Till (2022) Movie Script
1
["Sincerely" by The Moonglows
playing]
[singing along]
Sincerely
Oh, yes, sincerely
'Cause I love you so dearly
[both laugh]
Please say you'll be mine
Sincerely
[chuckles]
Oh, you know
How I love you
I'll do anything for you
Please say you'll be mine
Oh, Lord
Won't you tell me
Why I love that girlie so
[song fades]
[uneasy music plays]
-[mellow music playing]
-[indistinct chatter]
[indistinct chatter]
[guard] Are you looking
for something?
No, I'm just
doing a little shopping.
[guard] We also have shoes
in the basement.
Do your other customers
know that too?
[Emmett] Mama.
Which one do you like better?
Pardon me.
[sighs]
I think I like this one.
Will you really need a wallet
while you're down there?
Oh, Mama. Please?
Okay. Fine.
Let's just go pay for it
and go home now.
[music playing on car stereo]
[indistinct chatter]
[music stops]
-[ding]
-[man on TV] Sing out.
[boy singing along to tv]
I love Bosco
It's rich and chocolaty
Chocolate-flavored Bosco
Is mighty good for me
Mama puts it in my milk
for extra energy
Bosco gives me iron
and sunshine vitamin D
Oh, I love Bosco
That's the drink for me
-[laughter]
-Whoa! My man!
You did that.
You didn't stutter,
not one time.
Now, Bo, you know
it's time for you
to go to bed.
[Bo] Aw...
[Alma] You know you got
a big day tomorrow.
Come on. Give Grandma a hug.
I'll see you
when you get back.
[Gene] Bring it in.
Good night, Mr. G.
[Gene] All right.
Oh.
You two don't get married
before I get back.
Can't get married
without my best man.
Good night.
[Gene] What?
Is it my bedtime too?
Could be.
[Gene laughs]
[picks up key]
Good night.
[kisses]
[Mamie] I'll call you
after Bo gets on the train.
[Gene] Mrs. Spearman.
[Alma] She'll see you tomorrow.
-[Gene] All right. Good night.
-[Alma] Good night.
[door opens]
[door closes]
What's wrong, Mamie?
We've never been apart
this long.
He's just going
to see his cousins.
It's not a bad thing for him
to know where he come from.
Well, Chicago is all
he needs to know.
I don't want him
seeing himself
the way those people
are seen down there.
Those people like me?
Even you
left Mississippi, Mama.
Mamie, Bo is growing up.
You gonna have to let him go.
[smacks lips]
All right, I know that face.
That is the face of
"Mama, mind your business,
and go home."
Where's my pocket book?
[Mamie] Mm-hmm. Right here.
[Alma] Oh, there it is.
You need to get you
some rest too.
-[Mamie] I will.
-[Alma] Come on, baby.
-I'll call you tomorrow.
-All right.
[door opens]
-Good night, Mama.
-Good night, darlin'.
[door closes, locks]
[sighs]
[faint melancholy music
playing]
[snoring quietly]
[alarm clock buzzes]
[man on radio]
A delightful day
here in our town of Chicago
and I presume
that you're, sort of,
munching on
Wrigley's Spearmint,
and you're all relaxed,
and pleasantly situated
wherever you are.
The sun's probably shining
in your heart
and your town too.
[Dizzy Gillespie's "He Beeped
When He Sho2ulda Bopped" plays]
There was a guy
who had some brand new tricks
Played his horn
with some crazy licks
The thing that made him
such a flop
Was he beeped
[singing along]
When he should've... bopped
That same old guy jumped
right up on the stand
But... But he couldn't seem
to dig the band
[knocking on door]
Thought he was the cream
of the crop but
He beeped
when he should have bopped
I got this ready for you.
All the cats
would gather around
To see what
he was tryin' to prove
[laughing]
But anyone
could plainly see
He was draggin' them
out of the groove
At last the leader
turned around and said
Listen, Pops,
you had better stop
Oh, there you go
You did it again
You just beeped
when you should've bopped
-[Mamie squeals]
-[laughs]
All right, now,
you're gonna miss your train.
-[sax solo playing]
-[Bo humming along]
Bo, when you get down there...
Oh, not again, Mama.
I've already
been to Mississippi.
Only one time before,
and you started a fight
with another little boy.
[stutters]
He was picking on me.
You're in the right
to stand up for yourself,
but that's not
what I'm talking about.
[sighs, smacks lips]
Well, they have
a different set of rules
for Negroes down there.
Are you listening?
Yes.
You have to be extra careful
with White people.
You can't risk looking at them
the wrong way.
I know.
Bo.
Be small down there.
Like this?
[Mamie chuckles]
Instead of your father's ring,
how about you wear
the cufflinks
we got you last Christmas?
They'll look so handsome
on you.
No, Mama.
I wanna wear the ring.
[sighs] Thank you.
Go on downstairs.
I need to finish
getting ready myself.
[uneasy music playing]
[train brakes hiss]
-[sax solo playing]
-[Bo humming along]
Ah, morning, Mamie!
[Mamie] Morning, Preacher.
Good morning, Wheeler.
Hi, Miss Mamie.
Hi, Bo.
You're leaving
Chicago too soon.
You were only here a few days.
I didn't need
no more days than that.
I got to see some family,
a few friends.
Maybe we get you
to come down...
-...see us.
-[conductor] All aboard!
I like it just fine out here,
Preacher.
All right, now.
Bo, stay close
to your cousins.
Preacher, you and Aunty Lizzie
make sure Bo calls and writes
every chance he gets.
I need to know he's okay.
Don't worry.
Me, Lizzie, and the boys
will have a stern eye on him.
Goodbye, Mamie.
All right, now.
Come on, Bobo.
Buh-bye, Mama.
Oh, Bo!
You didn't kiss me goodbye.
[sighs] Mama. I gotta go.
Listen to Preacher.
Stay with your cousins
at all times.
Be extra careful.
I already know.
You know what?
I won't need to keep the time
on my vacation.
Wind it every day.
[conductor] Last call!
Train's leaving!
[train whistle blows]
[whistle blows]
[stutters] Buh-bye, Mama.
Come on, Bobo.
Aight, Mamie.
[train brakes hiss]
[sentimental music playing]
[whimpers]
[pensive music playing]
[conductor] Time to move now.
[train chugging]
[pensive music continues]
[indistinct chatter]
-[fly buzzing]
-Now,
all you gotta do
is pinch the bract right here,
so you don't
get your fingertips...
[Bo chuckles]
Hey, look at the size
of that bird.
Whoa!
Where'd you get that ring?
Oh, it was my daddy's.
He died a hero in the war.
[boy] Well, let me try it on.
Um, maybe later.
All right.
[woman 1 exclaims]
-Bo?
-[woman] Is he all right?
[boy] Bobo!
Come on.
[Bo] Roar!
From the depths
of an ancient tomb,
echoes a sound
that shakes the world.
Meet the mummy, Simmy!
Stop! [laughs]
You gonna get us in trouble.
Or better yet, fired.
I'm done picking these fields.
What do y'all do
with all this cotton anyway?
We sell it.
Mr. Frederick, who own
the land, take his share.
I go to market with our haul.
-[Bo] Sounds pretty square.
-[Moses] Hmm.
Pa, you gonna let him
sass you that way?
What way?
The boy doesn't know
where his clothes come from.
[all laughing]
Nah.
I take it back, Bobo.
Stay off the farm.
[laughter]
City boy won't even know
how he found a whuppin'.
[laughter continues]
[lively jazz music playing]
[insects chirring]
[lively jazz music continues
on car stereo]
[boys laughing]
[music stops]
Yes, he is.
[boy] Damn near pass out.
[client 1] Come on, sit down.
Sit down, come on.
Hey, young boy.
[client 2] How you doin' there,
young fella?
Come on, learn somethin'.
Well, I'm about raised
from the dead
by all this excitement.
[client 2] Pay attention here,
you gonna let us
learn you something.
I'll make damn sure.
-[Bo huffs]
-[client 2] I'mma do what I do.
[cash register clicking]
[cash register dings]
[coins rattle]
[Wheeler] Thank you, ma'am.
You look like a movie star.
What?
Where's Bobo?
He's in there.
Simmy. See to Bobo
while he's inside.
[indistinct chatter]
See?
[Simmy] Come on.
[stutters] Bye!
Buh-bye!
-[Simmy] Come on, let's go!
-[Bo] Yeah?
[wolf-whistles]
[chuckling]
[tense music playing]
[Johnny] She getting her gun.
She getting her gun, y'all.
Come on! Move!
-Get up, now! Come on!
-Move!
[Johnny] Move!
She goin' to get a gun, y'all!
-[Simmy] Get in!
-[client 3] Just lay low.
[Wheeler] Come on, Mau!
[engine revs]
[tires screeching]
[Simmy gasping]
[tense music fades]
[downcast music playing]
[phone rings]
[indistinct conversation]
[indistinct chatter]
[men chattering]
[sighs]
[jazz music playing faintly
on speakers]
Why aren't you at work?
Is everything okay?
That trip we planned
to take Bo on?
Let's go now.
You wanna go right now?
You said you weren't feeling
that well.
I was just missing Bo.
[sighs] I'm still missing Bo.
We have never been apart
this long,
and he's gonna be gone
another week.
I need to keep doing things
to take my mind off
of this feelin'.
Okay.
I can't go right now, but, uh,
we'll try in a few days.
Promise me
we'll go on the trip?
Of course.
[rock 'n' roll song playing]
[chatter and laughter]
[girl 1] I'm trying not to act
so silly! [giggles]
[girl 2] Better watch yourself.
I don't know,
'cause when he looks at me,
I just lose my mind! [laughs]
[girl 2] Oh!
But just be yourself.
Okay. I'll try.
It's gonna be all right.
[indistinct chatter]
[rock 'n' roll song continues]
[Wheeler] Oh! Nice try.
[laughs]
[Bo] It's a high-speed
competition, huh?
They call you city boy,
or somethin'?
[all laugh]
Think you so damn funny, huh?
Why you whistle like that?
Look, it's been three days,
okay?
And we haven't heard
nothin' more
about what I did in Money.
That's 'cause no one knows
your face 'round here.
That don't mean
they not in one of 'em cars
looking for us.
Look, I said I was sorry.
We gotta tell Pappa.
We all agreed
we wouldn't say anything.
[Simmy] He'll make
Bobo go home.
So what?
You don't see what's been
going on around here?
They killin' Negroes
for doing way less
than what you did in Money.
You ain't no White man, Bobo.
You one of us!
Hey, leave him alone, Maurice.
Mrs. Bryant must've kept it
to herself.
No one has to know.
[people chattering]
[rock 'n' roll song continues]
-[women chuckle]
-Willie Mae, Ollie,
I swear you two are losing
on purpose.
Yeah, well, you must have
all the luck tonight, Mamie.
-[Ollie] Mm-hmm.
-[Mamie chuckles]
Now, we've been here
all night,
and you still haven't told us
what's bothering you.
I'm fine.
I got a letter today
from Aunty Lizzie.
She said Bo is really happy.
That's all I needed to hear.
[Ollie] Mm.
-[Willie Mae] That's real good,
Mamie.
-[Mamie] Mm-hmm.
My boy, Curtis, just made it
down to Mississippi.
I already told Uncle,
"Make sure he see Bo
tomorrow."
Bo would like that.
Yeah.
[Mamie] It'd be nice for him
to have another friend...
-...from the city there
with him.
-[Willie Mae] Mm-hmm.
[Mamie] Oh, he just
doesn't understand
how different things are
down there.
Yeah.
Aunty Lizzie said
Bo's been working the fields.
-[Ollie] Oh!
-[all laugh]
I can't imagine
Bo in the hot sun
all day pulling some cotton.
[Willie Mae] No.
But Aunty Lizzie said I raised
one nice, hardworking boy.
-That's my Bo.
-[Willie Mae] Yes.
[jazz music playing faintly
on speakers]
Can't believe
he's been gone a week.
Gene and I wanna take
a trip soon,
but I really wanna go down
to Mississippi
and bring my son home.
If Bo could just
get his feet back
onto the Chicago soil,
he'd be one happy kid.
I... I don't know
why I said that.
[Willie Mae] Looks like
your little winning streak
is over, Mamie.
[Willie Mae laughs]
-Well, look at that.
-[all chuckle]
[Ollie] You wanna play
one more hand?
Sure.
But you deal this time.
[Ollie] Absolutely.
You still gonna lose.
-These cards, girl.
-[Willie Mae chuckles]
[announcer on radio]
A grand jury has declined
to indict the suspect
for the murder of Reverend
George Washington Lee,
a Mississippi Negro man killed
while driving his car.
Lee lead
the Belzoni, Mississippi NAACP
in his efforts to register
hundreds of Negroes
-to vote for the first time.
-[door opens]
[laughter and chatter
in other room]
[news announcement
continues indistinctly]
[door opens]
Pappa, you and Mama
ain't asleep?
[Moses] Mm.
How can we sleep
when y'all ain't home yet?
What'd you boys
get into tonight?
Nothing much, Daddy.
Just taking Bobo around.
[Moses] Mm.
All right. Night, Ma.
Night, Pa.
-[Simmy] Good night.
-Night night.
Good night.
Bobo!
We leaving early tomorrow
to mail that letter out
to your mama, you hear?
Okay. Good night.
[Moses and Lizzie] Good night.
-[whispers] That was close.
-[quiet laughter]
[announcer] ...after having
registered dozens of Negroes
to vote
in the local runoff election.
No charges have been made.
[sentimental music playing]
[switch clicks]
[car pulls up]
[car door opens]
[footsteps approaching]
[banging on door]
[banging on door]
[Roy] Preacher!
Preacher!
[Moses] Who is it?
[Roy] It's Mr. Bryant.
I wanna talk to you
about that boy.
[hesitates]
Sir?
[Roy] I want that boy
who did the talking down
in Money.
Talking, sir? What talking?
[Roy] Open up this door,
Preacher!
[banging on door]
[Simmy] Bobo!
[Roy] You better open up
this door, Preacher!
[Simmy whispers]
Bobo! Wake up!
