The White House will establish a national monument to honor Emmett Till and his late mother, Mamie Till-Mobley. Emmett Till was a 14-year-old boy from Chicago who was abducted, tortured, and lynched in Mississippi in 1955, a horrific event that played a significant role in sparking the civil rights movement. President Biden will sign a proclamation on Tuesday, which marks the 82nd anniversary of Till’s birth, officially establishing the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument.
The national monument will be located across three sites in Mississippi and Illinois. One site will be at the Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago, where Till’s killing was mourned in September 1955. The second site will be at Graball Landing in Mississippi, where Till’s body was discovered in the Tallahatchie River. The third site will be at the Tallahatchie County Second District Courthouse in Sumner, Mississippi, where Till’s suspected killers were acquitted by an all-White jury less than a month after his murder.
Emmett Till’s story began in August 1955 when Carolyn Bryant Donham, a White woman working as a grocery clerk, accused him of making improper advances towards her in Money, Mississippi. Three days later, Till was abducted from his relatives’ home, and his mutilated body was found in the Tallahatchie River on August 31, 1955. In September, Donham’s husband, Roy Bryant, and his half-brother J.W. Milam were acquitted of murder charges in Till’s death. In recent years, there have been efforts to reopen the case, but in 2022, a grand jury in Mississippi declined to prosecute Carolyn Donham for her role in the events that led to Till’s lynching.
The establishment of the national monument comes at a significant time. It serves as a reminder of the racial injustice that Till faced and the ongoing challenges in overcoming racial inequality. It also honors the memory of Mamie Till-Mobley, who fought for justice for her son and dedicated her life to civil rights activism. Emmett Till’s cousin, the Rev. Wheeler Parker Jr., expressed the importance of accountability in addressing racial injustice, stating that it is up to all of us to confront these challenges.
The national monument will serve as a powerful symbol of remembrance and a call to action. It will ensure that Emmett Till’s story is never forgotten and will continue to inspire generations to fight for equality and justice.
Original Story at www.cbsnews.com – 2023-07-23 02:35:00
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