“Crowe pays powerful tribute to a boy whose untimely death spurred a national chain of events.”—Publishers Weekly
In August 1955, a group of white men kidnapped and brutally murdered a fourteen-year-old boy in the Mississippi Delta. Why? Because a white woman said he whistled at her. And the boy, Emmett Till, was Black. What’s more, Emmett’s killers were never convicted—they got away with murder.
The extreme brutality of the crime put a national spotlight on racial violence in the South. But it was the dramatic trial and speedy acquittal of Emmett’s white murderers that sparked widespread outrage that left a lasting impact on American history. Backed by careful research, Getting Away with Murder investigates the lead-up to Emmett’s murder, its unprecedented aftermath, and its significance to the civil rights movement.
This revised edition has been updated to reflect the newest information about Emmett’s life and untimely death, including recently uncovered details about his accuser’s testimony. A new chapter featuring additional photographs examines the significance of the case in the twenty-first century and grants even more insight into the ongoing legacy of Emmett Till.
Author
Chris Crowe
Chris Crowe was born in Danville, Illinois, and attended schools in Illinois, New Mexico, and California before his parents settled down in Tempe, Arizona, where he graduated from McKemy Junior High and McClintock High School. He attended Brigham Young University on a football scholarship (and played in the 1974 Fiesta Bowl) and earned a BA in English. He taught English at McClintock High for 10 years while attending Arizona State University part-time, earning his masters and doctorate degrees.He is the author of several books, most notably Mississippi, 1955, which won several awards, including the 2003 International Reading Association’s Young Adult Novel Award. His nonfiction book, Getting Away With Murder: The True Story of the Emmett Till Case, was a Jane Addams Honor book. His first children’s book, Just As Good: How Larry Dobb Changed America’s game, was published in 2012. Chris married his high school sweetheart, and they live in Provo, Utah, where he works in the English department at BYU. They are the parents of four children and grandparents of two lovely girls and three handsome boys.
Learn More about Chris Crowe