[banging on door continues]
Leave me alone.
Get up! Someone's come!
[Roy] You know
who I'm talking about!
So what?
They've come for you!
[Moses] I don't know.
Who's come?
I don't know what you mean,
Mr. Bryant.
[Roy] You got that boy
from Chicago.
-[door bangs]
-[Moses groans]
[tense music playing]
You that big mouth nigger?
Who are you?
[Roy] Get your clothes on.
Mr. Bryant,
you ain't got to do this.
He just a young boy.
[Roy] Better shut them eyes.
-[Simmy] Oh!
-[Moses] Simmy!
[Roy] You don't need
no goddamn socks, boy.
I... I don't wear shoes
without socks.
[Bo gasping]
Don't talk back to them!
[Roy] We just gonna
teach him a lesson.
[Moses] Stay right here, Simmy!
-[Lizzie] Please!
-[Roy] Move!
-[Lizzie] Don't take him!
-[Roy] Move!
I'll whup him
if he's done something wrong!
[grunts] We'll give you money.
[Roy] Watch out.
[Milam] We don't need no money!
[Moses] Please!
The boy ain't got good sense.
[Milam] He's gonna learn!
But, Mr. Bryant!
-[Lizzie gasps]
-[gun cocks]
[Milam] What'd you say
to my brother?
[footsteps recede]
[car door opens]
[Bo grunts]
[Roy] All right. Get up.
[gasping]
Carolyn!
Is this the right nigger?
[Bo breathing shakily]
That's the one.
[Roy] All right.
[Bo gasping]
[Bo] Get off me.
Shut up, boy! Shut up.
[Bo struggling]
-[Roy] All right.
-[Bo grunting]
[car engine starting]
[despairful music playing]
[grunts]
[car drives off]
[Milam in distance]
Look at me, boy!
[Bo crying in pain]
Hold him down!
-[Roy] Watch it, now!
-[Bo coughs]
-[Milam grunts]
-[blow lands]
[Milam] Shut your mouth!
[mocking laughter]
Come on. Get up! Get up!
Hold him up!
-[Milam grunting]
-[object striking]
[Bo screams in pain]
[distant, indistinct
conversation]
[unnerving music playing]
[object thuds]
-[Milam grunts]
-[object thudding]
[breathing heavily]
[phone rings]
Hello?
[Mamie whimpering]
Get out of the way, Gene!
I gotta get to Money!
Money? Money?
Mamie, what's going on?
They took Bo!
-Who took Bo?
-I...
Preacher told me two men came
and got Bo last night.
I couldn't hear anything else
after that.
-I gotta find Bo!
-Mamie! Mamie! Mamie!
Mamie, let's go inside,
call your mama,
try and get in touch with
Preacher and Aunty Lizzie
for more information, okay?
-Come on. Come on.
-[Mamie sniffles]
We give you
all the glory, Lord.
-Glory to God.
-Yes.
Glory to God.
Yes, Lord. Glory to God.
-Yes.
-[Alma] Mm-hmm.
He's going to bring him
back to you, baby.
[door opens and closes]
Yes, ma'am.
[whispers] Alma.
Thank you.
[John] Mamie.
Alma.
You weren't going to tell me?
I called your wife.
[scoffs]
No matter the differences
between me and your mother,
I'm still your father.
Mamie,
we're gonna find Bo.
-Mm. [sniffles]
-Sit down.
I brought your cousin along
to help us.
Do you remember Rayfield?
Rayfield Mooty.
Came by the house a lot
when you was a kid.
He works with some
powerful Negro people
who can help us find Bo.
It's been a long time, ma'am.
-[Alma] Nice to see you again.
-[Rayfield] Mm.
Mamie.
Oh. I'm sorry. [sniffles]
Thank you for coming,
Mr. Mooty.
I've, uh...
I've been in touch
with Mr. William Huff,
counsel for the NAACP chapter
here in Chicago.
He wants to meet with you
first thing tomorrow morning.
I've included the address
to his office.
Here.
He has political connections
throughout the state
of Mississippi.
And he's in regular contact
with Mayor Daley,
Congressman Dawson,
and Governor Stratton.
I do know the NAACP,
and it sounds like
he knows the right people
[voice breaking]
who can help me find Bo.
Well, I'll meet you
in Mr. Huff's office
tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m.
-[John] Thanks, Ray.
-[Rayfield] Mm-hmm.
I will see you soon.
[softly] Hey.
[Dizzy Gillespie's "He Beeped
When He Shoulda Bopped" plays]
At last the leader
turned around and said
Listen, Pops,
you had better stop
Oh, there you go,
you did it again
You just beeped
when you should have bopped
[song ends]
[record crackles]
[Dizzy Gillespie's "He Beeped
When He Shoulda Bopped" plays]
[sighs]
[song fading]
[tense music playing]
[indistinct conversation]
[woman] It's on your calendar,
and you have the meeting
right after that.
Morning!
[man] Hi, John.
How are you today?
[indistinct conversations]
[Rayfield] Mr. Huff,
this is Mrs. Bradley.
Thank you for meeting with us,
Mr. Huff.
-[Rayfield] And Mr. Mobley.
-[William] Yes, thank you.
I have great respect
for your cousin.
His work with the
United Steelworkers has helped
to make it one of
the strongest Negro unions.
-I didn't know that.
-[William] Mm-hmm.
Are you employed?
I work for the Air Force.
She's the only Negro woman
in the office.
Mrs. Bradley.
You two aren't married?
Um...
No.
Not yet, anyway.
Where's Emmett's father?
Louis Till died overseas
about 10 years ago.
Uh, during the war.
And Mr. Bradley?
You have a lot of questions
for me, Mr. Huff.
And none of them seem to have
anything to do with my son.
[William] I've been briefed
on your case.
Bo is not a case.
I've drafted
two telegrams to send.
One to Governor White
in Mississippi.
The other
to Governor Stratton,
here in Illinois.
It's important they know
about Emmett.
We're currently investigating
the murders
of Lamar Smith
and Reverend Lee.
They did a lot of work getting
Negroes registered to vote.
Because of what happened
to them,
the Negro press in Mississippi
started to write
about Emmett's kidnapping,
but it's not creating
enough pressure needed
to force them
into a state-wide search.
Now, as your counsel,
I'd like to utilize all of
the press here in Chicago.
It's more likely
to get picked up
by other cities that way.
You're gonna have to talk
to reporters,
speak in front of cameras.
So... we like to make sure
that the person who's telling
the story is in public favor.
It's better that I ask you
questions now
than some reporter
finding something later.
[hesitating]
The reverend and Mr. Lee,
I heard they were killed
right before Bo got down there.
[Gene] Mamie...
I know these Citizen Councils
are everywhere in Mississippi.
You think they had a part
in any of it?
When the message
to White people
is to stop Negroes
from voting or advancing,
by any means
short of violence,
it's only a matter of time
before someone doesn't
stop short of it.
[Gene] Let's just focus
on finding Bo.
Why do you call him "Bo"?
When I was carrying him,
my mama's friend
would bring him gifts
all the time, and say,
"Here's another one
for little Bobo."
After he was born,
it just stuck.
He was a perfect baby.
Born breech, and had
his share of problems, but...
he was a perfect baby.
[sentimental music playing]
Hi, we live across the street
and read about
what happened to Emmett.
Everybody in the neighborhood
knows that sweet little boy.
[indistinct chatter]
[Gene] But maybe
somebody will read the paper,
and they'll know Bo's ours.
[Mamie] I don't care
what anyone thinks Bo did
or did not do in that store.
They took my child,
and I need him back.
[phone rings]
Hello? Mr. Huff!
Yes, yes, yes. I'll get Mamie.
[whispers]
Sounds like he has good news.
Mr. Huff?
He wrote back?
The governor wants to talk
to Mr. Huff
about what happened to Bo.
Thank you.
Thank you for the update,
Mr. Huff.
Okay. I'll be in touch.
[soft knock on door]
[door opens]
[footsteps approaching]
[sighs softly]
[gulps]
A reporter called me.
He didn't wanna
tell you himself.
Bo's body was found
in a river.
Preacher just identified him
to the sheriff.
He... He recognized the ring
Bo was wearing.
I'm so sorry, Mamie.
He's... [shudders]
He's dead.
[grim music playing]
[dramatic note plays]
[imperceptible]
[sorrowful music playing]
[audience on TV laughing]
[reporter on TV] This is
a breaking news bulletin.
We interrupt this broadcast
to report
a breaking news story.
The body of Emmett Louis Till
has been found dead
in the Tallahatchie River
near Money, Mississippi.
Till, a Negro boy
from Chicago, was kidnapped
while visiting relatives
in Money, Mississippi.
Again, that breaking news.
The body of Emmett Louis Till
has been found in Mississippi.
We'll have details ahead...
[broadcaster on radio]
...and J.W. Milam
were already in police custody
after admitting
to the kidnapping,
but they now face
possible indictment
for the murder of Till.
[sheriff] We have proved
by two or three witnesses
that the body found
in Tallahatchie River
was that of Emmett Till.
We proved
that the body had the ring...
[man on TV] ...this lynching
that the state of Mississippi
has decided
to maintain
this White supremacy
by murdering children.
Look, it was because
he was a boy,
that's why they went there.
They had to prove
that they were superior.
They had to prove it
by taking away
a 14-year-old boy.
Mamie, you need
to eat something.
[man] The killers of the boy
felt free to lynch him
because there is,
-in the entire state...
-[knocking on door]
...no restraining influence
of decency.
Hate.
It's like a virus in the blood
-of the Mississippians.
-[Gene sighs]
They can't help it.
[reporter]
That was Roy Wilkins...
-[door opens]
-...the executive director
of the NAACP...
[Rayfield] You mind
if I speak with Mamie?
[reporter] ...giving his
reaction to the recent killing
of 14-year-old Negro boy,
Emmett Till.
Burial preparations
by local sheriffs
have already started
being made
in Tallahatchie County,
Mississippi,
where Till's body was found.
[Rayfield] Mamie?
[reporter]
Negro leaders are calling
on local and federal officials
to investigate the murder,
and to indict J.W. Milam...
Uh... [sighs]
-My sincere condolences...
-Stop.
I can't.
I need Bo's body
sent back here.
I can't have him buried
in Mississippi.
Mississippi won't make
that deal with you.
Then make them.
I'm sure Mr. Huff
can get Mayor Daley
or the governor
to talk to somebody.
Those people in Mississippi
are trying to dump Bo
in the ground
like he's just another body.
He is my baby.
I need to see him.
I'll speak with Mr. Huff.
Thank you.
You know... [clears throat]
Mamie, you have the public's
attention right now.
And, uh,
it would be in
a politician's best interest
to help you
during an election year.
There's an opportunity in that.
Uh...
Some organizers and executive
members of the NAACP
have been speaking
with the justice department
about creating legislation
that would make lynching
a federal crime.
What happened to Reverend Lee
was a lynching.
Lamar Smith. A lynching.
-Emmett...
-I...
[Rayfield fumbles for words]
[Rayfield chuckles slightly]
uh...
We have an opportunity
to use this moment to help us
pass this legislation.
Might even help you get
an indictment.
Maybe even a conviction.
I can't think about that
right now.
I just need Bo's body
sent back here.
Well, the public's paying
attention right now, Mamie.
See, this doesn't just have
to be about Emmett.
[loudly]
Mr. Mooty, my son is dead!
[voice breaking] Make sure
Mr. Huff handles this today.
Yes, ma'am.
[car door opens]
[car door closes]
[engine starts]
[car driving off]
[melancholy music playing]
[Gene] Rayfield's ready to
take us to the train station.
I, uh, got you a wheelchair.
You know, just in case.
I don't want you falling down.
Preacher called again.
He keeps trying
to apologize to you, Mamie.
Aunty Lizzie's coming up here.
He has to stay behind
to finish working the fields
and talk to the prosecutor.
I keep asking myself...
"Why is this happening?
"Why did he take my child
from me?
[voice breaking] "What am I
supposed to do now?"
[Mamie grunts]
Yeah. I have to say goodbye
to Mama.
Mama.
[Alma sniffles]
[smacks lips, cries quietly]
I'm the one who told him
to go down there.
I wanted him to go down there.
I told him to go down.
[tearfully]
I told him to go down there.
[cries]
[train chugging]
[train horn blares]
[announcer speaking
indistinctly on PA]
[indistinct chatter]
[brakes squealing]
[train stops]
[breathes deeply]
[whimpers]
-[man] All right. Get that.
-[camera flash popping]
[men speaking indistinctly]
[crying quietly]
[mournful music playing]
[Mamie screams] Oh, my God!
My boy! [bawling]
My boy! My only child!
My only boy!
Oh, my Lord!
Get him out of that box!
Get him out of the box!
Get him out of the box!
He can't breathe!
He can't breathe. My Lord!
Oh, Lord, have mercy!
Help me!
[continues bawling]
-Oh, my God!
-[camera flash popping]
Oh, Lord, have mercy!
Show me
what you want me to do.
Oh, Lord, show me
what you want me to do
and make me able to do it!
My Lord!
I need to prepare you.
Remove the sheet.
[Mamie gasps] Oh, God.
[shuddering]
-[Mamie whimpers]
-[Gene shuddering]
[Gene sniffles]
-[Gene grunts]
-Everyone, leave us.
[Gene grunting softly]
[Mamie continues shuddering]
[door opens]
-[whimpers, breathing shakily]
-[door closes]
[sniffles]
[exhales sharply]
[breathing shakily]
[low somber music playing]
[breathes deeply]
[sniffling]
[continues sniffling]
[whimpers]
[bawling]
[continues bawling]
[music slowly rising]
[intense somber music playing]
[Gene] How long
will it take you
to turn the body over to us?
Figure out the next step.
Talk to the church.
[Mamie] Gene, can you go back
to my place
and bring back
Emmett's black suit?
The one he wore
last Christmas.
Mama can tell you
exactly where it is.
And make sure
to get my black dress
that Bo would approve of.
And his matching tie.
Emmett loved this suit.
It's how he'd like to be seen.
Seen?
Mamie, Bo's in no kind of
shape to be seen by anybody.
