Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till

The murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till in 1955 brought national attention to the racial violence and injustice prevalent in the deep south. While on a trip from his hometown, Chicago, to visit relatives in Mississippi, Till went to the Bryant store with his cousins, and may have whistled at Carolyn Bryant, a white woman. Her husband, Roy Bryant, and brother-in-law, J.W. Milam, kidnapped and brutally murdered Till, dumping his body in the Tallahatchie River. The newspaper coverage and murder trial galvanized a generation of young African Americans to join the Civil Rights Movement out of fear that such an incident could happen to friends, family, or even themselves.

Collaboraction will bring this Emmy-Nominated world premiere to the stage of The DuSable Black History Museum & Education Center. Trial in the Delta plays like a reenactment of the actual court proceedings that played out in Sumner, Mississippi in 1955. Audiences will see key characters (based on the real-life people) such as presiding judge Curtis Swango, Emmett’s mother Mamie Till, his uncle Mose Wright and, of course, J.W. Milam and Roy Bryant, the two men who were found not guilty of murdering Emmett Till, but later admitted to the heinous crime.

Theatre Week Performances:
Thursday, February 16 – 7:00PM
Friday, February 17 – 7:00PM
Saturday, February 18 – 7:00PM

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