Getting Away with Murder
The True Story of the Emmett Till Case
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
A JANE ADDAMS BOOK AWARD HONOR BOOK • An in-depth examination of the Emmett Till murder case, a hate crime that helped spark the Civil Rights Movement and continues to teach Americans about the urgent need for equal rights—updated and revised with a new chapter.
“Crowe pays powerful tribute to a boy whose untimely death spurred a national chain of events.”—Publishers Weekly
In August 1955, a group of white men kidnapped and brutally murdered a fourteen-year-old boy in the Mississippi Delta. Why? Because a white woman said he whistled at her. And the boy, Emmett Till, was Black. What’s more, Emmett’s killers were never convicted—they got away with murder.
The extreme brutality of the crime put a national spotlight on racial violence in the South. But it was the dramatic trial and speedy acquittal of Emmett’s white murderers that sparked widespread outrage that left a lasting impact on American history. Backed by careful research, Getting Away with Murder investigates the lead-up to Emmett’s murder, its unprecedented aftermath, and its significance to the civil rights movement.
This revised edition has been updated to reflect the newest information about Emmett’s life and untimely death, including recently uncovered details about his accuser’s testimony. A new chapter featuring additional photographs examines the significance of the case in the twenty-first century and grants even more insight into the ongoing legacy of Emmett Till.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Crowe (Mississippi Trial, 1955) revisits the subject of his debut novel, this time as nonfiction, with an even more searing impact. He builds a strong argument that "the outrage that followed death and the acquittal of his murderers finally launched the movement to combat racism in the United States." The opening scene, reconstructed from court statements and documents, tells how 14-year-old Emmett Till was taken from his great-uncle's Mississippi home, where the boy was visiting from Chicago, to be killed by two white men. Emmett's crime: he had allegedly whistled at and made 'ugly remarks' to a white woman" in a 1955 segregated South where whites were still bristling from the 1954 Brownv. Board of Education decision. The narrative then slows a bit to paint the historical scene, but quickly gains momentum again as Crowe compellingly describes Emmett's perspective, coming from an experience of comparative freedom in the north, as he entered the world of his southern relatives, thus setting a backdrop for tensions to unfold. Striking photographs illustrate an era of contradictions, such as an all-American boy brandishing a sign bearing a racist slogan. The acts of bravery may impress readers most, especially the decision by Maud Till Bailey, Emmett's mother, to open his casket and "Let the people see what they did to my boy," and his Uncle Mose Wright taking the stand to identify the white defendants (immediately thereafter, he had to flee Mississippi or risk being murdered himself). Crowe pays powerful tribute to a boy whose untimely death spurred a national chain of events. Ages 12-up.
