A review by nancyadelman
The Blood of Emmett Till by Timothy B. Tyson

3.0

This book is an examination of the murder of Emmett Till, a fourteen year old black boy who was killed while visiting family in Mississippi in 1955. He was lynched by white farmers for allegedly making a pass (likely not) at a white woman in a grocery store. The book is meant to be read like a true-crime book, with the unfortunate victim's life prior to Mississippi being outlined, the eventful last day of his life, followed by the trial of his murderers. Only this book is part true-crime and part about civil rights. The author goes on for some time (perhaps too long? I got bored) about black people trying to get the rights they deserve under the laws of our country. Apparently Mississippians seem to think that they are above the laws of the land and threatened, beat, or even killed black people who tried to register to vote or who actually turned out to vote.

I thought the subject matter was handled well and is very timely (he ties Emmett's death into the deaths that are still occurring, most of whom at the hands of police, Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, for example). The way in which he wrote parts of this book were very dry and similar to textbook-writing which was unfortunate because it made an interesting book boring. I had only a cursory idea of who Emmett Till was before reading this, but after reading it, I understand his story and why it is as relevant today as it was sixty years ago.