Who was Emmett Till?
Emmett Till was a 14-year-old boy from Chicago whose life and death helped transform the course of American history.
In August 1955, while visiting family in Money, Mississippi, Emmett Till entered Bryant's Grocery & Meat Market on August 24. What should have been an ordinary stop during a summer visit became the beginning of a tragedy that would capture the nation's attention. Before sunrise on August 28, Emmett was abducted from his relatives' home by white men. On August 31, three days later, his mutilated body was recovered from the Tallahatchie River.
Refusing to let the world look away, Emmett's mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, brought her son's body home to Chicago and insisted on an open-casket funeral. Her courageous decision exposed the brutality of racial violence to millions of Americans and helped galvanize the modern Civil Rights Movement.
The last living witness to Emmett Till's abduction, Reverend Wheeler Parker Jr. shares his firsthand account of that night.
About
The Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley Institute, a non-profit organization, is engaged in education, research and social justice advocacy. We are dedicated to preserving the memory and historical significance of the life and death of Emmett Louis Till, and preserving the social action legacy of his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, to foster educational opportunities and civic engagement among youth. Our focus is on funding research, education and public programs aimed at encouraging enlightened participation in the democratic process and working to build and maintain a civil society.
"Let the people see what they did to my boy." - Mrs. Mamie Till-Mobley
"Let the people see what they did to my boy." - Mrs. Mamie Till-Mobley
Mission
The mission of the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley Institute is to promote the memory of Emmett Till and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley through the advocacy of social and legal justice with programmatic initiatives in education, public discourse and public policy initiatives.
Values
We believe that a truly democratic society requires multiple perspectives, social equity, and equal justice that is only possible through the encouragement of inclusive public engagement and media literacy.
Vision
We embrace the ideals of a multicultural democracy, one established on the basis of shared values, critical discourse and enlightened public choice making.
