Published on Show Me Mizzou Dec. 19, 2024
Story by Randall Roberts, BA ’88
On Aug. 28, 1955, Emmett Till was brutally beaten in a barn near Money, Mississippi, before being murdered and discarded in the Tallahatchie River. This horrific crime and its far-reaching aftermath are the focus of The Barn, Wright Thompson’s bestselling new book that uncovers hidden history and explores the culture of erasure that has shaped the South since its inception.
A Mississippi native, Thompson, BJ ’01, grew up not far from the titular barn but, as he reveals in the opening chapter, didn’t learn about Till’s murder until he left Mississippi to attend Mizzou. It wasn’t until the pandemic that he learned the exact location of “the long, narrow cypress barn just off from the white gabled house” where Till’s final moments unfolded.
Thompson’s first book, Pappyland: A Story of Family, Fine Bourbon, and the Things That Last, became a surprise bestseller in 2020. With The Barn, he builds on that success, delivering what The Washington Post praised as “serious history and skillful journalism, but with the nuance and wallop of a finely wrought novel.”
A senior writer for ESPN.com, Thompson provides a deeply researched account of Till’s life and death, layered with a rich exploration of the society surrounding him. The courtroom scenes during the trial are fraught with tension, even though, as Thompson observes, “It’s well established that this trial was corrupted from the beginning by familial ties stretching from the Hills down to the courthouse in Sumpter.”
Thompson also delves into the Delta’s legacy. He examines how Charley Patton, Willie Brown, Son House and others imprinted their art on the region through early blues music. His exploration of plantation inheritances and ownership reveals hard truths about generational wealth, such as one nearby plantation descendant who became a major investor in Venmo and Buzzfeed. By weaving together these threads, Thompson creates a riveting narrative that challenges readers to confront uncomfortable truths about history, privilege and the forces that continue to shape the South.
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