The Barn

A shocking and revelatory account of the murder of Emmett Till that lays bare how forces from around the world converged on the Mississippi Delta in the long lead-up to the crime,and how the truth was erased for so long Wright ThompsonΓÇÖs family farm in Mississippi is 23 miles from the site of one of the most notorious and consequential killings in American historyyet he had to leave the state for college before he learned the first thing about it. To this dayfundamental truths about the crime are widely unknownincluding where it took place and how many people were involved. This is no accident: the cover-up began at onceand it is ongoing. In August 1955two menRoy Bryant and J.W. Milamwere charged with the torture and murder of the 14-year-old Emmett Till in MoneyMississippi. After their inevitable acquittal in a mockery of justicethey gave a false confession to a journalistwhich was misleading about where the long night of hell took place and who was involved. In factWright Thompson revealsat least nine people can be placed at the scenewhich was inside the barn of one of the killerson a plot of land within the six-square-mile grid whose official name is Township 22 NorthRange 4 WestSection 2West Halffabled in the Delta of myth as the birthplace of the blues on nearby Dockery Plantation. Even in the context of the brutal caste regime of the timethe four-hour torture and murder of a boy barely in his teens for whistling at a young white woman was acutely depraved; TillΓÇÖs mother Mamie Till-MobleyΓÇÖs decision to keep the casket open seared the crime indelibly into American consciousness. Wright Thompson has a deep understanding of this storyΓÇöthe world of the families of both Emmett Till and his killersand all the forces that aligned to place them together on that spot on the map. As he showsthe full horror of the crime was its inevitabilityand how much about it we still need to understand. Ultimately this is a story about propertyand moneyand power. It implicates all of us. In The BarnThompson befriends the few people who have been engaged in the hardfearful business of bringing the truth to lightpeople like Wheeler ParkerEmmett TillΓÇÖs friendwho came down from Chicago with him that summerand is the last person alive to know him well. Wheeler ParkerΓÇÖs journey to put the killing floor of the barn on the map of Township 22 NorthRange 4 WestSection 2West Halfand the Deltaand Americais a journey we all need to go on if this country is to heal from its oldestdeepest wound.