The Uncomfortable Truth

Dear Readers:

Dr. Ink received a message from his dear friend and colleague, Lillian Dunlap, which is an object lesson on the power of history and memory in documentary journalism.

Lillian writes: “Over the weekend, I was reading in Jet about the death of Emmitt Till’s mother. The piece relived the abduction, torture and murder of her teenage son. It included an interview with Mrs. Mobley at the time of the killing in 1955. She had insisted upon an open casket for Emmitt to help bury the denial that too many people hid in. She said she wanted everybody to see for themselves. The killers were acquitted, but the image of that mutilated body stayed in people’s minds. I remember seeing that photo as a small child and becoming sick to my stomach. Mrs. Till was right, somebody has to show us to ourselves.”

Click here to see the open casket image that had such a dramatic impact. Warning: the photo is graphic.

“The Jet piece included a photo of Mrs. Till’s open casket. I’m sure that she rests better knowing she never forgot nor allowed us to forget Emmitt. We don’t want to dwell on such stories, but we don’t want to forget either.”

Mrs. Mobley’s son was murdered within a way of life every bit as vicious as South Africa’s apartheid. As the leaders of the American civil rights movement age toward their final passing, it becomes particularly important for journalists to remind a new generation of a part of our history we must never forget.