Emmett Till, from Chicago, was traveling to Mississippi to visit relatives when he was killed.
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Emmett Till, from Chicago, was traveling to Mississippi to visit relatives when he was killed.
AP
President Biden will designate a national monument at three sites in honor of Emmett Till and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley — both acted as catalysts for the civil rights movement.
Biden is expected to sign a statement on Tuesday, which will be the 82nd anniversary of Till’s birth.
New memorials will be established on three sites in Illinois and Mississippi in an effort to protect the places that tell Till’s story, as well as reflect the activism of his mother, who was instrumental in perpetuating the story of Till’s murder.
In August 1955, two white men kidnapped, tortured, and killed Till, a 14-year-old black boy, after he whistled white shop owner’s wife in a grocery store in Mississippi. Roy Bryant and JW Milam were acquitted but later confessed to the murders in a magazine. Fifty years after the crime, the store owner’s wife, Carolyn Bryant Donham, also admit to lie about Till touching her.
Among the sites that will be honored are Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ in Chicago, where Till’s funeral was held in September 1955.
About 1,700 people filled the church to its full capacity, while another 10,000 stood outside and listened to the service over loudspeakers. The ceremony is also remembered for Till-Mobley’s courageous decision to open the coffin, revealing Till’s mutilated body.
In Mississippi, landing Graball will become a monument Locals believe that is where Till’s body was retrieved from the Tallahatchie River. In 2008, a memorial plaque dedicated to Till was installed near the site.
But over the years, signs have frequently been stolen, vandalized or shot and forced to be replaced. A fourth edition is now on site – this time bulletproof and detailing a history of vandalism.
The third monument site will be the Tallahatchie County Second District Courthouse, also in Mississippi, where Till’s killers were acquitted by an all-white jury. In October 2007, Till’s family went to the courthouse to receive Sorry from the town leader.
At the time, Till’s cousin Simeon Wright, who was there the night Till was abducted, said he appreciated the efforts – even though it took place decades after his cousin’s death.
“You’re doing what you can. If you can do more, you will,” says Wright.
