Jim Emison on his roots in Haywood County and Elbert Williams, the NAACP’s first voting rights martyr By Mary ManciniOctober 12, 2026 Listen On June 20, 1940 in Brownsville, TN, Elbert Williams was overheard vowing to register Black voters. Someone reported him to the local police. That night, police seized him from his home, jailed him, and interrogated him.