DEATH OF INNOCENCE(ISBN=) 英文原版

　　There are many heroes of the civil rights movement—men and
women we can look to for inspiration. Each has a unique story, a
path that led to a role as leader or activist. Death of Innocence
is the heartbreaking and ultimately inspiring story of one such
hero: Mamie Till-Mobley, the mother of Emmett Till—an innocent
fourteen-year-old African-American boy who was in the wrong place
at the wrong time, and who paid for it with his life. His outraged
mother’s actions galvanized the civil rights movement, leaving an
indelible mark on American racial consciousness.
　　Mamie Carthan was an ordinary African-American woman growing up
in 1930s Chicago, living under the strong, steady influence of her
mother’s care. She fell in love with and married Louis Till, and
while the marriage didn’t last, they did have a beautiful baby boy,
Emmett.
　　In August 1955, Emmett was visiting family in Mississippi when he
was kidnapped from his bed in the middle of the night by two white
men and brutally murdered. His crime: allegedly whistling at a
white woman in a convenience store. His mother began her career of
activism when she insisted on an open-casket viewing of her son’s
gruesomely disfigured body. More than a hundred thousand people
attended the service. The trial of J. W. Milam and Roy Bryant,
accused of kidnapping and murdering Emmett (the two were eventually
acquitted of the crime), was considered the first full-scale media
event of the civil rights movement.
　　What followed altered the course of this country’s history, and
it was all set in motion by the sheer will, determination, and
courage of Mamie Till-Mobley—a woman who would pull herself back
from the brink of suicide to become a teacher and inspire hundreds
of black children throughout the country.
　　Mamie Till-Mobley, who died in 2003 just as she completed this
memoir, has honored us with her full testimony: “I focused on my
son while I considered this book. . . . The result is in your
hands. . . . I am experienced, but not cynical. . . . I am hopeful
that we all can be better than we are. I’ve been brokenhearted, but
I still maintain an oversized capacity for love.” Death of
Innocence is an essential document in the annals of American civil
rights history, and a painful yet beautiful account of a mother’s
ability to transform tragedy into boundless courage and hope.
　　From the Hardcover edition.

　　Mamie Till-Mobley died on January 6, 2003, at the age of
eighty-one. Following the death of her only child, Emmett Till, she
entered Chicago Teachers College in 1956, graduating cum laude and
fifth in her class three and a half years later. In 1973, she
earned a master’s degree in administration and supervision at
Loyola University. Till-Mobley was a frequent lecturer throughout
the country, recalling the struggle for civil rights and urging her
listeners to be the best they could be.
　　A Chicago-based writer and lawyer, Christopher Benson is the
features editor for Ebony, and a former Washington editor for Ebony
and Jet. His articles have also appeared in Chicago and Reader’s
Digest. Benson is the author of the novel Special Interest, which
will be published by One World/Ballantine in December 2003.
　　From the Hardcover edition.

　　Advance praise for Death of Innocence
　　“I am so thankful for the bravery and courage Mamie demonstrated
when she shared her only child with the world. The news of Emmett’s
death caused many people to participate in the cry for justice and
equal rights, including myself. The respect I have felt for her
since 1955 will always live with me. She was blessed among women to
carry the mantle with grace and dignity.”
　　—Rosa Parks
　　“Death of Innocence reveals Mamie Till-Mobley for what she was:
one of the greatest, but largely unsung, heroes in all of
African-American history. Her words are powerful; her strength and
vision in the face of the unspeakable horror of her son’s death are
astonishing. The life and work of Mamie Till-Mobley serves as an
inspiration to all who love justice.”
　　—Stanley Nelson, executive producer and director of the
documentary The Murder of Emmett Till
　　“Mamie Till-Mobley has written a powerful book in which she
reveals to us the life she shared with her son, Emmett Till, and
her pride and joy as he became a remarkable young man. This story
shows us how the cruelty of a few changed the life of a loving,
caring mother and the history of a nation.”
　　—Kadiatou Diallo, author of My Heart Will Cross This Ocean: My
Story, My Son, Amadou
　　“An epic drama of despair and hope. The most powerful personal
story, so far, from the civil rights movement.”
　　—Morris Dees, Southern Poverty Law Center
　　“Mamie Till-Mobley has always deserved our admiration for her
insistence that the world know her son’s terrible fate, and for her
determination to confront his killers in a Mississippi courtroom.
Now, in the final act of her life, she gives us an account of the
crime, its victim, and its aftermath that is as historically
valuable as it is inspiring.”
　　—Philip Dray, author of At the Hands of Persons Unknown: The
Lynching of Black America
　　”In the pantheon of Black women I love and admire, Mamie
Till-Mobley stands tall. Throughout her memoir…she is as fearless
in sharing her life story as she was when she insisted on an
open-casket funeral for her beloved son, Emmett. It was wise of
Till-Mobley, who died earlier this year at 81, to wait until she
could see the end of her journey to tell her story….Throughout her
life, Till-Mobley never tried to cash in on her son’s death.
Instead, she tried to find a way to make sense of it. None of us
can really know her pain, but through Death of Innocence we do know
her grace. Her book is a story of faith and hope — but not blind
faith and hope; rather faith and hope as action, as being worthy of
the challenge.”
　　-Nikki Giovanni
　　From the Hardcover edition.