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shermie66's review against another edition
4.0
Whew...
First, be warned... This book is loaded with information about the still-constant fight for civil rights in this country. I got a little turned around with some of the names of so many people with whom I am not as familiar, but I learned so much. My goal was to read two books during Black History Month. This was the first one and it took me a while to sort through so much, but I recommend it to anyone who thinks they know Emmett Till's story. It was uncomfortable because of the injustice... and to those parents trying to avoid their kids being uncomfortable, it SHOULD BE! That's called learning, even when it feels bad. I'm so disheartened by how little progress has been made. The many facts got a bit cumbersome but stick with it and learn. That's my recommendation.
First, be warned... This book is loaded with information about the still-constant fight for civil rights in this country. I got a little turned around with some of the names of so many people with whom I am not as familiar, but I learned so much. My goal was to read two books during Black History Month. This was the first one and it took me a while to sort through so much, but I recommend it to anyone who thinks they know Emmett Till's story. It was uncomfortable because of the injustice... and to those parents trying to avoid their kids being uncomfortable, it SHOULD BE! That's called learning, even when it feels bad. I'm so disheartened by how little progress has been made. The many facts got a bit cumbersome but stick with it and learn. That's my recommendation.
sheldar's review against another edition
3.0
Decent read for folks who may not have read other accounts of Emmett Till's death and/or have not seen the various documentaries.
bh8811's review against another edition
5.0
A thorough account of the 1954 murder in Mississippi of a 14 year old Chicago youth. Tyson's book us well researched and wonderfully written. He not only addresses Till's murder and subsequent trial but the long lasting impact his trial outcome had on civil rights. Emmett Till has not been forgotten and his tragic gruesome murder still has relevance today.
donnathededd's review against another edition
4.0
I despise Carolyn Bryant and I don't believe a word she says about anything. Racist moron. She claims innocence and frailty and I don't buy a lick of it. I get that years and years later, you maybe regret some of your actions or you sense that you should be ashamed so you maybe downplay things, but this is ridiculous. This is also why I do not automatically respect old people.
This book is... very, very difficult to read. I didn't quite understand how recently (in the scheme of things) this event occurred. It is so upsetting to read this book and remember the brutal violence inflicted on this child (yes, a child. the same age as my daughter) and to see how in many ways, nothing has changed.
Mamie Till is a strong, strong mother. What she endured and the strength of her character is, frankly, awe inspiring. She took her private grief and publicized it and advocated for change. She was an absolute powerhouse of a woman.
This book is... very, very difficult to read. I didn't quite understand how recently (in the scheme of things) this event occurred. It is so upsetting to read this book and remember the brutal violence inflicted on this child (yes, a child. the same age as my daughter) and to see how in many ways, nothing has changed.
Mamie Till is a strong, strong mother. What she endured and the strength of her character is, frankly, awe inspiring. She took her private grief and publicized it and advocated for change. She was an absolute powerhouse of a woman.
tw2025's review against another edition
5.0
"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced." --James Baldwin
I haven't read a book that caused me to feel this frustrated in a long time.
"It is within your power to disregard all the facts, the evidence, and the law and bring in any decision you like based upon any whim."
How familiar. đŸ˜‘
Emmett Till was a young black child who was brutally murdered in 1955 after a white woman made false accusations against him which played into the "black-men-are-bad-and-dangerous" trope that was (and still is) all too prevalent.
The words above were those spoken from the defense attorney to the jury during the closing statements. Despite evidence of their guilt, Emmett's murderers went free.
Beyond the horror of this crime and the knowledge that there were SO many countless lives taken the same way, you know what's even more frustrating?
How familiar that faulty line of reasoning is. How familiar the misguided direction of blame is. How familiar feeling entitled to openly harm others under the veil of self-preservation or maintaining-the-standard-quo is.
Just as Mississippi citizens tried to call the Till case a "murder staged by the NAACP for political purposes", many today fail to acknowledge race-based crimes as anything other than liberal conspiracies.
64 years later, too little progress has been made.
64 years later, innocent black bodies are still being murdered without repurcussion.
64 years later, our cognitive fallacies are primarily the same. Innocent people pay the price. Always.
