Students weigh in after leaving 'Dar He: The Story of Emmett Till'

A crowd gathered Friday night at the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History to watch Mike Wiley’s one-man play "Dar He: The Story of Emmett Till." Staff writer Megan Stout interviewed students as they left the performance.

Neecole Bostick, sophomore English and psychology double major

DTH: What was the most thought-provoking aspect of the performance?

NB: I think the trial part. I was just like, how were they found not guilty? How did these people get away with it even though literally a witness said these are the people?

DTH: What was the most moving aspect of the performance?

NB: I feel like the most moving aspect was when (Till's mother) literally started describing how she had to identify her son and what he looked like. When you hear a mother describe her son and how she can’t even identify and see his face. And the harm that was done to his head is just ridiculous.

Janice Ezenwa, sophomore sociology major

DTH: What was the most thought-provoking aspect of the performance?

JE: Probably the most thought-provoking part was wondering how the white community felt. I know the black community went through so much grief trying to figure out like, "Wow, one of our own sons, one of our own brothers just got beaten, burned, everything that’s happened to us." But I always wonder how do white people feel about that, and you know, they’re in a position where they’re like, "Well, yeah he did kill the boy but oh he had a reason."

DTH: What was the most moving aspect of the performance?

JE: Emotionally, the part that got me the most was when the speaker said that the whole time that Emmett was getting beaten, he shouted out two things: God and mama. And neither one of them answered.

Melissa Holmes, sophomore global studies major

DTH: What was the most thought-provoking aspect of the performance?

MH: I guess the part where they were showing the jurors, or when he did the part where he was showing the jurors' responses to the case. It just seemed like they picked the jury that they knew was gonna go for the "not guilty" verdict. So obviously, they’re like pre-planned.

DTH: What was the most moving aspect of the performance?

MH: The part where he was being the mom and the mom was describing the ankles and going up to the face. I just think that was really crazy. I feel like my mom would not have had that type of strength, so the fact that she was able to examine the body, and then she wanted an open casket so like everyone could see what happened. I thought that was really moving.

Seteena Turner, sophomore broadcast journalism major

DTH: What was the most thought-provoking aspect of the performance?

ST: Just the fact that this was actually a true story and that this could actually happen and that this was such a big deal. It’s just mind-blowing that this actually took place, and here we are revisiting the history and just seeing like how far we’ve come from such a horrific event. Something that you cannot even imagine happening nowadays did actually carry out.

DTH: What was the most moving aspect of the performance?

ST: The fact that they kept trying to say that it was not him, you know? And then that the mother could identify and she knew who her baby was. It just exemplifies a mother's love, a mother's knowing of her child. After carrying them for so long, she knew how to identify him, regardless of what everybody else said. That’s only something a mother could do and and the fact that she wanted to. You know, she wasn’t too prideful or too scared to put her baby on a platform and make him an example, just so that that wouldn’t happen to anybody else. And that kind of coincides with what Trayvon Martin’s mom did, you know, or Mike Brown’s wife. Just putting these people out there just so that this won’t continue to happen.

Dominque Brodie, first-year psychology major

DTH: What was the most thought-provoking aspect of the performance?

DB: I think just learning more of the facts about the situation because you know, you always hear that he went in the store and he whistled at the woman, but I think it was interesting to learn more of the backstory about who Emmett Till really was before the incident happened.

DTH: What was the most moving aspect of the performance?

DB: When he was playing Emmett’s mother; I think that part, when he was describing her having to identify the body.

Maya Brooks, sophomore anthropology major

DTH: What was the most thought-provoking aspect of the performance?

MB: I think just him being a single person performing all the characters was really interesting because I wouldn’t have guessed that he’d be doing that.

DTH: What was the most moving aspect of the performance?

MB: Definitely his portrayal of Emmett Till’s mother because you have to pack so much emotion and you go from that to having to be this emotionless juror. It’s like, the crazy shift between that, how do you really do that?

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