Eliza Dieck, Opinions Editor
On Sept. 18, The Roberson Project invited Patrick Weems and Jesse Jaynes-Diming to speak about their scholarship and work at the Emmett Till Interpretive Center in Convocation Hall.
This discussion sought to answer the question “Why today does it take extraordinary effort and courage to remember this tragedy that took a child’s life, left enduring damage to a community, and changed the course of American history?”
The Roberson Project on Slavery, Race, and Reconciliation was founded by Dr. Woody Register in 2017. This initiative seeks to grapple with and illuminate the history of our University, the Sewanee community, and the people who reside on the Mountain.
In 2006, Jerome Little, then president of the Tallahatchie County Board of Supervisors, founded the Emmett Till Memorial Commission. This Commission is now deemed the Emmett Till Interpretive Center.
Emmett Till, a 14-year-old child from Chicago, was brutally murdered while visiting Mississippi in 1955 because he “wolf-whistled” at a white woman. The act of “wolf-whistling” challenged the tacit “code of conduct” imposed on blacks in the South. Roy Byrant — the husband of Carolyn Bryant— and J.W. Milam evidently executed this heinous crime; however, they were acquitted by an all-white jury.
Mamie Till-Mobley, Emmett Till’s mother, held an open-casket funeral for her son in Chicago at the Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ. This funeral galvanized the Civil Rights Movement because Till’s mutilated body confronted viewers with the vicious racism that pervaded the South.
Jaynes-Diming discussed Little’s experience of only learning as an adult about Till’s lynching. She explained the weaponization of Till’s death as a mode to scare black residents of Tallahatchie into submission and silence. However, Jaynes-Diming affirmed that learning this heinous truth “ignited a fire in Little.”
The Commission, led by Little, organized a ceremony to conduct a public apology to the Till family to reckon with the Tallahatchie’s past and bridge the gap between the white and black communities. According to Weems, this ceremonial apology sought to “break the silence.”
Since this ceremony, the Emmett Till Interpretive Center has accomplished many feats to educate and preserve history. The Tallahatchie Courthouse was restored and emulates the setting of Bryant and Milam’s trial in 1955. On the night Till was lynched, Bryant and Milam abducted him from his uncle’s house, dragging him on a route to his death along the Tallahatchie River. Till was found at Graball Landing. They have erected signs to acknowledge this part of the story.
The Tallahatchie Courthouse, Graball Landing and Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ are now classified U.S. national parks. These sites represent tangible pieces of our shared collective history. Jaynes-Diming stated that through these initiatives, the Emmett Till Interpretive Center is “transforming the worst of humanity into sites of healing.”
Reconciliation with oppressive history is difficult and often met with resistance. Weems recounted a conversation he had wherein he asked a young student “is learning about this hard?” The student responded, “No. Of course we need to remember this. We don’t want this to ever happen again.”
Weems stated that watching the community of Tallahatchie “work things out” has been one of the most profound impacts made on him throughout his work with the Emmett Till Interpretive Center. Jaynes-Diming expressed that this project has allowed her to expand her knowledge on history, people and Till.
In the final moments of this discussion, Jaynes-Diming told the audience consisting of faculty, administrators, students and community members that every day can bring a new lesson. We must seek out these new lessons and untold stories about our history. It is only by breaking the silence that we can forge a truthful shared history.