"F*ck Carolyn Bryant"

Last week, author and scholar Tim Tyson gave a talk on his most recent book, The Blood of Emmett Till.  Tyson’s presentation was masterful, taking the listener from “the abyss of the Atlantic” through the guilt, shame, horror, and “unshakable indictment” of White America that was Till’s murder, on to an exploration of the legacy of “the Emmett Till Generation” and the ways in which Till’s family turned “Crucifixion into Resurrection.”  Tyson was joined on stage by Dr. Aram Goudsouzian, University of Memphis professor and prolific author, and by Doria Johnson, a PhD candidate at the University of Wisconsin and granddaughter of a lynching victim.  Tyson’s presentation and summation of his work was well received, grounding the discussion among the panelists in a very thoughtful place.  The conversation turned incendiary however, beginning at the end of Goudsouzian’s response to Tyson.  He touched on the ”subjectivity of oral history” and, in response to perceptions that Tyson was (accidentally?) sympathetic in his interview with and analysis of Carolyn Bryant, asked the room “If we all killed Emmett Till, are we inadvertently pardoning his murderers?” 

Johnson pushed Tyson’s alleged humanization of Emmett Till’s accuser, Carolyn Bryant, even further, reminding the audience that Emmett Till “came to Mississippi to have fun with his cousins,” driving home the unmitigated tragedy of the murder.  The night’s emotional climax came when Johnson, softly pounding the podium, declared that we (the audience, but also, The Blood of Emmett Till’s audience) “have to understand why my folks are so upset.  There is no justice in this case…Fuck Carolyn Bryant.  Black people rarely receive justice, Emmett Till is the lynch-pin.  She’s still walking around…it’s not right.”  Tim Tyson seemed stunned by this onslaught, stammering and falling back on convoluted idioms, but eventually recovered and offered a cogent explanation of his treatment of Bryant.  “I am not confused about who I am,” he stated, "and know that I don't get to interview Carolyn Bryant if I'm not white, I don't get to interview Carolyn Bryant if I'm not Southern.”  He argued that it was not his intent to humanize Carolyn Bryant and that if any humanization did occur during his novel it was God’s doing, an interesting assertion.  The conversation ended after a short question and answer session, with Tyson frustrated by the idea that he attempts “some sort of moral apology” for Carolyn Bryant in The Blood of Emmett Till while Johnson and Goudsouzian reflected on Tyson’s defense of his work.  While the affection that existed between all members of the panel, the sense of same-team-ness, was evident throughout the night, it was fascinating to listen and watch from the audience as Tyson’s treatment of Till’s murderer plucked at the bonds which bound these scholars together in community.  Yet ultimately at the end of the night, nothing had changed:  Emmett Till remained murdered, Carolyn Bryant remained free, and America’s nagging desire to explain away the murderous intent represented by Tyson’s “the abyss of the Atlantic” remained frustratingly present.