roy bryant to the kidnapping and killing of emmett till. reporter william bradford huie reportedly paid the men $ 4000 for their story. it appeared in look 20 ( 24 january 1956 ) : 46 % u201350. disclosed here is the true account of the slaying in mississippi of a negro youth named emmett till. last september in sumner, miss., a petit jury found the youth ' s admitted abductors not guilty of murder. in november, in greenwood, a grand jury declined to indict them for kidnapping. of the murder trial, the memphis commercial appeal said : " evidence necessary for convicting on a murder charge was lacking. " but with truth absent, hypocrisy and myth have flourished. now, hypocrisy can be exposed ; myth dispelled. here are the facts. carolyn holloway bryant is 21, five feet tall, weighs 103 pounds. an irish girl, with black hair and black eyes, she is a small farmer ' s daughter who, at 17, quit high school at indianola, miss., to marry a soldier, roy bryant, then 20, now 24. the couple have two boys, three and two ; and they operate a store at a dusty crossroads called money : post office, filling station and three stores clustered around a school and


, to marry a soldier, roy bryant, then 20, now 24. the couple have two boys, three and two ; and they operate a store at a dusty crossroads called money : post office, filling station and three stores clustered around a school and a gin, and set in the vast, lonely cotton patch that is the mississippi delta. carolyn and roy bryant are poor : no car, no tv. they live in the back of the store which roy ' s brothers helped set up when he got out of the 82nd airborne in 1953. they sell " snuff - and - fatback " to negro field hands on credit : and they earn little because, for one reason, the government has been giving the negroes food they formerly bought. carolyn and roy bryant ' s social life is visits to their families, to the baptist church and, whenever they can borrow a car, to a drive - in, with the kids sleeping in the back seat. they call shane the best picture they ever saw. for extra money, carolyn tends store when roy works outside - - like truck driving for a brother. and he has many brothers. his mother had two husbands, 11 children. the first five - - all boys - - were " milam children " ; the next six - - three boys, three girls - - were " bryant children. " this is a lusty and devoted clan. they work, fight, vote and play as a family. the " half " in their fraternity is forgotten. for years, they have operated a chain of cottonfield stores, as well as trucks and mechanical cotton pickers. in relation to the negroes, they are somewhat like white traders in portions of africa today ; and they are determined to resist the revolt of colored men against white rule. on wednesday evening, august 24, 1955, roy was in texas, on a brother ' s truck. he had carted shrimp from new orleans to san antonio, proceeded to brownsville. carolyn was alone in the store. but back in the living quarters was her sister - in - law juanita milam, 27, with her two small sons and carolyn ' s two. the store was kept open till 9 on week nights, 11 on saturday. when her husband was away, carolyn bryant never slept in the store, never stayed there alone after dark. moreover, in the delta, no white woman or group of white women ever travels country roads after dark unattended by a man. this meant that during roy ' s absences - - particularly since


the store, never stayed there alone after dark. moreover, in the delta, no white woman or group of white women ever travels country roads after dark unattended by a man. this meant that during roy ' s absences - - particularly since he had no car - - there was family inconvenience. each afternoon, a sister - in - law arrived to stay with carolyn until closing time. then, the two women, with their children, waited for a brother - in - law to convoy them to his home. next morning, the sister - in - law drove carolyn back. juanita milam had driven from her home in glendora. she had parked in front of the store to the left ; and under the front seat of this car was roy bryant ' s pistol, a. 38 colt automatic. carolyn knew it was there. after 9, juanita ' s husband, j. w. milam, would arrive in his pickup to shepherd them to his home for the night. about 7 : 30 p. m., eight young negroes - - seven boys and a girl - - in a ' 46 ford had stopped outside. they included sons, grandsons and a nephew of moses ( preacher ) wright, 64, a ' cropper. they were between 13 and 19 years old. four were natives of the delta, and others, including the nephew, emmett ( bobo ) till, were visiting from the chicago area. bobo till was 14 years old : born on july 25, 1941. he was stocky, muscular, weighing about 160, five feet four or five. preacher later testified : " he looked like a man. " bobo ' s party joined a dozen other young negroes, including two other girls, in front of the store. bryant had built checkerboards there. some were playing checkers, others were wrestling and " kiddin ' about girls. " bobo bragged about his white girl. he showed the boys a picture of a white girl in his wallet ; and to their jeers of disbelief, he boasted of his success with her. " you talkin ' mighty big, bo, " one youth said. " there ' s a pretty little white woman in the store. since you know how to handle white girls, let ' s see you go in and get a date with her? " " you ain ' t chicken, are yuh, bo? " another youth taunted him. bobo had to fire or fall back. he entered the store, alone, stopped at


s see you go in and get a date with her? " " you ain ' t chicken, are yuh, bo? " another youth taunted him. bobo had to fire or fall back. he entered the store, alone, stopped at the candy case. carolyn was behind the counter ; bobo in front. he asked for two cents ' worth of bubble gum. she handed it to him. he squeezed her hand and said : " how about a date, baby? " she jerked away and started for juanita milam. at the break between counters, bobo jumped in front of her, perhaps caught her at the waist, and said : " you needn ' t be afraid o ' me, baby. i been with white girls before. " at this point, a cousin ran in, grabbed bobo and began pulling him out of the store. carolyn now ran, not for juanita, but out the front, and got the pistol from the milam car. outside, with bobo being ushered off by his cousins, and with carolyn getting the gun, bobo executed the " wolf whistle " which gave the case its name : the wolf - whistle murder : a negro " child " or " boy " whistled at her and they killed him. that was the sum of the facts on which most newspaper readers based an opinion. the negroes drove away ; and carolyn, shaken, told juanita. the two women determined to keep the incident from their " men - folks. " they didn ' t tell j. w. milam when he came to escort them home. by thursday afternoon, carolyn bryant could see the story was getting around. she spent thursday night at the milams, where at 4 a. m. ( friday ) roy got back from texas. since he had slept little for five nights, he went to bed at the milams ' while carolyn returned to the store. during friday afternoon, roy reached the store, and shortly thereafter a negro told him what " the talk " was, and told him that the " chicago boy " was " visitin ' preacher. " carolyn then told roy what had happened. once roy bryant knew, in his environment, in the opinion of most white people around him, for him to have done nothing would have marked him for a coward and a fool. on friday night, he couldn ' t do anything. he and carolyn were alone, and he had no car. saturday was collection day, their busy day in the store. about 10 : 30 saturday night, j. w.