Jim Emison presents "Murder on the Hatchie" in conversation w/ India Artis

Jim Emison presents *Murder on the Hatchie* in conversation with India Artis, exploring the 1940 lynching of Elbert Williams in Brownsville, Tennessee. Williams, a founding member of the local NAACP, was murdered while trying to register Black voters—decades before the better-known killings of Emmett Till and Medgar Evers. The event examines how the crime helped expose the violence underlying voter suppression and how the federal government failed to prosecute those responsible.

Emison’s book draws on FBI files, Department of Justice correspondence, and eyewitness accounts to trace the conspiracy involving white officials, local law enforcement, federal agents, and even national NAACP leadership. He also considers Brownsville’s importance in civil rights history and the lasting effects of racial terror and government complicity on American democracy. The book includes a foreword by Margaret A. Burnham and is presented as both a true-crime investigation and an effort to restore a neglected chapter of history.

Jim Emison is a retired Tennessee trial attorney who spent 43 years practicing law before turning his attention to investigating Williams’s murder. His research has been covered by the Associated Press, NPR, and Nashville Public Television, and contributed to a renewed Department of Justice review under the Emmett Till Act. He co-founded Tennesseans for Historical Justice and serves on the board of the Tennessee Historical Society.

India Artis, Emison’s conversation partner, has worked extensively to preserve and advance the history of the civil rights movement. She joined the NAACP’s historic magazine, *The Crisis*, in 1988 and later served as its business manager, working with leaders including Myrlie Evers-Williams, Julian Bond, and Roger Wilkins. In 2021, she became NAACP Archivist, overseeing the organization’s historic records and its partnership with the Library of Congress.

When: Wednesday, October 28th 2026

Showtimes: 7:00 pm

Format: Author presentation and conversation with India Artis

Featured speakers: Jim Emison and India Artis

Subject: The 1940 lynching of NAACP leader Elbert Williams, the fight for Black voting rights, voter suppression, racial terror, and the federal government’s failure to prosecute Williams’s killers

Tickets: Price not available

RSVP: RSVP requested through the event page

Venue: Free School Classroom at Red Emma’s

Address: 3128 Greenmount Avenue, Baltimore, MD

Run time: Not specified

Ages: Not specified

Accessibility: Not specified