Our Initiatives
“Emmett Till was my George Floyd.” These words, written as a guest essay by U.S. Congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis, were published in The New York Times on July 30, 2020, the day of Lewis’ funeral, as he had intended. These powerful words resonate on many levels, also as Mr. Lewis intended. They place the current national push for racial reconciliation in a historical and meaningful context. They challenge people—particularly young people—to become engaged citizens in our democratic society and they provide a reason for that engagement. After all, full engagement in a democracy requires enlightened choice making and that process requires the truth.
The demonstrations by participants in the Movement for Black Lives that followed the killing of George Floyd over the summer of 2020 have led to a renewed national dialogue about race and racial justice in the United States. Quite often in this context, the name “Emmett Till” has been invoked by way of comparison. But these references tend to be on a superficial level—beginning and ending with the factual summary of the racial violence—largely due to similarities in the facts among so many of the cases that have emerged in our contemporary moment.
Clearly, there is a powerful reason why young people still connect with Emmett Till, even though they know so little about him. One point of connection is the fact that they are in the same age group as Emmett Till was when he was taken. That was true of John Lewis, who was 15 when Emmett was slain. It was true of so many other civil rights activists who were the same age when news of the brutal lynching was released and developed a sense of civic duty they operationalized in sit-ins and Freedom Rides and voter registration when became of age. It is with an appreciation of this dynamic that we have develop a list of priorities beginning with the Mamie Till-Mobley Centennial Initiative during 2022.
High School Curriculum
The first program we are undertaking is the development of a national curriculum for high school students in partnership with Facing History and Ourselves and affiliated with the William Winter Institute. A curriculum built on the Emmett Till narrative platform creates the opportunity for students to engage an intimate story with just this kind of value-added impact. Beginning with this compelling narrative of the murder of a bright, promising 14-year-old Chicago kid, whose death sparked a mass movement that, in turn, resulting in civil rights legislation will set up a process leading to enduring substantive outcomes for students including identity formation, cultural competence, media literacy, restorative justice and civic engagement.
Traveling Museum Exhibition
We have formed a partnership with the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis in the development of a traveling exhibition that will present the Emmett Till story and its historical significance in a number of museums in major cities to begin in the fall of 2022. In addition to the multifaceted interactive exhibit, this program also will feature guest presentations by the Rev. Wheeler Parker, Jr., Emmett Till’s cousin and best friend, who was at the house in the Mississippi Delta when Emmett was taken away and murdered. Rev. Parker has dedicated much of his life to telling this story and became the pastor of the Argo Temple Church of God in Christ in Summit, Illinois, the church Emmett’s grandmother helped to build.
The Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Memorial
The long-term goal of the Till Institute is the establishment of the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Memorial and forever inscribe Emmett and Mamie’s story though the interpretive sites in Chicago and in the Mississippi Delta that include: Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ (restoration in progress), the Tallahatchie County Courthouse (restoration completed), a national memorial at Graball Landing, Bryant’s Grocery & Meat Market, and the Seed Barn and more. The vision, once realized, will offer opportunities to visitors, scholars, and students to transform the narrative of race in America from “it’s their story” to “it’s my story” and finally, “it’s our story.” In so doing, we shift the burden of racial reconciliation from a small segment of society to society at large. After all, the story of Emmett Till is not just an African American story, it is an American story.
The purpose of the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Memorial is to ensure that the legacy of Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley is grounded in truth-telling. By revealing the truth, we can reckon with the past and create a path toward understanding, reconciliation, and healing.
Emmett Till Memory Project Phone App
We are continuing to work with Professor Dave Tell of the University of Kansas as historical advisors in his development of the mobile telephone app that guides visitors through a number of significant historical sites connected to the Emmett Till narrative, throughout the Mississippi Delta and in Chicago. Not only does this phone app include narrative text for each site, accessible on mobile devices, but it also includes satellite-guided directions enabling visitors to observe and reflect on the elements of this compelling narrative.
The Mamie Till-Mobley Centennial Initiative
The story of Emmett Till isn’t confined to the events of 1955. It’s a story that began in 1619 when enslaved Africans landed ashore at Jamestown, VA, and it is a story that continues today. It’s a story that is still unfolding.
To adequately tell this story we must go on a journey—across time and place—connecting the Great Migration, the Illinois Central Railroad, Bryant’s Grocery Store, The Seed Barn, Graball Landing and Emmett and Mamie’s journeys, and more in order to give voice to this American journey toward justice and healing. The Till Institute holds this vision that will free generations to come.
