President Biden is set to establish a national monument in honor of Emmett Till and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley. This move aims to recognize their contributions to the civil rights movement. The proclamation is expected to be signed on Till’s 82nd birth anniversary. The monument will be spread across three locations in Illinois and Mississippi, preserving places that tell Till’s story and highlight his mother’s activism in keeping his murder case alive.
Emmett Till, a 14-year-old Black boy from Chicago, was kidnapped, tortured, and killed by two white men in Mississippi in 1955. The men were initially acquitted but later confessed to the murder in a magazine article. Fifty years later, the white shopkeeper’s wife, Carolyn Bryant Donham, admitted to lying about Till touching her. The designated sites for the national monument include Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ in Chicago, where Till’s funeral was held, Graball Landing in Mississippi, believed to be the spot where his body was found, and the Tallahatchie County Second District Courthouse, where his killers were acquitted.
The church in Chicago gained significance for hosting Till’s funeral, with thousands of people attending the service. Mamie Till-Mobley’s decision to keep the casket open, revealing Till’s mutilated body, was a powerful moment. In Mississippi, Graball Landing will be recognized as the location where Till’s body was recovered, and a bulletproof memorial sign has been installed to prevent vandalism. The Tallahatchie County Second District Courthouse, where Till’s murderers were acquitted by an all-white jury, will also be part of the monument.
Visiting the courthouse in 2007, Till’s family received an apology from the town’s leaders, a gesture appreciated by Simeon Wright, Till’s cousin who was present on the night of the kidnapping. He acknowledged the efforts made, even though they came many years after Till’s tragic death.