Edgewood College will welcome award-winning filmmaker Keith A. Beauchamp for the 12th Annual Hatheway History Lecture on the homicide of Emmett Till on this Wednesday, April 10, in the Anderson Auditorium.
“Quite honestly, I always teach Emmett Till in my classes but I’m still amazed by how many students don’t know about this case,” Professor Andrew Witt, who is organizing the event, tells Madison365.
Beauchamp’s lecture, titled “The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till,” will focus on the historical impact and contemporary revelations about the murder of the 14-year-old boy for allegedly whistling at Carolyn Bryant. In his career, Beauchamp traveled to New York, Chicago, and Mississippi to investigate the unfortunate killing. Till, originally from Chicago, suffered his fate in during a summer vacation in August 1955 while visiting relatives in Mississippi.
In November 1955, a grand jury declined to indict Bryant’s husband, Roy Bryant and his brother J.W. Milam for kidnapping, despite admitting to abducting Till, however, this trial marked a pivotal moment in Civil Rights. Almost seven decades later, Beauchamp will deliver a lecture on his findings after the reopening of the case by the United States Department of Justice in May 2004.
“I’m just looking for the community to be more informed about the Till case and with all history but especially with marginalized communities and African-Americans in this country to have a better understanding of the freedom struggle,” Witt said.
He said has shown Beauchamp’s documentary a number of times to his students in class. Witt explained his interest in inviting Beauchamp rose after realizing how many people have never heard of Emmett Till and recent findings about the case.
“My mentor at the UW was Tim Tyson and he just produced a book recently about Emmett Till and how Carolyn had made up a lot of the story about Emmett Till in the store,” he said.
He also said the lecture will primarily be structured around Beauchamp’s work and research, however, the information will be tied into the present, especially since justice still has not been served. Witt said he considers the program a success if at least a few people learn something new about the African- American Civil Rights Movement.
“It[Annual Hatheway Lecture] was just meant to be a one night lecture but then I thought how can we build upon this,” he said.
Since 2005, the History Department has invited various speakers including Cheryl Brown Henderson, Diane Nash, Margaret Rozga, Bobby Seale and others. The department presents its annual Hatheway History Lecture each Spring semester.
After 2016, the department took a brief hiatus from the series while Witt took a sabbatical. In 2016, the lecture focused on more recent news after the shootings of Tony Robinson in Madison and Dontre Hamilton in Milwaukee. Witt said in the era of Black Lives Matter and police brutality the lecture could not just discuss history in the abstract and focus on the past.
“As long as one person can say after they attend this lecture can say I really didn’t know this and I feel informed after attending this lecture I say that’s a success,” he said.
The Annual Hatheway History Lecture is presented with support from the Heideman Crossing Educational Boundaries Fund. “The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till,” takes place Wednesday, April 10, 6 p.m. in Anderson Auditorium. Tickets are not required, and seating is limited.
