There are many heroes of the civil rights movement—men and
women we can look to for inspiration. Each has a unique story, a
path that led to a role as leader or activist. Death of Innocence
is the heartbreaking and ultimately inspiring story of one such
hero: Mamie Till-Mobley, the mother of Emmett Till—an innocent
fourteen-year-old African-American boy who was in the wrong place
at the wrong time, and who paid for it with his life. His outraged
mother’s actions galvanized the civil rights movement, leaving an
indelible mark on American racial consciousness.
Mamie Carthan was an ordinary African-American woman growing up
in 1930s Chicago, living under the strong, steady influence of her
mother’s care. She fell in love with and married Louis Till, and
while the marriage didn’t last, they did have a beautiful baby boy,
Emmett.
In August 1955, Emmett was visiting family in Mississippi when he
was kidnapped from his bed in the middle of the night by two white
men and brutally murdered. His crime: allegedly whistling at a
white woman in a convenience store. His mother began her career of
activism when she insisted on an open-casket viewing of her son’s
gruesomely disfigured body. More than a hundred thousand people
attended the service. The trial of J. W. Milam and Roy Bryant,
accused of kidnapping and murdering Emmett the two were eventually
acquitted of the crime, was considered the first full-scale media
event of the civil rights movement.
What followed altered the course of this country’s history, and
it was all set in motion by the sheer will, determination, and
courage of Mamie Till-Mobley—a woman who would pull herself back
from the brink of suicide to become a teacher and inspire hundreds
of black children throughout the country.
Mamie Till-Mobley, who died in 2003 just as she completed this
memoir, has honored us with her full testimony: “I focused on my
son while I considered this book. . . . The result is in your
hands. . . . I am experienced, but not cynical. . . . I am hopeful
that we all can be better than we are. I’ve been brokenhearted, but
I still maintain an oversized capacity for love.” Death of
Innocence is an essential document in the annals of American civil
rights history, and a painful yet beautiful account of a mother’s
ability to transform tragedy into boundless courage and hope.
From the Hardcover edition.
關於作者：
Mamie Till-Mobley died on January 6, 2003, at the age of
eighty-one. Following the death of her only child, Emmett Till, she
entered Chicago Teachers College in 1956, graduating cum laude and
fifth in her class three and a half years later. In 1973, she
earned a master’s degree in administration and supervision at
Loyola University. Till-Mobley was a frequent lecturer throughout
the country, recalling the struggle for civil rights and urging her
listeners to be the best they could be.
A Chicago-based writer and lawyer, Christopher Benson is the
features editor for Ebony, and a former Washington editor for Ebony
and Jet. His articles have also appeared in Chicago and Reader’s
Digest. Benson is the author of the novel Special Interest, which
will be published by One WorldBallantine in December 2003.
From the Hardcover edition.
購物車/收銀台(0) | 在線留言板
| 付款方式
| 聯絡我們
| 運費計算
| 幫助中心 |
加入書簽
HOME
新書上架