No, he's in just
the right shape.
The whole world has to see
what happened to my son.
[man] Mrs. Bradley, can I
at least fix him up a bit?
Just to make him more...
No one's going to believe
what I just saw.
No.
They have to see it
for themselves.
[intense somber music
continues]
-[indistinct chatter]
-[camera flash popping]
[reporter] Ms. Bradley,
what would you like to say
to the men who did this?
[reporter 2] What's that smell?
That smell is my son's body.
He came home to me
reeking of racial hatred.
His face was bludgeoned.
His teeth are gone.
He was shot in the head.
And now I want America
to bear witness.
Come with me, please.
[reporter 1]
Right here, Ms. Bradley.
[reporter 2]
Ms. Bradley, right here.
[reporter 3] Do you have a
message for the perpetrators?
[reporter 2] Will there be
a service, Ms. Bradley?
Gene, please come be with me.
[camera flash pops]
[intense somber music
continues]
[radio host] News of
an open-casket funeral
for the slain
14-year-old Emmett Till
has spread
throughout the country.
Many people were in shock
over the brutal slaying
and couldn't believe
something like this
could happen to a child.
[woman] My heart goes out
to her. I'm a mother too.
It could be any one of us.
[man] The right thing is to
show America, and the world,
exactly what happened.
[man 2] We know
the boy was killed,
but you're making a freak show
of his death.
[woman 2] I think she brave.
[man 3] Can't we just grieve
in peace?
[man 4] This stuff ain't
gonna stop till we see it.
I support her.
[Mamie on radio] It is my
opinion that the guilt begins
-with Mrs. Bryant...
-[cash register dings]
...and I wanna see
Mrs. Bryant punished,
those two men punished,
and any other persons
who were in on this thing.
The pressure should start
from the president
of the United States,
all the way down
to the township
of Money, Mississippi.
I won't rest
until that happens,
even if I have to go
to Money, Mississippi myself.
[radio host]
Do you have any evidence
bearing on this case?
[Mamie] I do know
that this is my son.
[indistinct chatter]
[sniffles]
[whispers]
You're not just my Bo anymore.
[Lizzie] Mamie...
[sniffles] Aunty Lizzie.
Simmy and Maurice stayed back
with their daddy.
It was probably too much.
[sighs]
I'm so sorry.
When those men came, I tried.
We all tried. [sighs]
I ain't going back, Mamie.
I packed my stuff up,
and I'm staying here for good.
Preacher and the boys
will join me.
I can't look, Mamie.
We have to.
[crying]
[exhales sharply]
[stifling sob]
[bawling]
[somber organ music playing]
[man singing]
When peace like a river
[whispers]
I'm sorry, Ms. Mamie.
Attendeth my way
Bo... Bo.
When sorrows like sea
Billows roll
Whatever my lot
Thou hast taught me to say
It is well
It is well
With my soul
It is well
[choir] It is well
[man] With my soul
[choir] With my soul
[man and choir] It is well
It is well
With my soul
[man] It is well
[choir] It is well
[man] With my soul
[choir] With my soul
[man and choir] It is well
It is well
With my soul
[Mamie] My child is dead,
and she is going to be fine.
Carolyn Bryant
is going to be fine.
You know,
to get a murder indictment
on two White men
in Mississippi is not easy.
You did that, Mamie.
[chuckles softly]
Now...
Their defense...
is going to try
to create doubt
about the body being Emmett's.
There's no body,
there's no murder conviction,
and Bryant and Milam will only
face kidnapping charges.
You know your child
better than anyone.
You saw the body soon after.
There is no testimony
like a mother's.
[pensive music playing]
Aren't we going
to your mama's tonight?
I need to go to Mississippi
for the trial.
I can testify that it was
Bo's body found in the river.
When do you want us to go?
Gene, I have to go without you.
-What?
-Mr. Mooty has arranged for me
to meet some people
-down there.
-If you're going
to Mississippi,
-I'm going with you.
-Mr. Huff and Mr. Mooty
don't think that's a good idea,
-and I agree with them.
-I don't care what they think!
They keep telling us
what to do
and who you can talk to.
And I go along with it
because I lost Bo too.
I would do anything for him.
You tell me, Mamie.
How is risking your life
gonna help Bo?
This is what they're writing
about me down there.
They're making me out to be
some kind of jezebel.
Two reporters called to ask
about my ex-husbands
and about you.
Mr. Huff was right.
I'm on trial like the people
who killed Bo.
Jurors will be watching me,
and reading these stories
when they decide if the men
who murdered my son go free.
I have to protect my image
if it can help get justice
for Bo.
I should be going with you,
Mamie.
I need you to be there for me
in a different way right now.
You're not gonna change
your mind?
You know me well enough
to answer that question
for yourself.
[grim music playing]
[reporter on TV] Not since
the Tallahatchie River flooded
some 20 or 30 years ago
that the townspeople had more
to talk about than this trial.
[man 1] I can't understand
how a civilized mother
could put a dead body of
her child on public display!
[man 2] I think that this is
a result of the NAACP
trying to make
something big...
-[knock on door]
-...out of just an ordinary
criminal affair
in Mississippi.
[Alma] You're not going.
Mamie, it's too dangerous
for you to go down
to Mississippi right now.
I heard the sheriffs
are passing along
Negro license plate numbers
to the Klan members.
Mr. Huff and Mr. Mooty
already have plans
for me to safely travel.
I'll fly to Memphis first.
And then,
some people from the NAACP
are going to drive me
to Clarksdale.
And then, their field
secretary will pick me up
and drive me
to someone's house
in a place called Mound Bayou.
[John] You want to go alone?
I'm trying to be strong
for Bo.
[Alma] What are you gonna do
down there?
Something you can't.
[smacks lips]
If my testimony can help
in any way,
I have to go.
I have to be there
for my child.
And what about my child?
I'm goin' with ya.
I know this is not
what we agreed on,
but it's better for me
to go down there with her
than for her
to be there alone.
You don't have to worry.
I'mma be there with you.
I promise.
I don't only need you
when I'm broken, Daddy.
I am goin' with you.
Thank you.
Mama,
I know you don't agree...
[Alma] No.
But I know you have to do it.
["I Will Move On Up
a Little Higher" playing]
One a-these mornings
Soon one morning
I'm gonna lay down my cross
Get me a crown
[man] Mound Bayou has been
here for over 70 years.
It's a all-Negro town.
We run all our own businesses
and all our own schools.
All the Negroes
attending the trial
will be staying here.
This is the safest place
for 'em.
Dr. Howard
created the Regional Council
for Negro Leadership
here in Mound Bayou.
He's also the chief surgeon
at the Taborian Hospital.
He built
a lot of businesses here,
including a really successful
life insurance company.
That's how I met him.
He gave me my first job.
Going home one day
and tell my story
I've been coming over hills
and mountain
Gonna drink from
the Christian fountain
Your know all of God's sons
and daughters that morning
Will drink that
ole healing water
And we gonna live...
[song stops]
Thank you
for driving us, Mr. Evers.
Please, ma'am, call me Medgar.
Mrs. Bradley?
Those pictures of your son
in the magazine...
changed people's lives.
My wife,
she's here with our son.
And we're both helping
with some of
the investigation work
for the trial.
Now, I promise you...
we are doing everything we can
to get some sort of justice
for Emmett Till.
We call Dr. Howard's house
"The Black Command Center."
Reporters
from all the colored press
work out of here
during the trial.
They also help with some of
the investigation work
for the trial.
And what kind of investigation
y'all are gonna be doing?
[Medgar] We're looking
for witnesses
who'll be brave enough
to come to trial.
[indistinct chatter]
[Medgar] Right here.
[James] Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
[Medgar] This here is,
uh, Ms. Murdock.
[Ms. Murdock] Ms. Bradley.
-Ms. Turner. Mr. Booker.
-[boy shouts]
-Pleased to meet you, ma'am.
-[boy laughs]
[Medgar] This here
is my son, Darrell.
And my wife, Myrlie.
It's an honor to meet you,
Mrs. Bradley.
Mr. Carthan.
[Medgar] Hey, you don't mind?
Over here is Amzie Moore.
He's the president
of the Regional Council
for Negro Leadership.
And I am Dr. Theodore Howard.
Welcome to Mound Bayou,
Mrs. Bradley.
-[Dr. Howard] Mr. Carthan.
-Sir.
Let me just say that
we are so...
honored to have you
here with us.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Now, what are you drinking?
[girl screams]
[Mamie] Not a lot of people
would use
their money the way you do.
Well, we need money
for the freedom fight
that we're in now.
We need money...
to protect Negroes who are...
simply trying to exercise
their constitutional right
to vote,
to speak at trial.
[kids chattering]
I had a really good life
in Chicago
before they took Bo from me.
I never thought much
about the world
outside of just me and Bo,
my job, my family, my friends.
Mrs. Bradley,
have you thought about, um,
what you're going to do
after the trial?
After the trial?
I'm sure you've considered
continuing your work
with the NAACP.
Or with our Regional Council,
right here.
Your story... speaks
to the urgency of Negro rights
more than anything
this country has ever heard.
I've been sharing my story
because I want those two men
to pay for what they did.
And I do too.
But I do not believe
that justice will be rendered
by 12 jurors
who look exactly like
the two so-called men
who are on trial.
And our fight, and your story,
must continue and will not end
with one single verdict.
Mrs. Bradley.
[sighs softly]
[pensive music playing]
[indistinct chatter]
[people murmuring]
[reporter 1] That's the mother!
Come on, get out the way.
Mrs. Bradley,
why are you here?
[reporter 2] Ms. Bradley.
[reporter 3] Ms. Bradley!
[reporter 2] Come on,
say something!
[reporter 3] Will you testify?
[reporter 2] Come on!
-You gotta give us something.
-[reporter 3] Mrs. Bradley.
Mamie?
It's all right, Daddy.
-I am here to confirm...
-[gun fires]
-[all exclaim]
-[boy laughing]
-[man] What's wrong with you?
-[cap gun continues firing]
[John] Let's get inside.
Come on.
[laughter]
[indistinct chatter]
No.
How dare you?
[John] It's all right, Mamie.
Go on!
[indistinct chatter]
Amzie.
Mrs. Bradley, I'd like you
to meet Ruby Hurley.
She's also a part of our team.
It's truly an honor
to meet you, Mrs. Bradley.
Thank you.
[John] Thank you,
it's a pleasure to meet you.
My pleasure.
-We'll be with you, ma'am.
-[Mamie] Thank you.
-Right this way.
-[John] Thank you.
-[man] Thank you.
-You're welcome, of course.
[man 2] Hello, niggers!
I got about eight seats
down there
for you
and your nigger reporters.
Rest of you can stand.
You Mamie?
What's this?
That's a damn summons.
I thought you uppity niggers
could read.
Mamie?
Don't let him get to you.
Come on, now.
Ah, there's James Hicks.
We can go and sit with him
and the other reporters.
Have you spoke
with the prosecution team?
Only once before,
on the phone.
It was brief.
Hopefully, this won't take
too long. Get together later.
-[Medgar] Mr. Smith.
-Yes.
Mrs. Bradley.
Mamie.
[John scoffs]
-[John] Hmm.
-Come on.
[Bailiff] All rise!
The Honorable Judge
Curtis Swango presiding.
[Judge] Please be seated.
There will be
no pictures taken
during court proceedings.
Bailiff, have the jurors
come in and take a seat.
Also, get me a Coke sometime.
All right?
Your Honor,
the State has just learned
of the existence
of another witness
to the murder of Emmett Till.
The State requests a recess
in order to gather
the witness.
[defendant clears throat]
Objection, Your Honor!
Your Honor, this will only
delay proceedings. Come on.
[Judge] Hmm.
Objection overruled.
It seems like
a reasonable request.
[prosecutor]
Thank you, Your Honor.
[Judge] I'll give you
till tomorrow morning
to find your witness.
The court will have a recess.
We will resume at 9:00 a.m.
tomorrow morning.
[gavel bangs]
[Bailiff] Court dismissed!
[Mamie] Medgar,
take me to Money.
All right. Okay.
[melancholy music playing]
[Medgar sighs]
[Mamie] That's where
it happened?
[Medgar] Yes, ma'am.
[sighs] The shop's been closed
since the day of the arrest.
Most of the patrons
were Negroes.
[Medgar sighs]
[emotional music playing]
[emotional music continues]
[hens clucking]
[chuckles softly]
Your mama tells me
you're all moving up north
after the trial.
Daddy says
it's not gonna be safe.
[Simmy sighs]
Thank you.
[Mamie sniffles]
We're sorry, ma'am.
We're so sorry.
You all didn't know
this was going to happen.
[whispers] Come here.
[Maurice sobbing quietly]
It's okay.
Hmm.
Where's your daddy?
[insects chirping]
You gonna sit?
I saw your boys.
Was probably hard for them
to see you.
You gonna sit?
Did you have a shotgun
in your house
the night they took Bo?
I've been wanting to explain
to you what happened.
You told me that part.
White men came knocking
-on my door, Mamie.
-I know that part.
They had a gun.
You have a gun!
[sighs]
[tearfully] How long did you
stand there doing nothing
while they took my child?
If I'd have shot them,
they would've killed
all of mine!
It'd be hunting season
for every Negro in Money!
We have to live here, Mamie.
Bobo was with my boys
when he went to talk
to some White woman.
You understand
what that mean down here?
Don't you dare blame Bo
for what happened to him!
I don't blame him!
[breathing heavily]
I had to make a choice
that night.
In a moment, I had to choose.
[voice breaking]
And you chose yours over mine.
It wasn't just two White men
with a gun that night.
It was every White man
who'd rather see a Negro dead
than breathin'
the same air as him.
Every sheriff,
every judge in this town
was at my door that night.
I was facin' a lot more
than two men with a gun.
[Mamie whimpers]
[sniffles]
[tearfully]
He was my only child.
[crying]
I know.
[sniffles]
That's why you're moving
after the trial...
because you're going
to testify?
[Moses sniffles]
No Negro in Money has ever
spoken against a White man...
and lived.
