photopost 2: emmitt till commission

on the 40th anniversary of the 1964 murders of james chaney, andrew goodman, and michael schwerner, a multiracial community coalition in philidelphia, ms issued a call for justice in their deaths. despite overwhelming evidence, the state had not indicted anyone for the murder; a federal trial found seven of eighteen men guilty of civil rights violations (verdicts were not reached on two of the defendants), but - as killers walked free - many felt justice was hardly served. in tandem with the call for justice and in an effort to come to terms with its own historical legacy, the philidelphia coalition began the development of a civil rights tour and brochure, an oral history project, and local curriculum development surrounding the legacy of chaney, goodman, and schwerner. on june 21, 2005, former klansman edgar ray killen (80 years old at the time) was found guilty of manslaughter in connection with the disappearance and murder of the three civil rights workers.

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the success of the philidelphia coalition's efforts has inspired sustained reconciliation practices in that community, as well as similar community action in other parts of the state. tallahatchie county has issued a call for justice and reconciliation in regards to the unresolved murder of emmett till - who, in august of 1955 was kidnapped in the night and subsequently abused and murdered on the accusation that he had whistled at a white women while leaving bryant's grocery and meat market in money, ms. the emmett till commission has borrowed greatly from the philidelphia model - involving a multiracial coalition, a legal strategy (although recent efforts at bringing charges have been dismissed), and plans for a tour/brochure.

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susan glisson and the william winter institute provided - when necessary - structure, moderation, and guidance in philidelphia, and is doing the same in tallahatchie. we recently took a trip to tallahatchie to observe a meeting of the commission and to take pictures for the brochure. again, i was the de facto photographer - though it was profoundly difficult to take pictures of things that aren't there; so many of the buildings and landmarks involved in the emmett till story are in profound disrepair, and some are merely plots of land. so i took a million shots trying to pull enough identifiable landscape into the frame to make the space recognizable - sometimes managing, sometimes not.

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belltower at the sumner courthouse, where an all-white, all-male jury acquitted (after a deliberation of just over an hour) roy bryant and j.w. milam of the charge of murder. within three months of their acquittal, the bryant and milam had confessed to the crime.

scare-quotes that fit

in a corner - appropriately serendipitous

the space where justice went unserved

lonely courthouse stairs

sumner courthouse exterior

former site of the delta inn - residence of the all-white jury during the trial

funeral home where emmett's body was embamled

back of the funeral home - gang symbols, a gutted interior, and jordan butler

former site of j.w. milam's house. milam and bryant intially beat up till in the adjacent barn.

glendora gin, from which a gin fan was acquired in order to tie to till's neck before throwing his body into the tallahatchie river.

former site of king's place - where a black reporter, james hicks, discovered information pertinent to the trial. specifically, hicks learned the names of two potential witnesses to the till murder, but who had been incarcerated under false names and charges.

former site of gas station where clinton melton - an outspoken member of the black community in the wake of the bryant/milam acquittals - was murdered. he was shot by milam's friend elmer kimbel, allegedly over a dispute regarding a gas tank. on the day of kimbel's trial (he was later acquitted), melton's widow, beulah, was run off the road near glendora and drowned in the black bayou.

another view of where the gas station used to be

former site of j.w. milam's store

the mound at the end of the path is the site where till's mutilated body was found - the tallahatchie river is about 20 meters behind the camera; it had risen substantially in the weeks surrounding the murder.

body site again - it's the hill on the right. the river is on the other side of the trees.

a meeting of the emmett till commission 1

a meeting of the emmett till commission, 2

susan glisson moderating

[note: the source for most of this historical information is the text of the brochure that's being developed by the till commission]