Newly discovered documents enhance FSU’s Emmett Till Archive

A Florida State University faculty member has added a significant addition to the Emmett Till Archives that will fundamentally change the public’s understanding of the Till case and its aftermath.

The newly acquired documents include a 33-page, single-spaced research memorandum by journalist William Bradford Huie, known for his controversial reporting, and his correspondence with lawyer John Whitten Jr., who defended Till’s killers, J. W. Milam and his half-brother, Roy Bryant.

The papers were generously gifted to FSU by Whitten’s granddaughter, Ellen Whitten, who delivered them to Davis Houck, Fannie Lou Hamer Professor of Rhetorical Studies in the School of Communication at FSU, in Mississippi in late June. The family had carefully protected the secret documents for 69 years; they were to be destroyed by Whitten when he retired from his law practice.

Houck established the Emmett Till Archives to serve as a focal point for research related to one of the 20th century’s most important stories. Till was a 14-year-old child visiting relatives in Money, Mississippi, in the summer of 1955. After an incident with a white storekeeper, Till was kidnapped from his great aunt and uncle’s home, tortured, murdered and thrown into the Tallahatchie River.

“Our Special Collections team has digitized these documents, making them accessible to the public,” Houck said. “Huie’s article, which included a purported confession by the killers, shaped the perceptions of many white Mississippians and others who wanted to believe Till was a man-rapist who feared no one. Huie’s ‘Look’ magazine article ran in January 1956 and continues to influence perceptions of Till and also the claim that only two men were involved in Till’s kidnap, torture and murder. In reality, at least eight men were involved, a fact carefully covered up by Huie’s lies. Those lies are documented in this new collection.”

Houck collaborated with FSU Libraries’ Special Collections and Archives to develop the Emmett Till Archives, which include newspapers, magazines, oral histories, records of civil rights organizations, photographs, government records, scholarly literature, creative works and other materials documenting the Till case and its commemoration, memorialization and discussion in scholarship and popular culture. Collections include papers by Devery Anderson, Keith Beauchamp and Mamie Till Mobley’s attorney, among others.

In partnership with Special Collections, Houck has endowed a fund which supports an annual lecture by a leading Till expert. Most recently, retired FBI agent, Dale Killinger, who spent three years investigating the murder as part of the Justice Department re-opening of the case, delivered that lecture in February 2024.

The archives are open to the public, with some materials currently available at bit.ly/TillDigitalArchives.

To read the Washington Post feature on this research, visit washingtonpost.com. For more information about FSU Libraries and Special Collections, visit lib.fsu.edu.

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