MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee State University will host Ronald Collins, a retired law professor, author and First Amendment scholar, for a public discussion on Monday, Oct. 7, about the infamous Emmett Till murder trial.

Collins’ new book, “Tragedy on Trial: The Story of the Infamous Emmett Till Murder Trial,” is a detailed account of the trial of the men accused of killing the 14-year-old Till, who was lynched in 1955 for allegedly whistling at a white woman while visiting relatives in Mississippi for the summer.

The discussion, which is free and open to the public, will be held at 10:20 a.m. Oct. 7 in Room 160 in the College of Education Building, 1756 MTSU Blvd. A searchable campus parking map is available at http://tinyurl.com/MTSUParkingMap. 

Sponsored by the Free Speech Center and the John Seigenthaler Chair of Excellence in First Amendment Studies, Collins’ appearance will highlight how the long-lost transcript of the trial he used revealed new details on the miscarriage of justice that allowed Till’s murderers to go free. He will also discuss how the black press helped get the truth out and how other news organizations perpetuated falsehoods. 

“Emmett Till’s murder was a turning point in the Civil Rights Movement, particularly because his mother insisted on an open casket so that the world could see the brutalization of her 14-year-old son,” said Deborah Fisher, director of John Seigenthaler Chair of Excellence in First Amendment Studies.

Photographs in Jet magazine of Till’s horribly disfigured and bloated face and body inside his casket — retrieved from the Tallahatchie River after he had been kidnapped, beaten and shot then tied down with a cotton-gin fan — drew widespread shock and outrage and is believed to be a key catalyst for the civil rights movement that followed.

“It was a different time. But almost 70 years later, it’s important for students to understand history. What’s particularly interesting and different about this new book is that Collins uses the testimony from the trial’s transcript,” Fisher noted.

Collins, who most recently taught at the University of Washington School of Law, has had several op-ed pieces published in New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and The Foreword, among others.

Collins is also the co-founder of the History Book Festival and has been invited to speak at numerous venues, including the National Archives. He and his wife live in Lewes, Delaware.  

Off-campus visitors attending Collins’ lecture should obtain a special one-day permit from MTSU’s Office of Parking and Transportation at www.mtsu.edu/parking/. Free parking is available in the Rutherford Boulevard parking lots on the east side of campus, with free Raider Xpress shuttle service running periodically to the interior of campus.

— DeAnn Hays (deann.hays@mtsu.edu)