Author Wright Thompson to speak about new book at Clemson

Wright Thompson, senior writer for ESPN and bestselling author, will speak on his newest book, “The Barn: The Secret History of a Murder in Mississippi,” at Clemson University’s Hendrix Student Center on Monday, September 30, at 2:30 p.m. The lecture will take place in the Peebles Room on the second floor of the Hendrix Center and is free and open to the public.

“The Barn” tells the story of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African American boy who was killed in Mississippi in 1955 after being accused of offending a white woman. Thompson’s investigation takes a deep dive into the case and the cover-up that followed.

“Wright Thompson is one of the South’s great storytellers,” said Clemson University Historian Otis Pickett. “He is known nationally and internationally for his work with ESPN and millions of Americans know his voice as narrator for countless sports documentaries and segments on the South and College Football. However, at Thompson’s heart he is a writer from Mississippi. He is passionate about telling the full story of Mississippi and has written a new book about the murder of Emmett Till in 1955 in the middle of the Mississippi Delta. Till’s murder and coverage of his funeral ended up being a watershed moment for the Civil Rights movement and Thompson’s book helps us understand this story from the perspective of one of the Mississippi Delta’s own sons. I am very honored that Wright reached out to me to host him at Clemson for this conversation. I would love for our community to show up and support him in this new work.”

Thompson, a native of Mississippi, is a senior writer for ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine. He previously worked for The Kansas City Star and the Times-Picayune in New Orleans. He graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in journalism. He is also the author of “Pappyland: A Story of Family, Fine Bourbon, and the Things that Last” and “The Cost of These Dreams: Sports Stories and Other Serious Business,” both of which were New York Times bestsellers.

Thompson’s lecture is cosponsored by the University Historian, the Department of History and Geography, Clemson Libraries, the Humanities Hub, the College of Arts and Humanities and Special Collections and Archives.