Whoopi Goldberg thinks it’s surreal that Carolyn Bryant Donham, the white woman behind Emmett Till’s lynching, is still a free woman.
“I don’t want her in jail but I want her in front of a judge and jury,” the actress, 66, told Page Six exclusively at the New York Film Festival.
”I want her to admit what she did and what part she had,” she added. “And then, you know, for me, that would be perfect, instead of still trying to hide what she did away.”
Earlier this year, a Mississippi grand jury declined to indict Donham, whose claim that Till had whistled at her led to his lynching on Aug. 28, 1955. The black Chicago teen, who died at 14 years old, had been visiting relatives in Mississippi when he encountered Donham at the grocery store where she worked.
Donham, who was 21 at the time of Till’s murder and is now 88, was never arrested or charged for her role in the lynching. Her then-husband, Roy Bryant, and brother-in-law, J.W. Milam, both since deceased, were each acquitted of his murder.
Goldberg is one of the producers of the new film “Till,” inspired by how Emmett’s mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, relentlessly pursued justice for her only child.
The Oscar winner revealed that she, along with other producers, had been trying to bring the film to fruition for a decade before finally securing financial backing after the murder of George Floyd and subsequent “Black Lives Matter” protests.
©United Artists/Courtesy Everet
©United Artists/Courtesy Everet
Goldberg, who also stars in the film as Alma Carthan, told Page Six that she didn’t think the movie would have been made yet otherwise.
“I would like to be more positive, but I think George Floyd had a lot to do with why this got made,” she said.
“Till,” which also stars Jalyn Hall, Danielle Deadwyler and Frankie Faison, is scheduled for a limited release on Oct. 14.