[clicks]
[crickets chirring]
[suspenseful music playing]
[Ruby] That's the house.
If he runs,
make sure he doesn't get away.
[Medgar whispers]
Amzie, right here.
[knocks on door]
[Amzie whispers]
Hey! Not so loud.
You'll scare him off.
[knocks softly]
[door opens]
[man] We told you
to leave Willie alone.
Let's have
a conversation inside.
[man] He didn't see nothin'!
Come out or we're comin' in.
-You gonna get the boy killed.
-[dog barks in distance]
-[gasps]
-[barking continues]
Hey! Hey!
[Amzie] Come on, come on!
[footsteps rustling]
[tense music playing]
[both panting]
[both continue panting]
[car halts]
[Medgar] We need
to keep him here
just in case
he runs off again.
[Willie Mae] I ain't gonna run.
I'll tell 'em
what I saw that night.
[Medgar] And what about
your grandparents?
Would you say that they heard
some sounds
comin' out the barn too?
No, no, I promised them I was
gonna keep them out of it.
[Dr. Howard]
We're gonna finance security
for your entire family
after they testify,
so don't you worry none, son.
All right?
[James]
His name is Willie Reed,
a field hand for
J.W.'s brother.
He's a witness
who lives on the farm
not too far from where he saw
J.W. and Roy Bryant
and several other men
take Emmett.
Now, Willie's family
also works for the Milams,
so they also heard
a lot of noise that night.
[Mamie] There were other men?
[James sighs]
It pains me
to have to tell you this,
but there were some colored
men that were involved.
Colored men did this
to my boy?
Well, they work
for Milam and Bryant,
and found out Bryant
had 'em paid to skip town.
What...
I can fix that for you.
It means a lot,
what you're doing.
[Mamie sniffles]
[voice breaking] Thank you.
Thank you.
It's the right thing to do.
[Mamie whimpers]
[Medgar] Go ahead
and put these on.
It's difficult for me
to fall asleep
before Medgar gets home.
I've wanted to meet you.
What you did
with those photographs...
What you're doin' now,
it's, um...
It's nothing a mother
wouldn't do for her child.
[Myrlie] Hmm.
[Mamie] How old's your son?
[chuckles softly] Two.
We almost didn't take him
and his sister
with us from Jackson, but I...
I'm trying to keep
the family together
as much as possible
these days.
I'm sure you heard
about what happened
to our friends Lamar Smith
and Reverend Lee.
Yes, I have.
Medgar and I worked closely
with 'em.
We did good work.
We got a lot of Negroes
registered to vote
for the first time
in Mississippi,
and that created the biggest
targets on our backs.
[breathing shakily] I, um...
I believe in the work
we're doin' for our people.
I do.
But I don't want my children
to have to live in fear.
I have enough fear
for all of us
every time I wait for Medgar
to get home.
Emmett just wanted
to go on vacation
and have fun with his cousins.
He never thought
anything would happen to him.
He knew how different
things were down here,
but I never raised him
to have any fear growing up.
-I wanted him to be a boy.
-[chuckles slightly]
And to not have his childhood
taken away from him.
But it happened anyway.
[sighs]
We do the best we can.
[downcast music playing]
[Moses clears throat]
Do you know Mr. Bryant?
[Moses] He owns
the meat market.
[prosecutor] Hmm.
Then you know Mr. Milam,
do ya?
Not by name.
But I know him.
How do you know him?
[Moses] He showed up
at my door,
standing there
with a flashlight in one hand
and a pistol in the other.
[audience murmurs]
[prosecutor]
And what happened next?
[audience murmuring]
He held my family at gunpoint.
[audience exclaims]
Then he dragged my nephew
from my home and drove off.
[man] Sambo!
[audience laughing]
[prosecutor] And would you
Would you recognize Mr. Milam
were you to see him again?
[unnerving music playing]
Yes, sir.
I would.
There he is.
[audience exclaiming].
[prosecutor] The State rests.
[audience murmuring]
[Judge] The witness
can leave now.
The court will have a recess.
[gavel bangs]
[audience continues murmuring]
[somber music playing]
What did you think you heard?
I heard loud hollering
and licks
comin' from that shed.
Sounded like a boy.
I saw, uh...
J.W. Milam.
[audience murmurs]
Saw a green truck
with a white top.
As they drove off,
there was, uh.
two White men in the cab
and three colored men
in the back.
[audience murmurs]
They was all sitting
next to a body.
Are you sure
that's what you heard?
[Willie Mae] Yes, sir.
Huh. If that's what you heard,
why not yell out,
or call "Help"?
[hesitates]
[breathing heavily]
[Willie Mae] I...
I...
I couldn't.
[defendant]
No further questions.
[audience murmuring]
[audience members laughing]
[Judge] You can leave now.
[John sighs]
[door opens]
[door closes]
[Mr. Smith] Did you certify
that the body found
was Emmett Till?
No, I did not.
I just said
it was a dead body.
You couldn't even tell if
the body was White or Black.
[Mr. Smith]
Thank you, Sheriff Strider.
You are excused.
You want my honest opinion?
I think the boy's mammy
and the NAACP
plotted this whole thing.
[Mr. Smith]
Thank you, Sheriff Strider.
[sheriff] That boy's
still alive somewhere.
[somber music playing]
[wiping hands]
[door opens and closes]
[Mr. Smith] Mamie...
Did you have a son who,
in his lifetime,
was known as Emmett Till?
Yes, sir.
[Mr. Smith] How old was he?
Fourteen years of age.
[Mr. Smith] Is his father
living today?
No, sir.
He died in service.
[Mr. Smith] Oh.
Uh, when your husband,
the father of Emmett Till,
was killed overseas,
were his belongings
sent to you?
Yes, sir.
[Mr. Smith] I now hand you
a ring
that has engraved on it,
May 25th, 1943,
with the large initials L.T.
Was that among the items
that were sent to you?
Yes, sir.
[Mr. Smith]
And is that the ring
that Emmett came down here
to Mississippi with?
Yes, sir.
[crowd murmuring]
[Mr. Smith] Mamie, I wish
you would state to the court,
and to the jury,
whether you could identify
the body
that you saw down there
in the funeral home
as that of your son,
Emmett Till.
I could.
It's hard to describe
what a mother knows.
[Mr. Smith] Please.
The first thing I noticed
when I became a mother
was that my hands were busy.
[chuckles] All the time.
Rocking, carrying, swaying,
always full.
One hand for him,
and one hand
for what he needed.
When it came time
to place him down
so he could make
his own way around,
I touched every inch of him.
Every bend.
My hand knew him
with my eyes closed.
Just like I'd know
his laughter
in a crowded room.
It's the same thing
when you know all of someone.
I started by laying my hands
on a foot.
And then
found his knees.
I remembered him...
[voice breaking] as my fingers
traced his hairline,
and bumped over the crease
of his eyelid.
He was spoiled and puffed,
but these were the same parts
of a boy I'd nurtured
and loved.
Nothing and no one
could hide him from me.
A mother knows.
Your mother would know.
And I knew.
I knew this was my boy.
Emmett Till.
Beyond any doubt.
[Mr. Smith] Thank you. Uh...
Thank you, Mrs. Bradley.
I believe that's all any of us
would ever need to hear.
[defendant] Mamie?
Do you happen to remember
the date
Emmett Till's father died?
Yes, sir.
July the 2nd, 1945.
[defendant] Where was he
when he died?
In Europe.
Did you have an insurance
policy on Emmett Till?
Um...
Yes, sir.
[defendant]
How much was it for?
I had a 10-cent
and 15-cent policy,
two weekly policies,
and they equaled $400.
-[audience murmurs]
-[defendant] $400?
Now, to whom
were those policies payable?
[Mr. Smith] Uh,
we object to that, Your Honor.
[Judge] Objection overruled.
The witness
will answer the question.
I was the beneficiary on one,
and my mother
was on the other.
[defendant] He ever cause
or get in any trouble
in Chicago?
No more than any other boy.
[defendant] Did he attend
a reform school?
What for?
No.
[defendant] You've been quoted
in the colored press,
"I told him several times
before he left for Mississippi
"that he should kneel
in the street
"and beg for forgiveness
"should he ever insult
a White person."
Not those exact words.
[defendant] Did you caution
him not to insult White women?
I referred to White people
in general.
[defendant]
Did you caution your son
how to conduct himself
and behave himself
while he was down here
in Mississippi?
Several times.
[defendant] Several times!
Do tell us how.
I will give you
a literal description
of what I told him.
How coming down here,
he would have to adapt himself
to a different way of life.
Be very careful
about how he spoke,
and to whom he spoke,
and to always remember to say,
"Yes, sir" and "No, ma'am."
I told him that if ever
an incident should arise
where there would be
any trouble
of any kind with White people,
that if it got to the point
where he needed
to go down on his knees
before them,
well, I told him
not to hesitate to do so.
Like if he bumped
into somebody on the street
and they might get belligerent
or something.
Well, I told him to go ahead
and humble himself
so as not to get into
any trouble! But...
[defendant] But what?
Well, I raised him with love
for 14 years.
My sudden warnings about hate
weren't going to get through.
[audience murmurs]
[defendant] I now show you
what purports to be
a photograph of your son.
This was taken in my home
two days after Christmas.
[defendant] Now, tell the court
and the jury what this is.
[voice breaking]
This picture is of my son
after Mississippi sent him
back to Chicago, dead.
[audience murmuring]
No further questions.
[Judge]
And for the prosecution?
[prosecutor] State rests.
[Judge] Court will have
a recess.
[gavel bangs]
-[somber music playing]
-[audience chattering]
[shakily] They...
They killed my son again.
[sniffles]
[John sighs]
[John] Hmm.
[somber music continues]
[breathing heavily]
[Judge] Will the jury please
retire to the jury room?
The testimony
being offered here today
of a prior incident
at the store in Money
is irrelevant.
[defendant 2] Your Honor,
may we still continue
the testimony
on account of the record?
[Mr. Smith] Uh, Your Honor...
Sit down.
Now, I see no harm
in letting Ms. Bryant
share her side of things
if she wants to.
Hell, everybody else has.
You think
you can handle that, dear?
[Carolyn sighs deeply]
Mrs. Bryant,
was anyone in the store
with you
on Wednesday night,
24th day of August, 1955?
I was alone.
But the children
were in the back.
In the living quarters.
And what time of day was it?
After dark.
[defendant 2] Alone.
At nighttime
with your children.
Well, you just tell the court
what happened next.
This nigger man
came into the store
and stood by the candy case.
[defendant 2] And you?
[Carolyn] I was
behind the counter.
I asked the man
what he wanted.
And then did you get him
the merchandise?
Yes.
And then what did you do?
I held out my hand
for the money.
[defendant 2]
Will you show the court
how you held your hand out?
Like this.
[defendant 2]
And did he give you
the money?
[Carolyn] No,
he caught my hand.
[defendant 2]
Will you show the court
just how he grasped your hand?
And was that a strong grip
or a light grip
that he had
when he held your hand?
[Carolyn] A strong grip.
[faint murmuring]
[defendant 2] Will you show
the court what you did?
How did you get loose?
[grunts softly]
I jerked it loose like this.
Now, just what did he say
when he grabbed your hand?
-"How about a date, baby?"
-[defendant 2] Hmm.
Now, you freed yourself.
And what happened then?
[Carolyn sighs]
I turned to the back
of the store.
And he went on his way?
No.
-He came after me.
-[audience murmuring]
He caught me down
by the cash register.
Mrs. Bryant, can you
demonstrate for the court?
Yes.
All right, now.
[sighs]
Grabbed your hands,
pinned them behind your back?
[Carolyn] Yes.
[defendant 2] His right hand
on your right hip?
[Carolyn] Here.
[audience exclaims]
[defendant 2]
Just what did he say?
[Carolyn] He said,
"You needn't be afraid of me.
"I've been
with White women before."
[defendant 2]
And what happened then?
[Carolyn] Then another nigger
came in the door...
[John sighs]
I'm ready to go.
[sighs] You want me
to come and get you
when they read a verdict?
No. I'm ready
to leave Mississippi. Now.
What about the verdict?
I know what the verdict is.
[radio host] After deliberating
for about an hour,
the jury has just come back
with a verdict
of "not guilty."
Thus the defendants Milam
and Bryant are free men.
They celebrated their victory
laughing and smiling with
their wives at their side,
clearly happy... [voice fades]
[intense somber music playing]
[people applauding]
[Rayfield] Her story
has changed the world.
Because she had the courage
to make it not just her own,
but all of ours.
[audience murmuring
in agreement]
Mamie, it is an honor
to share the stage with you.
To share this fight with you.
[man] Yes, yes!
Please welcome
Mrs. Mamie Till-Bradley.
[audience cheering
and applauding]
[audience whistling]
[softly]
This is just
the beginning.
[cheering continues]
I would like to
give honor to God,
who is the source
of my strength
and the reason for my being.
[audience murmurs
in agreement]
I thank you,
Mr. Mooty and the NAACP,
for inviting me
to speak before you all
in Harlem, New York City.
[man 2] Yes.
My son's brutalized body
meant nothing
to Mississippi's
criminal justice system.
And while they blamed
the victim, as usual,
the federal government
stood idly by.
If this country
fails to protect
the Black body from hate,
America has yet to meet
her promise.
[audience] Amen!
Either freedom for everyone,
or freedom fails!
[cheering and applauding]
One month ago, I had
a nice apartment in Chicago.
I had a good job. I had a son.
When something happened
to the Negroes in the South,
I said, "Well, that's
their business. Not mine."
Now I know how wrong I was.
The lynching of my son
has shown me
that what happens
to any of us,
anywhere in the world,
had better be the business
of us all.
[cheering and applauding]
I hear ya, sister!
That's right.
Tell it like it is!
I heard that!
Yes! Yes!
