Let the people see what I have seen.

We have averted our eyes for far too long.

Everybody needs to know what happened to

Emmett Till.

p. 52

Introduction

This book review is coming to you slightly out of (what I’m hoping will be) the normal posting schedule – to celebrate the opening of Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley: Let the World See at the DC Public Library’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library, and to celebrate the numerous well-deserved awards this book has won at the 2023 ALA Youth Media Awards.

This is the story of Mamie Till-Mobley, Emmett Till’s mother whose actions were what sparked the modern civil rights movement. Her decision to have an open-casket funeral for her son after his abduction and lynching at the hands of Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam at the behest of Carol Bryant Donham was a catalyst event that forced millions to see what Black people and others from marginalized communities already knew. It’s not an easy story by any stretch, but it’s beautifully and powerfully told here.

The Good Stuff

The Story

Again, this isn’t necessarily a ‘good’ story, but it’s a story about turning impossibly overwhelming grief into positive action. Angela Joy writes Mamie’s story with a passion and care that shines in every word. Joy’s words give us a fuller picture of Mamie as a person outside of her role in bringing Emmett home to Chicago after his murder: we see her as a child, moving north with her family as a part of the Great Migration. We read about her home life and how brilliant she was, even though people around her didn’t recognize or value it. After Emmett’s murder, Joy also shows us how Mamie lived and loved those around her and tried to rebuild a life after an earthshattering thing. Throughout, Joy reinforces Mamie’s strength not only by explicitly naming the ways in which she was brave but with brilliantly repeating elements of text.

Mamie and Louis Till’s date at a local soda counter:

The owner was furious – Mama would be too.

Yet, while still afraid, Mamie stayed.

It was the braver thing.

p. 17

On the difficult birth of Emmett and on Mamie choosing to bring him home instead of institutionalizing him:

She had to bring her baby home.

It was the harder thing.

p. 19

Many other times throughout the book as well, but most poignantly:

But Mamie did the harder thing.

She said, “No. You send my son home.”

It was the braver thing

that changed everything.

p. 6

I will tell y’all, I made a grave error of reading this while in line for Starbucks before heading to Saturday of LibLearnX and I looked like a fool weeping in front of a bunch of kids at a cheerleading competition. I can’t emphasize enough Joy’s powerful work here on telling Mamie’s story in prose – the back matter further emphasizes the care with which Joy approached telling this story thoroughly and well. PLEASE do yourself a favor and read her words here.

The Art

Janelle Washington’s approach to illustrating this story is so beautiful. I almost feel bad using so many superlatives to describe this book, but it’s worth every word. Using papercuts, Washington creates deeply emotional images to accompany Joy’s words. In her pages in the back matter, she discusses her approach to illustration:

To create images of Mamie’s life, I wove her story using negative and positive spaces by cutting black paper and layering tissue paper underneath to add color. The colors throughout represent skin tone and convey feelings of bravery, sadness, and hope from Mamie and her family.

pp. 57

I won’t include images besides the cover here because I want you to see Washington’s work for yourself. Even in the ebook format I read it in, these images are enormously powerful and serve Mamie’s story extraordinarily well.

In Summary

Joy and Washington have created something truly special here. In an era of book challenges and bans, stories like this are more important than ever before. This book is as highly recommended as I can make it, and I sincerely hope that you pick it up regardless of your age.

Choosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights Movement is published by Roaring Book Press, an imprint of Macmillan Publishers. You can find it at the publisher’s website linked here. As always, gichi miigwech for reading.