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By Priscilla Wiredu
Emmett Till, an African American, was kidnapped by Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam on August 28, 1955, when he was 14 years old. Bryant and Milam beat Till beyond recognition and ultimately lynched him. Why? Till allegedly whistled or made an inappropriate remark at Bryant’s wife, Carol Bryant, when she was working at their family store.
Mamie Till, Emmett’s mother, knew the court case would end in an acquittal, and thought the most powerful thing she could do was have an open-casket funeral for Emmett for all of Chicago would see what racism did to her son. Till’s funeral triggered a powerful surge in the Civil Rights Movement, motivating African Americans to stand up to segregation, hate crimes, and all-around racism once and for all.
Till never made any gesture or remark at Carol Bryant. Before dying in 2023, Bryant admitted yearslater that she had made it all up.
What is Carol Bryant Syndrome?
Carol Bryant Syndrome (CBS) is when White women (usually it’s women) cry or become intensely emotional when confronted by a person of color (usually a Black man) in a confrontation the former had started. White tears have been known to drive some of the biggest outrages in Western society. Crying is a manipulation tactic. White women, whether consciously or unconsciously, use as a weapon to protect themselves from criticism or actual punishment.
Noted examples
Carol Bryant Syndrome is a rampant issue in American society today. Here are some of the most infamous cases where White tears have been used and sensationalized.
‘BBQ Becky’— In 2018, Jennifer Schulte harassed a Black family having a picnic at a park for using “the wrong type of grill.” She even tried calling the police on them. The operator was questioning Schulte’s mental state for making such a call, and Schulte immediately burst into tears as though everyone was ganging up on her.
The Central Park Five— In 1989 New York, the body of a White female jogger was found in Central Park. Her death was treated as a homicide. Five young Black boys were pointed out as the murderers and were sentenced to prison. However, the boys were proven innocent and released years later. They were collectively rewarded $20 million in a lawsuit.
While no White tears were portrayed in this case, the White rage was rampant. New stories, hate crimes, and even remarks from New York celebrities all demonized these boys for attacking and murdering a White woman they had never met. It wasn’t until 2001 when Matias Reyes, who was already serving a life sentence for other crimes ,confessed to the murder.
Susan Smith— In 1994, young mother Susan Smith claimed that one night in October, a Black man carjacked her while her infant sons, Alexander and Michael, were inside the vehicle. Smith appeared on television, tearfully pleading for the safe return of her boys. Millions of dollars went into the investigation.However, almost two days later, police found her vehicle submerged in a nearby lake with the bodies of the boys still inside.
Smith, herself,drove the car into the lake with the kids still strapped inside. She made up the carjacking story. During the investigation, racial tension had risen between White and Black people, as Smith claimed it was a Black perpetrator in her first version of the story.
The 2020 Bird Watching Incident – On May 25, 2020, Christian Cooper, a Black man, was bird watching in a New York park when he was suddenly approached by a friendly dog and offered it a dog treat. The dog’s owner, Amy Cooper, came running up and yelled at Christian for touching her dog.
When Christian said she needed to keep the dog on a leash (for the dog and others’ safety), Amy responded by calling the police and making false claims that Christian was threatening her, and abusing her and her dog. Christian caught all of this on film. When the video finally surfaced online, the backlash against Cooper’s White tears was phenomenal. She lost her job, and when she tried to file a wrongful dismissal lawsuit, she lost that as well. She was faced with up to one year in jail, but this penalty was dropped after she took an educational course on racial identity. Christian Cooper received much support from people online and was even granted his own TV show, Extraordinary Birder with Christian Cooper, which won an Emmy in 2024.
Why CBS is a problem and how to stop it
White tears have evolved into a form of weaponry against Black people. Italso perpetuates the stereotype that tears are a form of White femininity that no other woman can copy on the premise that Black people tend to lack proper sympathy or the ability to express emotions.
This is a problem that must be dealt with from the inside. Meaning white women need to stop using tears as a way to guilt people into avoiding talking about race and what white supremacy has done to marginalized groups for centuries.
Dr.Teigha VanHester, a professor of race and gender studies at Butler University, claims that her syllabi for classes are not tailored forwhite, abled, cis women to weaponize their tears.
People of color are put in a difficult and uncomfortable situationwhen dealing with white tears. The oppressed groups are faced with an emotional response and feel the need to comfort the aggressor. This permits society to remain quiet and ignorant of the historical privilege of white people, leaving Black people to step on eggshells because white peoples’ feelings are prioritized over our lived experiences.
Everyone is personally responsible for learning how to navigate discomfort and stress productively. Ignoring institutional injustices and biases, and refusing to acknowledge different communities and identities, white women are comfortable when talking about race or dealing with tense situations. It is not Black people’s issue to feel apologetic for white tears or white fragility. If anything, it is mere gaslighting that must stop so we can progress as a society.
Priscilla Wiredu is a writer for this year’s Black Voice project. An alumni of York University, she graduated with Honors where she studied Social Sciences. She then went on to get an Ontario Graduate certificate in Creative Writing from the Humber School for Writers, and a college certificate in Legal Office Administration at Seneca College. She is currently studying for the LSAT in hopes of going to law school. Her main goal as a Black Voices writer is to ensure Black issues and Black Pride are enunciated through her works.