[music intensifying]
[mouthing]
[intense music continues]
[music fades]
[water dripping]
[record player clicks]
[record crackles]
["He Beeped
When He Shoulda Bopped"
by Dizzy Gillespie plays]
[song fading]
[emotional music playing]
[chuckles]
[Mamie laughing]
[chuckles softly]
[chuckling quietly]
[emotional music continues]
["Sincerely" by The Moonglows
playing]
[singing along]
Sincerely
Oh, yes, sincerely
'Cause I love you so dearly
[both laugh]
Please say you'll be mine
Sincerely
[chuckles]
Oh, you know
How I love you
I'll do anything for you
Please say you'll be mine
Oh, Lord
Won't you tell me
Why I love that girlie so
[song fades]
[uneasy music plays]
-[mellow music playing]
-[indistinct chatter]
[indistinct chatter]
[guard] Are you looking
for something?
No, I'm just
doing a little shopping.
[guard] We also have shoes
in the basement.
Do your other customers
know that too?
[Emmett] Mama.
Which one do you like better?
Pardon me.
[sighs]
I think I like this one.
Will you really need a wallet
while you're down there?
Oh, Mama. Please?
Okay. Fine.
Let's just go pay for it
and go home now.
[music playing on car stereo]
[indistinct chatter]
[music stops]
-[ding]
-[man on TV] Sing out.
[boy singing along to tv]
I love Bosco
It's rich and chocolaty
Chocolate-flavored Bosco
Is mighty good for me
Mama puts it in my milk
for extra energy
Bosco gives me iron
and sunshine vitamin D
Oh, I love Bosco
That's the drink for me
-[laughter]
-Whoa! My man!
You did that.
You didn't stutter,
not one time.
Now, Bo, you know
it's time for you
to go to bed.
[Bo] Aw...
[Alma] You know you got
a big day tomorrow.
Come on. Give Grandma a hug.
I'll see you
when you get back.
[Gene] Bring it in.
Good night, Mr. G.
[Gene] All right.
Oh.
You two don't get married
before I get back.
Can't get married
without my best man.
Good night.
[Gene] What?
Is it my bedtime too?
Could be.
[Gene laughs]
[picks up key]
Good night.
[kisses]
[Mamie] I'll call you
after Bo gets on the train.
[Gene] Mrs. Spearman.
[Alma] She'll see you tomorrow.
-[Gene] All right. Good night.
-[Alma] Good night.
[door opens]
[door closes]
What's wrong, Mamie?
We've never been apart
this long.
He's just going
to see his cousins.
It's not a bad thing for him
to know where he come from.
Well, Chicago is all
he needs to know.
I don't want him
seeing himself
the way those people
are seen down there.
Those people like me?
Even you
left Mississippi, Mama.
Mamie, Bo is growing up.
You gonna have to let him go.
[smacks lips]
All right, I know that face.
That is the face of
"Mama, mind your business,
and go home."
Where's my pocket book?
[Mamie] Mm-hmm. Right here.
[Alma] Oh, there it is.
You need to get you
some rest too.
-[Mamie] I will.
-[Alma] Come on, baby.
-I'll call you tomorrow.
-All right.
[door opens]
-Good night, Mama.
-Good night, darlin'.
[door closes, locks]
[sighs]
[faint melancholy music
playing]
[snoring quietly]
[alarm clock buzzes]
[man on radio]
A delightful day
here in our town of Chicago
and I presume
that you're, sort of,
munching on
Wrigley's Spearmint,
and you're all relaxed,
and pleasantly situated
wherever you are.
The sun's probably shining
in your heart
and your town too.
[Dizzy Gillespie's "He Beeped
When He Sho2ulda Bopped" plays]
There was a guy
who had some brand new tricks
Played his horn
with some crazy licks
The thing that made him
such a flop
Was he beeped
[singing along]
When he should've... bopped
That same old guy jumped
right up on the stand
But... But he couldn't seem
to dig the band
[knocking on door]
Thought he was the cream
of the crop but
He beeped
when he should have bopped
I got this ready for you.
All the cats
would gather around
To see what
he was tryin' to prove
[laughing]
But anyone
could plainly see
He was draggin' them
out of the groove
At last the leader
turned around and said
Listen, Pops,
you had better stop
Oh, there you go
You did it again
You just beeped
when you should've bopped
-[Mamie squeals]
-[laughs]
All right, now,
you're gonna miss your train.
-[sax solo playing]
-[Bo humming along]
Bo, when you get down there...
Oh, not again, Mama.
I've already
been to Mississippi.
Only one time before,
and you started a fight
with another little boy.
[stutters]
He was picking on me.
You're in the right
to stand up for yourself,
but that's not
what I'm talking about.
[sighs, smacks lips]
Well, they have
a different set of rules
for Negroes down there.
Are you listening?
Yes.
You have to be extra careful
with White people.
You can't risk looking at them
the wrong way.
I know.
Bo.
Be small down there.
Like this?
[Mamie chuckles]
Instead of your father's ring,
how about you wear
the cufflinks
we got you last Christmas?
They'll look so handsome
on you.
No, Mama.
I wanna wear the ring.
[sighs] Thank you.
Go on downstairs.
I need to finish
getting ready myself.
[uneasy music playing]
[train brakes hiss]
-[sax solo playing]
-[Bo humming along]
Ah, morning, Mamie!
[Mamie] Morning, Preacher.
Good morning, Wheeler.
Hi, Miss Mamie.
Hi, Bo.
You're leaving
Chicago too soon.
You were only here a few days.
I didn't need
no more days than that.
I got to see some family,
a few friends.
Maybe we get you
to come down...
-...see us.
-[conductor] All aboard!
I like it just fine out here,
Preacher.
All right, now.
Bo, stay close
to your cousins.
Preacher, you and Aunty Lizzie
make sure Bo calls and writes
every chance he gets.
I need to know he's okay.
Don't worry.
Me, Lizzie, and the boys
will have a stern eye on him.
Goodbye, Mamie.
All right, now.
Come on, Bobo.
Buh-bye, Mama.
Oh, Bo!
You didn't kiss me goodbye.
[sighs] Mama. I gotta go.
Listen to Preacher.
Stay with your cousins
at all times.
Be extra careful.
I already know.
You know what?
I won't need to keep the time
on my vacation.
Wind it every day.
[conductor] Last call!
Train's leaving!
[train whistle blows]
[whistle blows]
[stutters] Buh-bye, Mama.
Come on, Bobo.
Aight, Mamie.
[train brakes hiss]
[sentimental music playing]
[whimpers]
[pensive music playing]
[conductor] Time to move now.
[train chugging]
[pensive music continues]
[indistinct chatter]
-[fly buzzing]
-Now,
all you gotta do
is pinch the bract right here,
so you don't
get your fingertips...
[Bo chuckles]
Hey, look at the size
of that bird.
Whoa!
Where'd you get that ring?
Oh, it was my daddy's.
He died a hero in the war.
[boy] Well, let me try it on.
Um, maybe later.
All right.
[woman 1 exclaims]
-Bo?
-[woman] Is he all right?
[boy] Bobo!
Come on.
[Bo] Roar!
From the depths
of an ancient tomb,
echoes a sound
that shakes the world.
Meet the mummy, Simmy!
Stop! [laughs]
You gonna get us in trouble.
Or better yet, fired.
I'm done picking these fields.
What do y'all do
with all this cotton anyway?
We sell it.
Mr. Frederick, who own
the land, take his share.
I go to market with our haul.
-[Bo] Sounds pretty square.
-[Moses] Hmm.
Pa, you gonna let him
sass you that way?
What way?
The boy doesn't know
where his clothes come from.
[all laughing]
Nah.
I take it back, Bobo.
Stay off the farm.
[laughter]
City boy won't even know
how he found a whuppin'.
[laughter continues]
[lively jazz music playing]
[insects chirring]
[lively jazz music continues
on car stereo]
[boys laughing]
[music stops]
Yes, he is.
[boy] Damn near pass out.
[client 1] Come on, sit down.
Sit down, come on.
Hey, young boy.
[client 2] How you doin' there,
young fella?
Come on, learn somethin'.
Well, I'm about raised
from the dead
by all this excitement.
[client 2] Pay attention here,
you gonna let us
learn you something.
I'll make damn sure.
-[Bo huffs]
-[client 2] I'mma do what I do.
[cash register clicking]
[cash register dings]
[coins rattle]
[Wheeler] Thank you, ma'am.
You look like a movie star.
What?
Where's Bobo?
He's in there.
Simmy. See to Bobo
while he's inside.
[indistinct chatter]
See?
[Simmy] Come on.
[stutters] Bye!
Buh-bye!
-[Simmy] Come on, let's go!
-[Bo] Yeah?
[wolf-whistles]
[chuckling]
[tense music playing]
[Johnny] She getting her gun.
She getting her gun, y'all.
Come on! Move!
-Get up, now! Come on!
-Move!
[Johnny] Move!
She goin' to get a gun, y'all!
-[Simmy] Get in!
-[client 3] Just lay low.
[Wheeler] Come on, Mau!
[engine revs]
[tires screeching]
[Simmy gasping]
[tense music fades]
[downcast music playing]
[phone rings]
[indistinct conversation]
[indistinct chatter]
[men chattering]
[sighs]
[jazz music playing faintly
on speakers]
Why aren't you at work?
Is everything okay?
That trip we planned
to take Bo on?
Let's go now.
You wanna go right now?
You said you weren't feeling
that well.
I was just missing Bo.
[sighs] I'm still missing Bo.
We have never been apart
this long,
and he's gonna be gone
another week.
I need to keep doing things
to take my mind off
of this feelin'.
Okay.
I can't go right now, but, uh,
we'll try in a few days.
Promise me
we'll go on the trip?
Of course.
[rock 'n' roll song playing]
[chatter and laughter]
[girl 1] I'm trying not to act
so silly! [giggles]
[girl 2] Better watch yourself.
I don't know,
'cause when he looks at me,
I just lose my mind! [laughs]
[girl 2] Oh!
But just be yourself.
Okay. I'll try.
It's gonna be all right.
[indistinct chatter]
[rock 'n' roll song continues]
[Wheeler] Oh! Nice try.
[laughs]
[Bo] It's a high-speed
competition, huh?
They call you city boy,
or somethin'?
[all laugh]
Think you so damn funny, huh?
Why you whistle like that?
Look, it's been three days,
okay?
And we haven't heard
nothin' more
about what I did in Money.
That's 'cause no one knows
your face 'round here.
That don't mean
they not in one of 'em cars
looking for us.
Look, I said I was sorry.
We gotta tell Pappa.
We all agreed
we wouldn't say anything.
[Simmy] He'll make
Bobo go home.
So what?
You don't see what's been
going on around here?
They killin' Negroes
for doing way less
than what you did in Money.
You ain't no White man, Bobo.
You one of us!
Hey, leave him alone, Maurice.
Mrs. Bryant must've kept it
to herself.
No one has to know.
[people chattering]
[rock 'n' roll song continues]
-[women chuckle]
-Willie Mae, Ollie,
I swear you two are losing
on purpose.
Yeah, well, you must have
all the luck tonight, Mamie.
-[Ollie] Mm-hmm.
-[Mamie chuckles]
Now, we've been here
all night,
and you still haven't told us
what's bothering you.
I'm fine.
I got a letter today
from Aunty Lizzie.
She said Bo is really happy.
That's all I needed to hear.
[Ollie] Mm.
-[Willie Mae] That's real good,
Mamie.
-[Mamie] Mm-hmm.
My boy, Curtis, just made it
down to Mississippi.
I already told Uncle,
"Make sure he see Bo
tomorrow."
Bo would like that.
Yeah.
[Mamie] It'd be nice for him
to have another friend...
-...from the city there
with him.
-[Willie Mae] Mm-hmm.
[Mamie] Oh, he just
doesn't understand
how different things are
down there.
Yeah.
Aunty Lizzie said
Bo's been working the fields.
-[Ollie] Oh!
-[all laugh]
I can't imagine
Bo in the hot sun
all day pulling some cotton.
[Willie Mae] No.
But Aunty Lizzie said I raised
one nice, hardworking boy.
-That's my Bo.
-[Willie Mae] Yes.
[jazz music playing faintly
on speakers]
Can't believe
he's been gone a week.
Gene and I wanna take
a trip soon,
but I really wanna go down
to Mississippi
and bring my son home.
If Bo could just
get his feet back
onto the Chicago soil,
he'd be one happy kid.
I... I don't know
why I said that.
[Willie Mae] Looks like
your little winning streak
is over, Mamie.
[Willie Mae laughs]
-Well, look at that.
-[all chuckle]
[Ollie] You wanna play
one more hand?
Sure.
But you deal this time.
[Ollie] Absolutely.
You still gonna lose.
-These cards, girl.
-[Willie Mae chuckles]
[announcer on radio]
A grand jury has declined
to indict the suspect
for the murder of Reverend
George Washington Lee,
a Mississippi Negro man killed
while driving his car.
Lee lead
the Belzoni, Mississippi NAACP
in his efforts to register
hundreds of Negroes
-to vote for the first time.
-[door opens]
[laughter and chatter
in other room]
[news announcement
continues indistinctly]
[door opens]
Pappa, you and Mama
ain't asleep?
[Moses] Mm.
How can we sleep
when y'all ain't home yet?
What'd you boys
get into tonight?
Nothing much, Daddy.
Just taking Bobo around.
[Moses] Mm.
All right. Night, Ma.
Night, Pa.
-[Simmy] Good night.
-Night night.
Good night.
Bobo!
We leaving early tomorrow
to mail that letter out
to your mama, you hear?
Okay. Good night.
[Moses and Lizzie] Good night.
-[whispers] That was close.
-[quiet laughter]
[announcer] ...after having
registered dozens of Negroes
to vote
in the local runoff election.
No charges have been made.
[sentimental music playing]
[switch clicks]
[car pulls up]
[car door opens]
[footsteps approaching]
[banging on door]
[banging on door]
[Roy] Preacher!
Preacher!
[Moses] Who is it?
[Roy] It's Mr. Bryant.
I wanna talk to you
about that boy.
[hesitates]
Sir?
[Roy] I want that boy
who did the talking down
in Money.
Talking, sir? What talking?
[Roy] Open up this door,
Preacher!
[banging on door]
[Simmy] Bobo!
[Roy] You better open up
this door, Preacher!
[Simmy whispers]
Bobo! Wake up!
[banging on door continues]
Leave me alone.
