President Biden announces creation of national monument honoring Emmett Till

President Joe Biden has revealed his plan to establish a national monument in honor of Emmett Till, the Black teenager whose tragic death became a catalyst for the civil rights movement. A White House official made the announcement on Saturday, confirming that the president will sign a proclamation on Tuesday to create the “Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument” encompassing three sites in Illinois and Mississippi. The decision coincides with the anniversary of Till’s birth in 1941.

The proposed monument will serve to protect and memorialize key locations integral to Till’s life and legacy. Among these sites is the Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ in the historically Black neighborhood of Bronzeville, Chicago’s South Side. It was at this church that thousands gathered in September 1955 to mourn the untimely loss of Till.

The Mississippi locations included in the monument are Graball Landing, believed to be the place where Till’s mutilated body was found in the Tallahatchie River, and the Tallahatchie County Second District Courthouse in Sumner, where the trial of Till’s white killers took place. Tragically, Till was only 14 years old when he was abducted, tortured, and killed after being accused of whistling at a white woman while visiting relatives in Mississippi.

Till’s mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, played a pivotal role in igniting the civil rights movement. Her insistence on an open casket funeral to reveal the brutalization her son endured, and the publication of photos of Till’s mutilated body in Jet magazine, deeply impacted the nation and amplified the fight for civil rights.

President Biden’s decision to establish the monument comes at a critical juncture in American history, as the country grapples with issues related to race and education. Conservative leaders’ opposition to the teaching of Black history and the incorporation of diversity and equity programs in schools and workplaces has sparked controversy.

This monument will be the fourth established by President Biden since taking office, demonstrating his commitment to recognizing and preserving critical aspects of African American history. Earlier, in 2022, the president signed the “Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act” into law, a long-overdue measure that garnered bipartisan support in Congress.

While the justice department closed its investigation into Till’s killing in December 2021, Biden’s actions serve as a reminder that the legacy of Emmett Till lives on, and his tragic story continues to resonate with the ongoing fight for racial justice and equality.