This book was heartbreaking, frustrating, and thorough. The author touches on a number of factors that influenced the racial climate all over the country, but especially in Mississippi and Chicago-- from red-scare, black voter suppression, and the housing crisis to good old-fashioned white supremacy. The author draws on reflections of the past to make note of how little actual progress has been made today.
More than just heart ands minds, we need to reflect on how these injustices were able to occur so that we can make the structural adjustments that will better protect vulnerable populations in the future.
I haven't read a book that caused me to feel this frustrated in a long time.
"It is within your power to disregard all the facts, the evidence, and the law and bring in any decision you like based upon any whim."
How familiar. đŸ˜‘
Emmett Till was a young black child who was brutally murdered in 1955 after a white woman made false accusations against him which played into the "black-men-are-bad-and-dangerous" trope that was (and still is) all too prevalent.
The words above were those spoken from the defense attorney to the jury during the closing statements. Despite evidence of their guilt, Emmett's murderers went free.
Beyond the horror of this crime and the knowledge that there were SO many countless lives taken the same way, you know what's even more frustrating?
How familiar that faulty line of reasoning is. How familiar the misguided direction of blame is. How familiar feeling entitled to openly harm others under the veil of self-preservation or maintaining-the-standard-quo is.
Just as Mississippi citizens tried to call the Till case a "murder staged by the NAACP for political purposes", many today fail to acknowledge race-based crimes as anything other than liberal conspiracies.
64 years later, too little progress has been made.
64 years later, innocent black bodies are still being murdered without repurcussion.
64 years later, our cognitive fallacies are primarily the same. Innocent people pay the price. Always.
This book was heartbreaking, frustrating, and thorough. The author touches on a number of factors that influenced the racial climate all over the country, but especially in Mississippi and Chicago-- from red-scare, black voter suppression, and the housing crisis to good old-fashioned white supremacy. The author draws on reflections of the past to make note of how little actual progress has been made today.
More than just heart ands minds, we need to reflect on how these injustices were able to occur so that we can make the structural adjustments that will better protect vulnerable populations in the future.
andreaturner's review against another edition
5.0
Although published in 2017, it is as much our present moment as it is about Emmett Till and his murderers’ unjust acquittal. So many passages held an eerie prescience for what we are still reckoning with in 2020. The courage and fortitude of his mother, Mamie was awe-inspiring and, frankly, super-human in how she was able to leverage her private grief into a public movement.
aa2q7's review against another edition
3.0
Exhaustive account of Till's life and murder and the surrounding environment. The Vanity Fair excerpt published earlier this year revealed perhaps most stunning part of the book — that Tyson interviewed Carolyn Bryant, the woman who alleged Till assaulted her, who admitted she had lied about their interaction.
gregorygolz's review against another edition
4.0
I knew this would be a very important book to read. I only recommend not reading it before bed. It was hard to sleep for the first few nights while reading this graphic story. This story puts many current events into perspective for me. I'm a middle age white guy just trying to learn more about life. I'm sure my few sleepless nights pale in comparison to anyone impacted by this story or the countless others fighting for real racial equality.
duanebutcher's review
4.0
Well put together, thoughtful, propulsive. It shows just how awful things used to be--but that in many important ways the struggle is still going on. There's just not that much difference between Emmit Till and Trayvon Martin. This isn't a hagiography: it's factual, it doesn't sugar coat the situation for African-Americans in Chicago in comparison with Mississippi, and it makes it clear that the case was an example of skillful messaging and media management. (Yes, striking that even then the bigots were saying "but Chicago..")
A few surprises, which won't be for people who are better informed than I: it was interesting that several of the white law enforcement personnel, and the judge, and the prosecutor really did try to seek justice here. They just seem to have been let down by a white racist jury that was sympathetic with the white racists who murdered Emmitt Till.
I'm glad I listened.
A few surprises, which won't be for people who are better informed than I: it was interesting that several of the white law enforcement personnel, and the judge, and the prosecutor really did try to seek justice here. They just seem to have been let down by a white racist jury that was sympathetic with the white racists who murdered Emmitt Till.
I'm glad I listened.
heyjude2017's review against another edition
3.0
Had to read this for US History from the Reconstruction to Obama