Get up! Someone's come!
[Roy] You know
who I'm talking about!
So what?
They've come for you!
[Moses] I don't know.
Who's come?
I don't know what you mean,
Mr. Bryant.
[Roy] You got that boy
from Chicago.
-[door bangs]
-[Moses groans]
[tense music playing]
You that big mouth nigger?
Who are you?
[Roy] Get your clothes on.
Mr. Bryant,
you ain't got to do this.
He just a young boy.
[Roy] Better shut them eyes.
-[Simmy] Oh!
-[Moses] Simmy!
[Roy] You don't need
no goddamn socks, boy.
I... I don't wear shoes
without socks.
[Bo gasping]
Don't talk back to them!
[Roy] We just gonna
teach him a lesson.
[Moses] Stay right here, Simmy!
-[Lizzie] Please!
-[Roy] Move!
-[Lizzie] Don't take him!
-[Roy] Move!
I'll whup him
if he's done something wrong!
[grunts] We'll give you money.
[Roy] Watch out.
[Milam] We don't need no money!
[Moses] Please!
The boy ain't got good sense.
[Milam] He's gonna learn!
But, Mr. Bryant!
-[Lizzie gasps]
-[gun cocks]
[Milam] What'd you say
to my brother?
[footsteps recede]
[car door opens]
[Bo grunts]
[Roy] All right. Get up.
[gasping]
Carolyn!
Is this the right nigger?
[Bo breathing shakily]
That's the one.
[Roy] All right.
[Bo gasping]
[Bo] Get off me.
Shut up, boy! Shut up.
[Bo struggling]
-[Roy] All right.
-[Bo grunting]
[car engine starting]
[despairful music playing]
[grunts]
[car drives off]
[Milam in distance]
Look at me, boy!
[Bo crying in pain]
Hold him down!
-[Roy] Watch it, now!
-[Bo coughs]
-[Milam grunts]
-[blow lands]
[Milam] Shut your mouth!
[mocking laughter]
Come on. Get up! Get up!
Hold him up!
-[Milam grunting]
-[object striking]
[Bo screams in pain]
[distant, indistinct
conversation]
[unnerving music playing]
[object thuds]
-[Milam grunts]
-[object thudding]
[breathing heavily]
[phone rings]
Hello?
[Mamie whimpering]
Get out of the way, Gene!
I gotta get to Money!
Money? Money?
Mamie, what's going on?
They took Bo!
-Who took Bo?
-I...
Preacher told me two men came
and got Bo last night.
I couldn't hear anything else
after that.
-I gotta find Bo!
-Mamie! Mamie! Mamie!
Mamie, let's go inside,
call your mama,
try and get in touch with
Preacher and Aunty Lizzie
for more information, okay?
-Come on. Come on.
-[Mamie sniffles]
We give you
all the glory, Lord.
-Glory to God.
-Yes.
Glory to God.
Yes, Lord. Glory to God.
-Yes.
-[Alma] Mm-hmm.
He's going to bring him
back to you, baby.
[door opens and closes]
Yes, ma'am.
[whispers] Alma.
Thank you.
[John] Mamie.
Alma.
You weren't going to tell me?
I called your wife.
[scoffs]
No matter the differences
between me and your mother,
I'm still your father.
Mamie,
we're gonna find Bo.
-Mm. [sniffles]
-Sit down.
I brought your cousin along
to help us.
Do you remember Rayfield?
Rayfield Mooty.
Came by the house a lot
when you was a kid.
He works with some
powerful Negro people
who can help us find Bo.
It's been a long time, ma'am.
-[Alma] Nice to see you again.
-[Rayfield] Mm.
Mamie.
Oh. I'm sorry. [sniffles]
Thank you for coming,
Mr. Mooty.
I've, uh...
I've been in touch
with Mr. William Huff,
counsel for the NAACP chapter
here in Chicago.
He wants to meet with you
first thing tomorrow morning.
I've included the address
to his office.
Here.
He has political connections
throughout the state
of Mississippi.
And he's in regular contact
with Mayor Daley,
Congressman Dawson,
and Governor Stratton.
I do know the NAACP,
and it sounds like
he knows the right people
[voice breaking]
who can help me find Bo.
Well, I'll meet you
in Mr. Huff's office
tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m.
-[John] Thanks, Ray.
-[Rayfield] Mm-hmm.
I will see you soon.
[softly] Hey.
[Dizzy Gillespie's "He Beeped
When He Shoulda Bopped" plays]
At last the leader
turned around and said
Listen, Pops,
you had better stop
Oh, there you go,
you did it again
You just beeped
when you should have bopped
[song ends]
[record crackles]
[Dizzy Gillespie's "He Beeped
When He Shoulda Bopped" plays]
[sighs]
[song fading]
[tense music playing]
[indistinct conversation]
[woman] It's on your calendar,
and you have the meeting
right after that.
Morning!
[man] Hi, John.
How are you today?
[indistinct conversations]
[Rayfield] Mr. Huff,
this is Mrs. Bradley.
Thank you for meeting with us,
Mr. Huff.
-[Rayfield] And Mr. Mobley.
-[William] Yes, thank you.
I have great respect
for your cousin.
His work with the
United Steelworkers has helped
to make it one of
the strongest Negro unions.
-I didn't know that.
-[William] Mm-hmm.
Are you employed?
I work for the Air Force.
She's the only Negro woman
in the office.
Mrs. Bradley.
You two aren't married?
Um...
No.
Not yet, anyway.
Where's Emmett's father?
Louis Till died overseas
about 10 years ago.
Uh, during the war.
And Mr. Bradley?
You have a lot of questions
for me, Mr. Huff.
And none of them seem to have
anything to do with my son.
[William] I've been briefed
on your case.
Bo is not a case.
I've drafted
two telegrams to send.
One to Governor White
in Mississippi.
The other
to Governor Stratton,
here in Illinois.
It's important they know
about Emmett.
We're currently investigating
the murders
of Lamar Smith
and Reverend Lee.
They did a lot of work getting
Negroes registered to vote.
Because of what happened
to them,
the Negro press in Mississippi
started to write
about Emmett's kidnapping,
but it's not creating
enough pressure needed
to force them
into a state-wide search.
Now, as your counsel,
I'd like to utilize all of
the press here in Chicago.
It's more likely
to get picked up
by other cities that way.
You're gonna have to talk
to reporters,
speak in front of cameras.
So... we like to make sure
that the person who's telling
the story is in public favor.
It's better that I ask you
questions now
than some reporter
finding something later.
[hesitating]
The reverend and Mr. Lee,
I heard they were killed
right before Bo got down there.
[Gene] Mamie...
I know these Citizen Councils
are everywhere in Mississippi.
You think they had a part
in any of it?
When the message
to White people
is to stop Negroes
from voting or advancing,
by any means
short of violence,
it's only a matter of time
before someone doesn't
stop short of it.
[Gene] Let's just focus
on finding Bo.
Why do you call him "Bo"?
When I was carrying him,
my mama's friend
would bring him gifts
all the time, and say,
"Here's another one
for little Bobo."
After he was born,
it just stuck.
He was a perfect baby.
Born breech, and had
his share of problems, but...
he was a perfect baby.
[sentimental music playing]
Hi, we live across the street
and read about
what happened to Emmett.
Everybody in the neighborhood
knows that sweet little boy.
[indistinct chatter]
[Gene] But maybe
somebody will read the paper,
and they'll know Bo's ours.
[Mamie] I don't care
what anyone thinks Bo did
or did not do in that store.
They took my child,
and I need him back.
[phone rings]
Hello? Mr. Huff!
Yes, yes, yes. I'll get Mamie.
[whispers]
Sounds like he has good news.
Mr. Huff?
He wrote back?
The governor wants to talk
to Mr. Huff
about what happened to Bo.
Thank you.
Thank you for the update,
Mr. Huff.
Okay. I'll be in touch.
[soft knock on door]
[door opens]
[footsteps approaching]
[sighs softly]
[gulps]
A reporter called me.
He didn't wanna
tell you himself.
Bo's body was found
in a river.
Preacher just identified him
to the sheriff.
He... He recognized the ring
Bo was wearing.
I'm so sorry, Mamie.
He's... [shudders]
He's dead.
[grim music playing]
[dramatic note plays]
[imperceptible]
[sorrowful music playing]
[audience on TV laughing]
[reporter on TV] This is
a breaking news bulletin.
We interrupt this broadcast
to report
a breaking news story.
The body of Emmett Louis Till
has been found dead
in the Tallahatchie River
near Money, Mississippi.
Till, a Negro boy
from Chicago, was kidnapped
while visiting relatives
in Money, Mississippi.
Again, that breaking news.
The body of Emmett Louis Till
has been found in Mississippi.
We'll have details ahead...
[broadcaster on radio]
...and J.W. Milam
were already in police custody
after admitting
to the kidnapping,
but they now face
possible indictment
for the murder of Till.
[sheriff] We have proved
by two or three witnesses
that the body found
in Tallahatchie River
was that of Emmett Till.
We proved
that the body had the ring...
[man on TV] ...this lynching
that the state of Mississippi
has decided
to maintain
this White supremacy
by murdering children.
Look, it was because
he was a boy,
that's why they went there.
They had to prove
that they were superior.
They had to prove it
by taking away
a 14-year-old boy.
Mamie, you need
to eat something.
[man] The killers of the boy
felt free to lynch him
because there is,
-in the entire state...
-[knocking on door]
...no restraining influence
of decency.
Hate.
It's like a virus in the blood
-of the Mississippians.
-[Gene sighs]
They can't help it.
[reporter]
That was Roy Wilkins...
-[door opens]
-...the executive director
of the NAACP...
[Rayfield] You mind
if I speak with Mamie?
[reporter] ...giving his
reaction to the recent killing
of 14-year-old Negro boy,
Emmett Till.
Burial preparations
by local sheriffs
have already started
being made
in Tallahatchie County,
Mississippi,
where Till's body was found.
[Rayfield] Mamie?
[reporter]
Negro leaders are calling
on local and federal officials
to investigate the murder,
and to indict J.W. Milam...
Uh... [sighs]
-My sincere condolences...
-Stop.
I can't.
I need Bo's body
sent back here.
I can't have him buried
in Mississippi.
Mississippi won't make
that deal with you.
Then make them.
I'm sure Mr. Huff
can get Mayor Daley
or the governor
to talk to somebody.
Those people in Mississippi
are trying to dump Bo
in the ground
like he's just another body.
He is my baby.
I need to see him.
I'll speak with Mr. Huff.
Thank you.
You know... [clears throat]
Mamie, you have the public's
attention right now.
And, uh,
it would be in
a politician's best interest
to help you
during an election year.
There's an opportunity in that.
Uh...
Some organizers and executive
members of the NAACP
have been speaking
with the justice department
about creating legislation
that would make lynching
a federal crime.
What happened to Reverend Lee
was a lynching.
Lamar Smith. A lynching.
-Emmett...
-I...
[Rayfield fumbles for words]
[Rayfield chuckles slightly]
uh...
We have an opportunity
to use this moment to help us
pass this legislation.
Might even help you get
an indictment.
Maybe even a conviction.
I can't think about that
right now.
I just need Bo's body
sent back here.
Well, the public's paying
attention right now, Mamie.
See, this doesn't just have
to be about Emmett.
[loudly]
Mr. Mooty, my son is dead!
[voice breaking] Make sure
Mr. Huff handles this today.
Yes, ma'am.
[car door opens]
[car door closes]
[engine starts]
[car driving off]
[melancholy music playing]
[Gene] Rayfield's ready to
take us to the train station.
I, uh, got you a wheelchair.
You know, just in case.
I don't want you falling down.
Preacher called again.
He keeps trying
to apologize to you, Mamie.
Aunty Lizzie's coming up here.
He has to stay behind
to finish working the fields
and talk to the prosecutor.
I keep asking myself...
"Why is this happening?
"Why did he take my child
from me?
[voice breaking] "What am I
supposed to do now?"
[Mamie grunts]
Yeah. I have to say goodbye
to Mama.
Mama.
[Alma sniffles]
[smacks lips, cries quietly]
I'm the one who told him
to go down there.
I wanted him to go down there.
I told him to go down.
[tearfully]
I told him to go down there.
[cries]
[train chugging]
[train horn blares]
[announcer speaking
indistinctly on PA]
[indistinct chatter]
[brakes squealing]
[train stops]
[breathes deeply]
[whimpers]
-[man] All right. Get that.
-[camera flash popping]
[men speaking indistinctly]
[crying quietly]
[mournful music playing]
[Mamie screams] Oh, my God!
My boy! [bawling]
My boy! My only child!
My only boy!
Oh, my Lord!
Get him out of that box!
Get him out of the box!
Get him out of the box!
He can't breathe!
He can't breathe. My Lord!
Oh, Lord, have mercy!
Help me!
[continues bawling]
-Oh, my God!
-[camera flash popping]
Oh, Lord, have mercy!
Show me
what you want me to do.
Oh, Lord, show me
what you want me to do
and make me able to do it!
My Lord!
I need to prepare you.
Remove the sheet.
[Mamie gasps] Oh, God.
[shuddering]
-[Mamie whimpers]
-[Gene shuddering]
[Gene sniffles]
-[Gene grunts]
-Everyone, leave us.
[Gene grunting softly]
[Mamie continues shuddering]
[door opens]
-[whimpers, breathing shakily]
-[door closes]
[sniffles]
[exhales sharply]
[breathing shakily]
[low somber music playing]
[breathes deeply]
[sniffling]
[continues sniffling]
[whimpers]
[bawling]
[continues bawling]
[music slowly rising]
[intense somber music playing]
[Gene] How long
will it take you
to turn the body over to us?
Figure out the next step.
Talk to the church.
[Mamie] Gene, can you go back
to my place
and bring back
Emmett's black suit?
The one he wore
last Christmas.
Mama can tell you
exactly where it is.
And make sure
to get my black dress
that Bo would approve of.
And his matching tie.
Emmett loved this suit.
It's how he'd like to be seen.
Seen?
Mamie, Bo's in no kind of
shape to be seen by anybody.
