Emmett Till's lying accuser dies, did she escape justice?
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Emmett Till was a 14-year-old Black boy who was brutally murdered in 1955 in Mississippi after being accused of whistling at a white woman, Carolyn Bryant Donham. Carolyn's husband, Roy Bryant, and his half-brother, J.W. Milam, kidnapped Till from his uncle's home, beat him, shot him in the head, and then threw his body in the Tallahatchie River.
Carolyn Bryant Donham's lies were central to the case. She had testified in court that Till had made sexual advances towards her, including touching her hand and waist and making lewd comments. Her testimony, which was widely reported in the media, contributed to the public outrage and lynching of Emmett Till.
However, in 2017, Carolyn Bryant Donham finally confessed to historian Timothy Tyson that she had lied about Till's behavior towards her. She admitted that she had fabricated the story to protect her reputation and that Till had never touched or harassed her in any way.
Despite her confession, authorities refused to prosecute her for her role in Till's murder. In 2007, the FBI reopened the case, but they closed it in 2018 without bringing any charges against her.
The case of Emmett Till is one of the most notorious examples of the historical pattern of white women falsely accusing Black men of rape or sexual assault. These false accusations were often used to justify violence against Black men and to reinforce the power dynamic of white supremacy. In most cases, the women making the false accusations faced no legal consequences, while the innocent men they accused suffered horrific violence and injustice.
And it’s not just ancient history. This continues today. This time, the accuser was publicly shamed and fired from her job. But what would’ve happened to Christian Cooper, the innocent Black man, if he hadn’t been armed with a cell phone?
Carolyn Bryant Donham died this week, never having been held to account for the savage murder her lies caused.
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