The Ballad of Emmett Till
Few stories capture the heart like that of Emmett Tills’—and few plays offer such a rich opportunity for the sharing of beliefs and ideals than The Ballad of Emmett Till. We invite you to learn more about Emmett Till from those who knew him—and those whom he inspired (see links below).
Share Your Story
“I present my work to audiences in order to see what dialogue comes back from them.”
– Playwright Ifa Bayeza
The Ballad of Emmett Till is a powerful night in the theater, and we want to know your thoughts. Keep the spirit of Emmett Till alive by sharing your experience, your story. E-mail EmmettTill@GoodmanTheatre.org and your response will be posted below to create a forum for the expression of personal values that can be shared with all.
I will share my personal experience with my children and grandchildren. I was in Greenwood at the exact same time in 1955 as Emmett and experienced the same verbal abuse while trying to buy ice cream at that store. My parents had a difficult time getting me back home to Chicago from Mississippi. My uncle had to get me to Tennessee and get a bus to Chicago. I will keep him alive, thanks to mother Mamie.
- T.A. Jackson
If I heard it correctly, the last line of the play is "Is this the end?" This is a great line because it is not the end. A lot has happened for the good since 1955 but there’s much farther to go. How do we get there? Part of the answer is theater and all the arts. There also needs to be political change and the will to change but the arts are in a unique position to influence behavior and social change by revealing the true nature of our situations. No matter how far a society "progresses" there will always be the need for this influence (of the arts) because human nature contains both good and bad.
- Anonymous
I can read about him and talk about him in school. I can get a group of friends together and talk about him too.
-Erika Avent (age 10)
I can continue to tell people about how his death helped the Civil Rights Movement fight for equal rights. I will tell more people about his life.
-Jacole Avent (age 12)
I will keep an open dialogue about Emmett Till's life. It is essential to talk with people of all ages, races and backgrounds about the importance of equal rights for everyone.
-LaToya Buchanan
We will always remember Emmett Till and his courageous mother, Mamie. Thank you, Ifa, for this haunting and beautiful play.
- Denise Nicholas
What a production! I'm still taken by it. Your telling of this story—that yes, I thought I knew—made me think (and feel!) in ways I had not thought before. Your final messages will stay with me forever. Much love and thanks.
- Michael Ross, Managing Director, Baltimore’s Center Stage
Emmett Till was my grandfather's cousin so I'm going to always tell people about Emmett Till. He's family and you always have to keep your family alive!
- Anonymous
I can keep the spirit of Emmett Till alive by telling the story to my grandchildren and others. I was 9 years old when his happened. Thank you for sharing the story.
- Anonymous
It does not seem possible that this could have happened such a short time ago. It is good to keep such a terrible thing in the light.
- Anonymous
I can keep the spirit of Emmett Till alive by recognizing what has happened and to stand up for the rights of all Americans. Stop discrimination. Tell his story. Speak out when we see injustice. Pray for wisdom.
- Anonymous
If the story is not told, it won't be remembered. His story should not be a footnote of racial history, but remain a part of it&msash;or it will be repeated.
- Anonymous
I can keep the story alive by respecting people no matter who or where they are.
- Anonymous
After experiencing Emmett's spirit from the beginning of his doomed journey, his personality enters your heart first instead of your head. When I heard about this tragedy from news articles it was just another piece of historical black/white issues. What a beautiful ending—Emmett's rising spirit. Beautiful!
- Dawn Aguilar
I will tell the story as seen in the play. Also, I will tell what I learned as a child of 11 years, living in Chicago when the killing happened. Every adult was talking. I read the story and saw the pictures in Jet Magazine. Since my family name was Milam, many people asked my father if he knew J.W. Milam.
- Meghan
I can keep the spirit alive by teaching impressionable young minds to embrace all humanity and by working to eradicate racial hatred oppression and inhumanity.
- Anonymous
I'm still thinking about last night's play and discussion. As a child born in Denver, the daughter of southern parents who left the south, our divorced family enjoyed summer vacations with maternal grandparents in Atlanta. I remember the debates about the virtues, advantages and disadvantages of living in the south. My father, an Original Tuskegee Airmen, swore he would never return to the south. I remember the lovely, youthfully adolescent pictures of Chicago's Emmett Till contrasted against those in Jet Magazine after his torture. I wondered as a very young child what actually happened to Emmett, whether Emmett felt all alone in the world and how he looked before the water disfigured him. I remember my mother's disgust when disembarking the Southern Railway to see COLORED and WHITE signs remaining above public facilities in the south.
Here's the question that woke me up this morning: "How Does Freedom Behave"?
Is it innocent?
Is it naive?
Is it energetic, free-spirited, overactive, and hyperactive?
How is it managed? Should it be on Ridilan?
Is it carefree, happy, exhaustive and highly vocal with boundless energy?
Is it unaware of perceptions and bias?
Is it not self-conscious?
Is it incapable of responding for any duration to social, cultural and racial behavior controls?
If one is warm, kind, friendly, well-meaning and generous in spirit, are social, cultural and racial behavior controls simply unproductive, negative and stereotypical?
Was Mamie's nurturing, positive, patient, free-spirited approach a disastrous even dangerous way to raise a black man? What would the universe tell her to do differently?
Is Mamie's child-raising approach the prescription for raising healthy, intelligent, energetic, self-actualized men, fathers, husbands and leaders?
If Emmett had been a white male, what could have been his destiny? Profession? Contribution?
In 2008, the play informs my thinking about today's political climate and behavior of another male of African descent.
Is freedom intelligent, articulate and insightful?
Is freedom elitist?
Can freedom not bowl, play basketball, be a father, husband, lawyer, politician, constitutional scholar?
Does freedom have to be black enough?
Does freedom make everyone comfortable? Will it? Should it?
Can freedom have foreign roots? Be cross-cultural and cross-racial?
Does freedom allow association with those who have different views, distinct personal issues or no controls?
Does freedom have a universal goal that benefits the individual as well as larger constituencies?
How do we overcome the thinking that "my freedom threatens you"?
Would someone please tell me how freedom should behave?
-Debra E. Rice, Loyal Goodman Subscriber