No, he's in just
the right shape.
The whole world has to see
what happened to my son.
[man] Mrs. Bradley, can I
at least fix him up a bit?
Just to make him more...
No one's going to believe
what I just saw.
No.
They have to see it
for themselves.
[intense somber music
continues]
-[indistinct chatter]
-[camera flash popping]
[reporter] Ms. Bradley,
what would you like to say
to the men who did this?
[reporter 2] What's that smell?
That smell is my son's body.
He came home to me
reeking of racial hatred.
His face was bludgeoned.
His teeth are gone.
He was shot in the head.
And now I want America
to bear witness.
Come with me, please.
[reporter 1]
Right here, Ms. Bradley.
[reporter 2]
Ms. Bradley, right here.
[reporter 3] Do you have a
message for the perpetrators?
[reporter 2] Will there be
a service, Ms. Bradley?
Gene, please come be with me.
[camera flash pops]
[intense somber music
continues]
[radio host] News of
an open-casket funeral
for the slain
14-year-old Emmett Till
has spread
throughout the country.
Many people were in shock
over the brutal slaying
and couldn't believe
something like this
could happen to a child.
[woman] My heart goes out
to her. I'm a mother too.
It could be any one of us.
[man] The right thing is to
show America, and the world,
exactly what happened.
[man 2] We know
the boy was killed,
but you're making a freak show
of his death.
[woman 2] I think she brave.
[man 3] Can't we just grieve
in peace?
[man 4] This stuff ain't
gonna stop till we see it.
I support her.
[Mamie on radio] It is my
opinion that the guilt begins
-with Mrs. Bryant...
-[cash register dings]
...and I wanna see
Mrs. Bryant punished,
those two men punished,
and any other persons
who were in on this thing.
The pressure should start
from the president
of the United States,
all the way down
to the township
of Money, Mississippi.
I won't rest
until that happens,
even if I have to go
to Money, Mississippi myself.
[radio host]
Do you have any evidence
bearing on this case?
[Mamie] I do know
that this is my son.
[indistinct chatter]
[sniffles]
[whispers]
You're not just my Bo anymore.
[Lizzie] Mamie...
[sniffles] Aunty Lizzie.
Simmy and Maurice stayed back
with their daddy.
It was probably too much.
[sighs]
I'm so sorry.
When those men came, I tried.
We all tried. [sighs]
I ain't going back, Mamie.
I packed my stuff up,
and I'm staying here for good.
Preacher and the boys
will join me.
I can't look, Mamie.
We have to.
[crying]
[exhales sharply]
[stifling sob]
[bawling]
[somber organ music playing]
[man singing]
When peace like a river
[whispers]
I'm sorry, Ms. Mamie.
Attendeth my way
Bo... Bo.
When sorrows like sea
Billows roll
Whatever my lot
Thou hast taught me to say
It is well
It is well
With my soul
It is well
[choir] It is well
[man] With my soul
[choir] With my soul
[man and choir] It is well
It is well
With my soul
[man] It is well
[choir] It is well
[man] With my soul
[choir] With my soul
[man and choir] It is well
It is well
With my soul
[Mamie] My child is dead,
and she is going to be fine.
Carolyn Bryant
is going to be fine.
You know,
to get a murder indictment
on two White men
in Mississippi is not easy.
You did that, Mamie.
[chuckles softly]
Now...
Their defense...
is going to try
to create doubt
about the body being Emmett's.
There's no body,
there's no murder conviction,
and Bryant and Milam will only
face kidnapping charges.
You know your child
better than anyone.
You saw the body soon after.
There is no testimony
like a mother's.
[pensive music playing]
Aren't we going
to your mama's tonight?
I need to go to Mississippi
for the trial.
I can testify that it was
Bo's body found in the river.
When do you want us to go?
Gene, I have to go without you.
-What?
-Mr. Mooty has arranged for me
to meet some people
-down there.
-If you're going
to Mississippi,
-I'm going with you.
-Mr. Huff and Mr. Mooty
don't think that's a good idea,
-and I agree with them.
-I don't care what they think!
They keep telling us
what to do
and who you can talk to.
And I go along with it
because I lost Bo too.
I would do anything for him.
You tell me, Mamie.
How is risking your life
gonna help Bo?
This is what they're writing
about me down there.
They're making me out to be
some kind of jezebel.
Two reporters called to ask
about my ex-husbands
and about you.
Mr. Huff was right.
I'm on trial like the people
who killed Bo.
Jurors will be watching me,
and reading these stories
when they decide if the men
who murdered my son go free.
I have to protect my image
if it can help get justice
for Bo.
I should be going with you,
Mamie.
I need you to be there for me
in a different way right now.
You're not gonna change
your mind?
You know me well enough
to answer that question
for yourself.
[grim music playing]
[reporter on TV] Not since
the Tallahatchie River flooded
some 20 or 30 years ago
that the townspeople had more
to talk about than this trial.
[man 1] I can't understand
how a civilized mother
could put a dead body of
her child on public display!
[man 2] I think that this is
a result of the NAACP
trying to make
something big...
-[knock on door]
-...out of just an ordinary
criminal affair
in Mississippi.
[Alma] You're not going.
Mamie, it's too dangerous
for you to go down
to Mississippi right now.
I heard the sheriffs
are passing along
Negro license plate numbers
to the Klan members.
Mr. Huff and Mr. Mooty
already have plans
for me to safely travel.
I'll fly to Memphis first.
And then,
some people from the NAACP
are going to drive me
to Clarksdale.
And then, their field
secretary will pick me up
and drive me
to someone's house
in a place called Mound Bayou.
[John] You want to go alone?
I'm trying to be strong
for Bo.
[Alma] What are you gonna do
down there?
Something you can't.
[smacks lips]
If my testimony can help
in any way,
I have to go.
I have to be there
for my child.
And what about my child?
I'm goin' with ya.
I know this is not
what we agreed on,
but it's better for me
to go down there with her
than for her
to be there alone.
You don't have to worry.
I'mma be there with you.
I promise.
I don't only need you
when I'm broken, Daddy.
I am goin' with you.
Thank you.
Mama,
I know you don't agree...
[Alma] No.
But I know you have to do it.
["I Will Move On Up
a Little Higher" playing]
One a-these mornings
Soon one morning
I'm gonna lay down my cross
Get me a crown
[man] Mound Bayou has been
here for over 70 years.
It's a all-Negro town.
We run all our own businesses
and all our own schools.
All the Negroes
attending the trial
will be staying here.
This is the safest place
for 'em.
Dr. Howard
created the Regional Council
for Negro Leadership
here in Mound Bayou.
He's also the chief surgeon
at the Taborian Hospital.
He built
a lot of businesses here,
including a really successful
life insurance company.
That's how I met him.
He gave me my first job.
Going home one day
and tell my story
I've been coming over hills
and mountain
Gonna drink from
the Christian fountain
Your know all of God's sons
and daughters that morning
Will drink that
ole healing water
And we gonna live...
[song stops]
Thank you
for driving us, Mr. Evers.
Please, ma'am, call me Medgar.
Mrs. Bradley?
Those pictures of your son
in the magazine...
changed people's lives.
My wife,
she's here with our son.
And we're both helping
with some of
the investigation work
for the trial.
Now, I promise you...
we are doing everything we can
to get some sort of justice
for Emmett Till.
We call Dr. Howard's house
"The Black Command Center."
Reporters
from all the colored press
work out of here
during the trial.
They also help with some of
the investigation work
for the trial.
And what kind of investigation
y'all are gonna be doing?
[Medgar] We're looking
for witnesses
who'll be brave enough
to come to trial.
[indistinct chatter]
[Medgar] Right here.
[James] Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
[Medgar] This here is,
uh, Ms. Murdock.
[Ms. Murdock] Ms. Bradley.
-Ms. Turner. Mr. Booker.
-[boy shouts]
-Pleased to meet you, ma'am.
-[boy laughs]
[Medgar] This here
is my son, Darrell.
And my wife, Myrlie.
It's an honor to meet you,
Mrs. Bradley.
Mr. Carthan.
[Medgar] Hey, you don't mind?
Over here is Amzie Moore.
He's the president
of the Regional Council
for Negro Leadership.
And I am Dr. Theodore Howard.
Welcome to Mound Bayou,
Mrs. Bradley.
-[Dr. Howard] Mr. Carthan.
-Sir.
Let me just say that
we are so...
honored to have you
here with us.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Now, what are you drinking?
[girl screams]
[Mamie] Not a lot of people
would use
their money the way you do.
Well, we need money
for the freedom fight
that we're in now.
We need money...
to protect Negroes who are...
simply trying to exercise
their constitutional right
to vote,
to speak at trial.
[kids chattering]
I had a really good life
in Chicago
before they took Bo from me.
I never thought much
about the world
outside of just me and Bo,
my job, my family, my friends.
Mrs. Bradley,
have you thought about, um,
what you're going to do
after the trial?
After the trial?
I'm sure you've considered
continuing your work
with the NAACP.
Or with our Regional Council,
right here.
Your story... speaks
to the urgency of Negro rights
more than anything
this country has ever heard.
I've been sharing my story
because I want those two men
to pay for what they did.
And I do too.
But I do not believe
that justice will be rendered
by 12 jurors
who look exactly like
the two so-called men
who are on trial.
And our fight, and your story,
must continue and will not end
with one single verdict.
Mrs. Bradley.
[sighs softly]
[pensive music playing]
[indistinct chatter]
[people murmuring]
[reporter 1] That's the mother!
Come on, get out the way.
Mrs. Bradley,
why are you here?
[reporter 2] Ms. Bradley.
[reporter 3] Ms. Bradley!
[reporter 2] Come on,
say something!
[reporter 3] Will you testify?
[reporter 2] Come on!
-You gotta give us something.
-[reporter 3] Mrs. Bradley.
Mamie?
It's all right, Daddy.
-I am here to confirm...
-[gun fires]
-[all exclaim]
-[boy laughing]
-[man] What's wrong with you?
-[cap gun continues firing]
[John] Let's get inside.
Come on.
[laughter]
[indistinct chatter]
No.
How dare you?
[John] It's all right, Mamie.
Go on!
[indistinct chatter]
Amzie.
Mrs. Bradley, I'd like you
to meet Ruby Hurley.
She's also a part of our team.
It's truly an honor
to meet you, Mrs. Bradley.
Thank you.
[John] Thank you,
it's a pleasure to meet you.
My pleasure.
-We'll be with you, ma'am.
-[Mamie] Thank you.
-Right this way.
-[John] Thank you.
-[man] Thank you.
-You're welcome, of course.
[man 2] Hello, niggers!
I got about eight seats
down there
for you
and your nigger reporters.
Rest of you can stand.
You Mamie?
What's this?
That's a damn summons.
I thought you uppity niggers
could read.
Mamie?
Don't let him get to you.
Come on, now.
Ah, there's James Hicks.
We can go and sit with him
and the other reporters.
Have you spoke
with the prosecution team?
Only once before,
on the phone.
It was brief.
Hopefully, this won't take
too long. Get together later.
-[Medgar] Mr. Smith.
-Yes.
Mrs. Bradley.
Mamie.
[John scoffs]
-[John] Hmm.
-Come on.
[Bailiff] All rise!
The Honorable Judge
Curtis Swango presiding.
[Judge] Please be seated.
There will be
no pictures taken
during court proceedings.
Bailiff, have the jurors
come in and take a seat.
Also, get me a Coke sometime.
All right?
Your Honor,
the State has just learned
of the existence
of another witness
to the murder of Emmett Till.
The State requests a recess
in order to gather
the witness.
[defendant clears throat]
Objection, Your Honor!
Your Honor, this will only
delay proceedings. Come on.
[Judge] Hmm.
Objection overruled.
It seems like
a reasonable request.
[prosecutor]
Thank you, Your Honor.
[Judge] I'll give you
till tomorrow morning
to find your witness.
The court will have a recess.
We will resume at 9:00 a.m.
tomorrow morning.
[gavel bangs]
[Bailiff] Court dismissed!
[Mamie] Medgar,
take me to Money.
All right. Okay.
[melancholy music playing]
[Medgar sighs]
[Mamie] That's where
it happened?
[Medgar] Yes, ma'am.
[sighs] The shop's been closed
since the day of the arrest.
Most of the patrons
were Negroes.
[Medgar sighs]
[emotional music playing]
[emotional music continues]
[hens clucking]
[chuckles softly]
Your mama tells me
you're all moving up north
after the trial.
Daddy says
it's not gonna be safe.
[Simmy sighs]
Thank you.
[Mamie sniffles]
We're sorry, ma'am.
We're so sorry.
You all didn't know
this was going to happen.
[whispers] Come here.
[Maurice sobbing quietly]
It's okay.
Hmm.
Where's your daddy?
[insects chirping]
You gonna sit?
I saw your boys.
Was probably hard for them
to see you.
You gonna sit?
Did you have a shotgun
in your house
the night they took Bo?
I've been wanting to explain
to you what happened.
You told me that part.
White men came knocking
-on my door, Mamie.
-I know that part.
They had a gun.
You have a gun!
[sighs]
[tearfully] How long did you
stand there doing nothing
while they took my child?
If I'd have shot them,
they would've killed
all of mine!
It'd be hunting season
for every Negro in Money!
We have to live here, Mamie.
Bobo was with my boys
when he went to talk
to some White woman.
You understand
what that mean down here?
Don't you dare blame Bo
for what happened to him!
I don't blame him!
[breathing heavily]
I had to make a choice
that night.
In a moment, I had to choose.
[voice breaking]
And you chose yours over mine.
It wasn't just two White men
with a gun that night.
It was every White man
who'd rather see a Negro dead
than breathin'
the same air as him.
Every sheriff,
every judge in this town
was at my door that night.
I was facin' a lot more
than two men with a gun.
[Mamie whimpers]
[sniffles]
[tearfully]
He was my only child.
[crying]
I know.
[sniffles]
That's why you're moving
after the trial...
because you're going
to testify?
[Moses sniffles]
No Negro in Money has ever
spoken against a White man...
and lived.
[clicks]
[crickets chirring]
[suspenseful music playing]
[Ruby] That's the house.
