Front Page Detective, February 1956
This issue of a now defunct magazine contains a rare interview with Emmett Till’s great uncle, Moses Wright, recorded in October and November 1955. I learned about it when doing research on my book, Emmett Till: The Murder That Shocked the World and Propelled the Civil Rights Movement, when I saw a brief ad for it in a newspaper. I then contacted rare book and magazine stores throughout the country and in 2005 I finally found one that had copy. I had never seen this source quoted or used in any book or article and as far as I know, I am the first one to rediscover it in the years after it was first published.
LOOK Magazine, January 24, 1956
This issue of Look magazine contains the famous William Bradford Huie article detailing the “confession” of J. W. Milam and Roy Bryant to the kidnapping and murder of Emmett Till. According to the release forms signed by Milam and Carolyn Bryant (no release signed by Roy Bryant appears to exist), the men were paid $3,150 for their story. This “confession” appeared after Milam and Bryant had been acquitted of murder, and thus they could not be tried again. However, the other men who helped them in their crimes could still be prosecuted, and thus Milam and Bryant leave those names out of the story. Since they claimed to have acted alone, this account of the kidnapping, murder, and where it occurred, is mostly falsified. The only value to the story is that Milam and Bryant here admit to murdering young Emmett Till, which created tremendous discomfort among many of those who had supported them during the trial. The article, unfortunately, became the standard account that most people have accepted and retold over the years.
For Carolyn Bryant’s signed release form click here; for J.W. Milam’s signed release form click here.
LOOK Magazine, January 22, 1957
A year or so after William Bradford Huie interviewed J. W. Milam and Roy Bryant for his first article about the pair and the killing of Emmett Till, he followed up with the brothers to see how life had been treated them since. This article, published in the same magazine, did not receive the attention that the first one did, but it is an important one nevertheless. It came at a time when the Till case had been out of the news for nearly a year.