White House Memorandum on the Federal Response to Mamie Till-Mobley’s Appeal (1956)

Date: October 24, 1956

Created By: Maxwell M. Raab

Original or Replica: Original

Era: Civil Rights, The Presidency

Collection: Eisenhower Presidential Library

Citations: DDE’s Records as President, Alphabetical File, Box 3113, Emmett Till; NAID #12197671

This document is a White House memorandum written by Maxwell M. Rabb, White House Cabinet Secretary, to James C. Hagerty, President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Press Secretary, on October 24, 1956. The memorandum concerns the White House’s handling of inquiries related to the murder of Emmett Till and provides background information in preparation for any questions that might arise regarding the administration’s response to the case.

In the memorandum, Rabb explains that the Department of Justice had determined that a letter sent by William Henry Huff, an attorney in Chicago and Chairman of the Legal Redress Section of the Chicago NAACP, had already been answered by both the Department of Justice and the White House before the arrival of a subsequent telegram from Mamie Bradley (Mamie Till-Mobley). Rabb notes that Huff had written on behalf of Mrs. Bradley and that she was present when the original correspondence was prepared. He advises Hagerty of these facts so that the White House would be prepared to respond accurately if questioned by members of the press or the public.