If he runs,
make sure he doesn't get away.
[Medgar whispers]
Amzie, right here.
[knocks on door]
[Amzie whispers]
Hey! Not so loud.
You'll scare him off.
[knocks softly]
[door opens]
[man] We told you
to leave Willie alone.
Let's have
a conversation inside.
[man] He didn't see nothin'!
Come out or we're comin' in.
-You gonna get the boy killed.
-[dog barks in distance]
-[gasps]
-[barking continues]
Hey! Hey!
[Amzie] Come on, come on!
[footsteps rustling]
[tense music playing]
[both panting]
[both continue panting]
[car halts]
[Medgar] We need
to keep him here
just in case
he runs off again.
[Willie Mae] I ain't gonna run.
I'll tell 'em
what I saw that night.
[Medgar] And what about
your grandparents?
Would you say that they heard
some sounds
comin' out the barn too?
No, no, I promised them I was
gonna keep them out of it.
[Dr. Howard]
We're gonna finance security
for your entire family
after they testify,
so don't you worry none, son.
All right?
[James]
His name is Willie Reed,
a field hand for
J.W.'s brother.
He's a witness
who lives on the farm
not too far from where he saw
J.W. and Roy Bryant
and several other men
take Emmett.
Now, Willie's family
also works for the Milams,
so they also heard
a lot of noise that night.
[Mamie] There were other men?
[James sighs]
It pains me
to have to tell you this,
but there were some colored
men that were involved.
Colored men did this
to my boy?
Well, they work
for Milam and Bryant,
and found out Bryant
had 'em paid to skip town.
What...
I can fix that for you.
It means a lot,
what you're doing.
[Mamie sniffles]
[voice breaking] Thank you.
Thank you.
It's the right thing to do.
[Mamie whimpers]
[Medgar] Go ahead
and put these on.
It's difficult for me
to fall asleep
before Medgar gets home.
I've wanted to meet you.
What you did
with those photographs...
What you're doin' now,
it's, um...
It's nothing a mother
wouldn't do for her child.
[Myrlie] Hmm.
[Mamie] How old's your son?
[chuckles softly] Two.
We almost didn't take him
and his sister
with us from Jackson, but I...
I'm trying to keep
the family together
as much as possible
these days.
I'm sure you heard
about what happened
to our friends Lamar Smith
and Reverend Lee.
Yes, I have.
Medgar and I worked closely
with 'em.
We did good work.
We got a lot of Negroes
registered to vote
for the first time
in Mississippi,
and that created the biggest
targets on our backs.
[breathing shakily] I, um...
I believe in the work
we're doin' for our people.
I do.
But I don't want my children
to have to live in fear.
I have enough fear
for all of us
every time I wait for Medgar
to get home.
Emmett just wanted
to go on vacation
and have fun with his cousins.
He never thought
anything would happen to him.
He knew how different
things were down here,
but I never raised him
to have any fear growing up.
-I wanted him to be a boy.
-[chuckles slightly]
And to not have his childhood
taken away from him.
But it happened anyway.
[sighs]
We do the best we can.
[downcast music playing]
[Moses clears throat]
Do you know Mr. Bryant?
[Moses] He owns
the meat market.
[prosecutor] Hmm.
Then you know Mr. Milam,
do ya?
Not by name.
But I know him.
How do you know him?
[Moses] He showed up
at my door,
standing there
with a flashlight in one hand
and a pistol in the other.
[audience murmurs]
[prosecutor]
And what happened next?
[audience murmuring]
He held my family at gunpoint.
[audience exclaims]
Then he dragged my nephew
from my home and drove off.
[man] Sambo!
[audience laughing]
[prosecutor] And would you
Would you recognize Mr. Milam
were you to see him again?
[unnerving music playing]
Yes, sir.
I would.
There he is.
[audience exclaiming].
[prosecutor] The State rests.
[audience murmuring]
[Judge] The witness
can leave now.
The court will have a recess.
[gavel bangs]
[audience continues murmuring]
[somber music playing]
What did you think you heard?
I heard loud hollering
and licks
comin' from that shed.
Sounded like a boy.
I saw, uh...
J.W. Milam.
[audience murmurs]
Saw a green truck
with a white top.
As they drove off,
there was, uh.
two White men in the cab
and three colored men
in the back.
[audience murmurs]
They was all sitting
next to a body.
Are you sure
that's what you heard?
[Willie Mae] Yes, sir.
Huh. If that's what you heard,
why not yell out,
or call "Help"?
[hesitates]
[breathing heavily]
[Willie Mae] I...
I...
I couldn't.
[defendant]
No further questions.
[audience murmuring]
[audience members laughing]
[Judge] You can leave now.
[John sighs]
[door opens]
[door closes]
[Mr. Smith] Did you certify
that the body found
was Emmett Till?
No, I did not.
I just said
it was a dead body.
You couldn't even tell if
the body was White or Black.
[Mr. Smith]
Thank you, Sheriff Strider.
You are excused.
You want my honest opinion?
I think the boy's mammy
and the NAACP
plotted this whole thing.
[Mr. Smith]
Thank you, Sheriff Strider.
[sheriff] That boy's
still alive somewhere.
[somber music playing]
[wiping hands]
[door opens and closes]
[Mr. Smith] Mamie...
Did you have a son who,
in his lifetime,
was known as Emmett Till?
Yes, sir.
[Mr. Smith] How old was he?
Fourteen years of age.
[Mr. Smith] Is his father
living today?
No, sir.
He died in service.
[Mr. Smith] Oh.
Uh, when your husband,
the father of Emmett Till,
was killed overseas,
were his belongings
sent to you?
Yes, sir.
[Mr. Smith] I now hand you
a ring
that has engraved on it,
May 25th, 1943,
with the large initials L.T.
Was that among the items
that were sent to you?
Yes, sir.
[Mr. Smith]
And is that the ring
that Emmett came down here
to Mississippi with?
Yes, sir.
[crowd murmuring]
[Mr. Smith] Mamie, I wish
you would state to the court,
and to the jury,
whether you could identify
the body
that you saw down there
in the funeral home
as that of your son,
Emmett Till.
I could.
It's hard to describe
what a mother knows.
[Mr. Smith] Please.
The first thing I noticed
when I became a mother
was that my hands were busy.
[chuckles] All the time.
Rocking, carrying, swaying,
always full.
One hand for him,
and one hand
for what he needed.
When it came time
to place him down
so he could make
his own way around,
I touched every inch of him.
Every bend.
My hand knew him
with my eyes closed.
Just like I'd know
his laughter
in a crowded room.
It's the same thing
when you know all of someone.
I started by laying my hands
on a foot.
And then
found his knees.
I remembered him...
[voice breaking] as my fingers
traced his hairline,
and bumped over the crease
of his eyelid.
He was spoiled and puffed,
but these were the same parts
of a boy I'd nurtured
and loved.
Nothing and no one
could hide him from me.
A mother knows.
Your mother would know.
And I knew.
I knew this was my boy.
Emmett Till.
Beyond any doubt.
[Mr. Smith] Thank you. Uh...
Thank you, Mrs. Bradley.
I believe that's all any of us
would ever need to hear.
[defendant] Mamie?
Do you happen to remember
the date
Emmett Till's father died?
Yes, sir.
July the 2nd, 1945.
[defendant] Where was he
when he died?
In Europe.
Did you have an insurance
policy on Emmett Till?
Um...
Yes, sir.
[defendant]
How much was it for?
I had a 10-cent
and 15-cent policy,
two weekly policies,
and they equaled $400.
-[audience murmurs]
-[defendant] $400?
Now, to whom
were those policies payable?
[Mr. Smith] Uh,
we object to that, Your Honor.
[Judge] Objection overruled.
The witness
will answer the question.
I was the beneficiary on one,
and my mother
was on the other.
[defendant] He ever cause
or get in any trouble
in Chicago?
No more than any other boy.
[defendant] Did he attend
a reform school?
What for?
No.
[defendant] You've been quoted
in the colored press,
"I told him several times
before he left for Mississippi
"that he should kneel
in the street
"and beg for forgiveness
"should he ever insult
a White person."
Not those exact words.
[defendant] Did you caution
him not to insult White women?
I referred to White people
in general.
[defendant]
Did you caution your son
how to conduct himself
and behave himself
while he was down here
in Mississippi?
Several times.
[defendant] Several times!
Do tell us how.
I will give you
a literal description
of what I told him.
How coming down here,
he would have to adapt himself
to a different way of life.
Be very careful
about how he spoke,
and to whom he spoke,
and to always remember to say,
"Yes, sir" and "No, ma'am."
I told him that if ever
an incident should arise
where there would be
any trouble
of any kind with White people,
that if it got to the point
where he needed
to go down on his knees
before them,
well, I told him
not to hesitate to do so.
Like if he bumped
into somebody on the street
and they might get belligerent
or something.
Well, I told him to go ahead
and humble himself
so as not to get into
any trouble! But...
[defendant] But what?
Well, I raised him with love
for 14 years.
My sudden warnings about hate
weren't going to get through.
[audience murmurs]
[defendant] I now show you
what purports to be
a photograph of your son.
This was taken in my home
two days after Christmas.
[defendant] Now, tell the court
and the jury what this is.
[voice breaking]
This picture is of my son
after Mississippi sent him
back to Chicago, dead.
[audience murmuring]
No further questions.
[Judge]
And for the prosecution?
[prosecutor] State rests.
[Judge] Court will have
a recess.
[gavel bangs]
-[somber music playing]
-[audience chattering]
[shakily] They...
They killed my son again.
[sniffles]
[John sighs]
[John] Hmm.
[somber music continues]
[breathing heavily]
[Judge] Will the jury please
retire to the jury room?
The testimony
being offered here today
of a prior incident
at the store in Money
is irrelevant.
[defendant 2] Your Honor,
may we still continue
the testimony
on account of the record?
[Mr. Smith] Uh, Your Honor...
Sit down.
Now, I see no harm
in letting Ms. Bryant
share her side of things
if she wants to.
Hell, everybody else has.
You think
you can handle that, dear?
[Carolyn sighs deeply]
Mrs. Bryant,
was anyone in the store
with you
on Wednesday night,
24th day of August, 1955?
I was alone.
But the children
were in the back.
In the living quarters.
And what time of day was it?
After dark.
[defendant 2] Alone.
At nighttime
with your children.
Well, you just tell the court
what happened next.
This nigger man
came into the store
and stood by the candy case.
[defendant 2] And you?
[Carolyn] I was
behind the counter.
I asked the man
what he wanted.
And then did you get him
the merchandise?
Yes.
And then what did you do?
I held out my hand
for the money.
[defendant 2]
Will you show the court
how you held your hand out?
Like this.
[defendant 2]
And did he give you
the money?
[Carolyn] No,
he caught my hand.
[defendant 2]
Will you show the court
just how he grasped your hand?
And was that a strong grip
or a light grip
that he had
when he held your hand?
[Carolyn] A strong grip.
[faint murmuring]
[defendant 2] Will you show
the court what you did?
How did you get loose?
[grunts softly]
I jerked it loose like this.
Now, just what did he say
when he grabbed your hand?
-"How about a date, baby?"
-[defendant 2] Hmm.
Now, you freed yourself.
And what happened then?
[Carolyn sighs]
I turned to the back
of the store.
And he went on his way?
No.
-He came after me.
-[audience murmuring]
He caught me down
by the cash register.
Mrs. Bryant, can you
demonstrate for the court?
Yes.
All right, now.
[sighs]
Grabbed your hands,
pinned them behind your back?
[Carolyn] Yes.
[defendant 2] His right hand
on your right hip?
[Carolyn] Here.
[audience exclaims]
[defendant 2]
Just what did he say?
[Carolyn] He said,
"You needn't be afraid of me.
"I've been
with White women before."
[defendant 2]
And what happened then?
[Carolyn] Then another nigger
came in the door...
[John sighs]
I'm ready to go.
[sighs] You want me
to come and get you
when they read a verdict?
No. I'm ready
to leave Mississippi. Now.
What about the verdict?
I know what the verdict is.
[radio host] After deliberating
for about an hour,
the jury has just come back
with a verdict
of "not guilty."
Thus the defendants Milam
and Bryant are free men.
They celebrated their victory
laughing and smiling with
their wives at their side,
clearly happy... [voice fades]
[intense somber music playing]
[people applauding]
[Rayfield] Her story
has changed the world.
Because she had the courage
to make it not just her own,
but all of ours.
[audience murmuring
in agreement]
Mamie, it is an honor
to share the stage with you.
To share this fight with you.
[man] Yes, yes!
Please welcome
Mrs. Mamie Till-Bradley.
[audience cheering
and applauding]
[audience whistling]
[softly]
This is just
the beginning.
[cheering continues]
I would like to
give honor to God,
who is the source
of my strength
and the reason for my being.
[audience murmurs
in agreement]
I thank you,
Mr. Mooty and the NAACP,
for inviting me
to speak before you all
in Harlem, New York City.
[man 2] Yes.
My son's brutalized body
meant nothing
to Mississippi's
criminal justice system.
And while they blamed
the victim, as usual,
the federal government
stood idly by.
If this country
fails to protect
the Black body from hate,
America has yet to meet
her promise.
[audience] Amen!
Either freedom for everyone,
or freedom fails!
[cheering and applauding]
One month ago, I had
a nice apartment in Chicago.
I had a good job. I had a son.
When something happened
to the Negroes in the South,
I said, "Well, that's
their business. Not mine."
Now I know how wrong I was.
The lynching of my son
has shown me
that what happens
to any of us,
anywhere in the world,
had better be the business
of us all.
[cheering and applauding]
I hear ya, sister!
That's right.
Tell it like it is!
I heard that!
Yes! Yes!
[music intensifying]
[mouthing]
[intense music continues]
[music fades]
[water dripping]
[record player clicks]
[record crackles]
["He Beeped
When He Shoulda Bopped"
by Dizzy Gillespie plays]
[song fading]
[emotional music playing]
[chuckles]
[Mamie laughing]
[chuckles softly]
[chuckling quietly]
[emotional music continues]