Mississippi Trial, 1955
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''Mississippi Trial, 1955'' is a
historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...
young adult novel Young adult fiction (YA) is a category of fiction written for readers from 12 to 18 years of age. While the genre is primarily targeted at adolescents, approximately half of YA readers are adults. The subject matter and genres of YA correlate ...
by American author Chris Crowe, published in 2002. Set in
Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
in 1955, the novel tells the true story of the abduction and murder of
African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
teenaged boy
Emmett Till Emmett Louis Till (July 25, 1941August 28, 1955) was a 14-year-old African American boy who was abducted, tortured, and lynched in Mississippi in 1955, after being accused of offending a white woman, Carolyn Bryant, in her family's grocery ...
as well as the trial of his murderers through the point of view of Till's fictionalized white friend Hiram Hillburn. The novel received mixed, but mostly positive reviews and won the
International Reading Association The International Literacy Association (ILA), formerly the International Reading Association (IRA), is an international global advocacy and member professional organization that was created in 1956 to improve reading instruction, facilitate dialo ...
Children's Book Award for Young Adult Fiction in 2003.


Plot

In 1955, Hiram Hillburn, a sixteen-year-old white male, lives in
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
with his father. He resents his father for moving the family from
Greenwood, Mississippi Greenwood is a city in and the county seat of Leflore County, Mississippi, United States, located at the eastern edge of the Mississippi Delta region, approximately 96 miles north of the state capital, Jackson, and 130 miles south of the riverp ...
when he was nine, away from his beloved Southern grandfather. Despite his father's concerns about letting him go due to the racial tensions in the city, Hiram is given permission to spend the summer visiting his grandfather in Mississippi. At the train station he meets his grandfather's housekeeper Ruthanne and her visiting cousin
Emmett Till Emmett Louis Till (July 25, 1941August 28, 1955) was a 14-year-old African American boy who was abducted, tortured, and lynched in Mississippi in 1955, after being accused of offending a white woman, Carolyn Bryant, in her family's grocery ...
, a fourteen-year-old
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
boy from
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
. After reuniting with his grandfather, he begins to notice his grandfather's culturally ingrained racism. He meets Emmett again whom he rescues from drowning in a river. They begin talking and realize they have a lot in common. Hiram runs into his old friend R.C. Rydell with whom he joins on a fishing trip where R.C. harasses and assaults Emmett. While Hiram does not participate, he does not help Emmett either and feels guilty. A few days later, R.C. tells Hiram that he is going with some white men to talk to a young African-American man who offended a white woman at a grocery store. Concerned for this young man, Hiram calls the police. However, the police are unhelpful to Hiram; they refuse to act, stating the boy from Chicago has to learn some manners. At this point, Hiram realizes they are talking about Emmett. Emmett is reported missing shortly after and his corpse is found in the river a few days later with a cotton gin pulley around his neck. Two white men are arrested for kidnapping and go on trial for the murder of Emmett. Hiram delays his trip home to serve as a witness for the trial due to the information he had told the police. His grandfather wants him to stay out of the trial to avoid the drama, but Hiram wants to help find justice for Emmett causing contention between the two. Hiram stays for the entire trial, despite not being called as a witness and the suspects are acquitted of murder at the relief of Hiram's grandfather. Hiram becomes suspicious after seeing his grandfather sell his blue truck but his grandfather becomes angry when Hillburn confronts him about it. After running into his neighbors, Hiram learns that his grandfather was spotted with the suspects on the night of Emmett's disappearance. Hiram, again, confronts his grandfather about this information upon which his grandfather unapologetically admits to being involved and being in the
White Citizens Council The Citizens' Councils (commonly referred to as the White Citizens' Councils) were an associated network of white supremacist, segregationist organizations in the United States, concentrated in the South and created as part of a white backlash ...
, fighting integration of public schools. Having been absent since the night Emmett went missing, Hiram runs into R.C. who tells him that he considered participating in Emmett's abduction but decided instead to escape his abusive living situation and move to
Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...
where he had been living ever since, doing physical labor. When Hiram prepares to return to Arizona, he expects an apology from his grandfather but is disappointed to never receive one. He meets his father at the railway station whom he begins to tell everything, repairing their previously broken relationship.


Publication

Author Chris Crowe was unfamiliar with the Emmett Till case before researching for his book ''Presenting Mildred D. Taylor''. In one of Taylor's essays, she described how she was affected by the Till murder as a child. After researching the case, Crowe determined that, despite its wide coverage at the time, most people were unfamiliar with the case and was excluded from most United States history classes. Crowe wrote ''Mississippi Trial, 1955'' in order to teach American young adults about the case. He decided to tell the history of the murder and trial through a fiction story as a way to appeal to young adults. It was published in 2002 by Phyllis Fogelman Books/Penguin Putnam.


Reception

The novel received mixed, yet mostly positive reviews. ''
Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...
'' said of the novel that, "Teen readers will find themselves caught up in Hiram's very real struggle to do the right thing." ''
Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...
'' called the novel a "promising debut" and that although "the conclusion feels a little hasty, Crowe's otherwise measured treatment will get readers thinking."


Awards

The novel won the
International Reading Association The International Literacy Association (ILA), formerly the International Reading Association (IRA), is an international global advocacy and member professional organization that was created in 1956 to improve reading instruction, facilitate dialo ...
Children's Book Award for Young Adult Fiction in 2003. It was also awarded the Jefferson Cup Award for best U.S. historical fiction. In 2003, the book was honored on the
American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...
's list of Best Books for Young Adults. Additionally it was added on the 2003 list of Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People by the National Council for Social Studies.


References

{{reflist 2002 American novels American historical novels Novels about racism Novels set in Mississippi American young adult novels Emmett Till in fiction