Natasha Decker from MadameNoire said the memoir contained "shocking new information. Jerry Mitchell from the Mississippi Center For Investigative Reporting pointed out a number of inconsistencies in the book, writing in his article for The Boston Globe that Donham "conjures the 'black beast rapist' mythology". The book received an overwhelmingly negative response, with a number of writers and historians noting the inconsistencies, historical revisionism, and lack of contrition by Donham. I paid dearly with an altered life." Reception and response Do I think he should have been killed for doing that? Absolutely, unequivocally, no! Did we both pay a price for it, yes, we did. He came in our store and put his hands on me with no provocation. "I always felt like a victim as well as Emmett. The last two-thirds of the book focus on the interaction, aftermath, trial, and subsequent developments of the Till events. The recollections continue with Donham's boyfriend at the time showing her a "hanging tree", which Donham remembered would be a "terrific tree to climb" if she were a tomboy. Donham recalls her "hired help" Annie Freeman, whom she said she loved, recounting Freeman had skin "the color of hot chocolate". The first third of the book focuses on her early life in the South, including her childhood being raised on the Archer Plantation outside of Cruger, Mississippi. The 99-page manuscript focuses on two main aspects of Donham's life. Journalist Stacey Patton from NewsOne, a division of Urban One, first broke the story of the manuscript, which quickly spread PDFs were subsequently posted online. Donham was 88 years old at the time of the book's release. But this is probably the last chance for an indictment in this case." After the release of the manuscript, Tyson said he has not spoken to Donham since the interview in 2008. Tyson released a copy of the manuscript to the FBI and subsequently to newspaper outlets, saying "The potential for an investigation was more important than the archival agreements, though those are important things. The discovery led to renewed calls for her arrest, which gained traction and coverage. In July 2022, an unserved arrest warrant for Donham was found by the Emmett Till Legacy Foundation in a Mississippi County Courthouse basement. Till's cousin and civil rights activist Deborah Watts called for the release of the manuscript in 2021 in an op-ed for USA Today, hoping its release would lead to Donham's indictment. She gave a copy of the book to Tyson, who in turn gave it to the Southern Historical Collection at the University of North Carolina, where it was held in their archives. Donham made an agreement with Tyson during the interview process that the book would not be released until 2036. ![]() The public first learned of the book when historian Timothy Tyson interviewed Donham in 2008. The manuscript is also dedicated to Marsha. The book was dictated by Donham to her daughter-in-law Marsha Bryant, who transcribed the recollections. ![]() W." Milam, with her assistance, kidnapped, tortured, and lynched Till. ![]() After hearing about the interaction, Donham's husband Roy and Roy's half-brother John William "J. Till offended Donham in some way, though accounts of the events differ. He visited a grocery store in Money, Mississippi called Bryant's Grocery, which was owned by Donham and her husband Roy Bryant, both of whom were white. Emmett Till, a 14-year old African-American resident of Chicago, visited relatives in Mississippi in 1955.
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