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Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide.

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Print Price: $50.99

Format:
Paperback
192 pp.
3 illustrations, 7" x 10"

ISBN-13:
9780190216016

Copyright Year:
2021

Imprint: OUP US


The Murder of Emmett Till

A Graphic History

Karlos Hill and Dave Dodson

Incorporating the latest research, The Murder of Emmett Till is the first text to present this shocking crime - which still powerfully reverberates - in a graphic history format. Historian Karlos Hill and illustrator Dave Dodson provide a riveting narration of the events surrounding the murder of young Emmett Till in a graphic format. Hill's meticulous research provides readers with both the context to place the crime in its wider historical setting, and primary sources to analyze the case in detail. Suggestions for classroom discussion and advice on how to effectively use the graphic history in the classroom make The Murder of Emmett Till a required text for courses in American and African American history.

Readership : Undergraduate students enrolled in American History and African American History courses.

Reviews

  • "Karlos Hill's graphic history of the murder of Emmett Till brims with energy. The graphic rendering brings the 60-year-old story into the present. The illustrations cut through the decades, revive the intimacy and horror of the distant story, and remind us that the racism that killed Till is still very much alive. At the same time, the extended critical context keeps the graphic history anchored firmly in fact. Moving between poignant illustrations and incisive commentary, Hill's The Murder of Emmett Till: A Graphic History just may become the go-to text for a new generation of students."
    --Dave Tell, University of Kansas, author of Remembering Emmett Till

  • "The strength of this book is the depth and scope in which it explores the Till case. Students and other readers who are familiar and unfamiliar with the text will come away from it learning something new about the Till family, the whistling incident, the murder and the trial."
    --Ashley D. Farmer, University of Texas, Austin

  • "The tragic story of Emmitt Till riveted the attention of a generation, the very generation that came to the fore to propel African American freedom movements to bold new strategies fifteen years after his death at the hands of white terrorists in Mississippi. As brilliantly captured in this engaging graphic history, that story will rivet your attention as well. The book is drawn with spare beauty, narrated with simple power, and accompanied by an authoritative historical essay on the eventful times in which the Chicago teenager lived, died, and was stirringly remembered. This is a perfect book for so many college courses and will surely be read eagerly outside of them as well."
    --David Roediger, University of Kansas, author of How Race Survived U.S. History

  • "Karlos Hill's graphic history is painfully accurate. It shows how the murder of Emmett Till helped to dramatically change the political and social norms of the United States in a relatively short period of time."
    --Eric R. Jackson, Northern Kentucky University

  • "The text is timely in terms of its genre and historical content. It addresses the false accusation made by Bryant, and the nuance of Bobo's personality as a prankster. History presented in this way will reach a broad audience."
    --Angela Flounory, University of Michigan- Dearborn

List of Maps
Preface
Acknowledgments
Part I
The Graphic History
1. The Whistling Incident
2. The Kidnapping
3. The Murder
4. The Trial and Aftermath
Part II
The Historical Context
The Mississippi Delta and the Culture of Southern Segregation
Lynching and Racial Violence in the South
The Great Migration
Civil Rights Activism in Mississippi
Massive Resistance
The Decision to Travel to Mississippi
The Whistling Incident
The Kidnapping and Murder
Emmett Till's Open Casket Funeral
The Emmett Till Murder Trial and Jim Crow Justice
Look Magazine and The Shocking Story of an Approved Killing
The Historical and Contemporary Significance of the Emmett Till Murder
Part III
The Documents
Document Overview
Document 1: Photo of Emmett Till
Document 2: Photo of Emmett Till's Open Casket
Document 3: Photo of Mamie Till at Emmett Till Burial
Document 4. Two White Men Charged with Kidnapping Negro
Delta Democrat-Times, August 30, 1955
Document 5: Muddy River Gives up Body of Brutally Slain Negro Boy
Memphis Commercial Appeal, September 1, 1955
Document 6: Designed to Inflame
Jackson Daily News, September 2, 1955
Document 7: Meddling in Local Case Creates Problems
Greenwood Morning Star, September 6, 1955
Document 8: Mother's Tears Greet Son Who Died a Martyr
Mattie Smith Colin, Chicago Defender, Sept 10, 1955
Document 9: Nation Shocked, Vow Action in Lynching of Chicago Youth
Chicago Defender, September 10, 1955
Document 10: Thousands At Rites for Till
Robert Elliott, Chicago Defender, September 10, 1955
Document 11. Emmett Till Murder Trial Transcript, Direct and Cross Examination of
Mamie Till
Document 12. Emmett Till Murder Trial Transcript, Direct Examination of Carolyn Bryant
Document 13: Fair Trial Was Credit to Mississippi
Greenwood Morning Star, September 23, 1955
Document 14: Till's Mom, Diggs Both Disappointed
Mattie Smith Colin, Chicago Defender, October 1, 1955
Document 15: Excerpt of The Shocking Story of Approved Killing in Mississippi
William Bradford Huie, Look Magazine, January 24, 1956
Document 16: Mamie Bradley's Untold Story (Installment VIII)
Mrs. Mamie Bradley, Chicago Defender, June 9, 1956
Part IV
Conclusion
Further Reading
Questions for Discussion and Further Research
The Emmett Till Murder: A Timeline
Lynching and Racial Violence in American History: A Timeline
Using Emmett Till: A Graphic History in the Classroom

There are no Instructor/Student Resources available at this time.

Karlos K. Hill is Associate Professor and Chair of the Clara Luper Department of African and African-American Studies at the University of Oklahoma. Dr. Hill is author of Beyond the Rope: The Impact of Lynching on Black Culture and Memory (Cambridge University Press, 2016) and is completing a forthcoming book on the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Dr. Hill was featured in Netflix's Devil at the Crossroads documentary on the life of blues musician Robert Johnson. He serves on the Clara Luper Legacy Committee, the Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission, and the Facing History and Ourselves Board of Scholars.

Dave Dodson is a freelance artist based in California.

Writing History - William Kelleher Storey and Towser Jones
Let the People See - Elliot Gorn
Creating Black Americans - Nell Irvin Painter

Special Features

  • First graphic history of the Emmett Till murder, an incident that still reverberates in American history.
  • Graphic history format engages the reader with a vivid and powerful narrative.
  • The graphic history can be read in one sitting, and the text is free of scholarly jargon and written for an undergraduate audience and non-scholars.
  • Includes a historical context essay, primary sources, suggestions for further research, discussion questions, and advice for teachers on how to effectively use the graphic history in the classroom.
  • Introduces students to the practice of history and the types of methods historians use to construct the past.
  • Engages the reader with a timely discussion of violence and white supremacy, racism and criminal justice, memory and social movements.
  • Ideal text for courses in US History and African American History.