Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument!

What Is Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument?

This two-part monument preserves the sites at the core of Emmett Till’s horrific murder and the ripple effects it unleashed!

What Makes It Historical?

14-year old Emmett Till grew up in Chicago’s South Side, eager to explore the South and spend time with his cousins who lived in Money, Mississippi! His mom let him go stay with his great-uncle, Mose Wright, in August of 1955, warning him that he needed to be extra careful in the South. The law was not going to protect him there.

But Emmett wanted to have a good time, and while out with his cousins at a country store, he whistled at the white shopkeeper, Carolyn Bryant, thinking nothing of it except that it was funny. At 2:30 AM on August 28, a posse led by Carolyn’s husband, Roy, and his half-brother, J.W. Milam, burst into Uncle Mose’s home and kidnapped Emmett! He was tortured, murdered, and thrown into the Tallahatchie River, tied to a cotton gin fan with barbed wire. His body was found three days later and identified only by a ring he wore with the initials, “LT.”

Emmett’s mom, Mamie Till-Mosley, did something no mom should ever have to do: she arranged for an open-casket funeral for her son in Chicago, attended by thousands and seen by millions through the photos published in Jet magazine! Though the murderers were acquitted by the all-white jury, the face of Emmett Till effectively launched the Civil Rights movement! John Lewis cited Emmett Till as inspiration for the Freedom Rides, as did Rosa Parks when she famously refused to leave the “Whites Only” section on a Montgomery bus. Today, a national monument protects Graball Landing, where Emmett’s body was found; the Tallahatchie County Courthouse, where the trial took place; and Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ, where his body was displayed.

How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?

Volunteer at Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument!
Donate to the Emmett Till Interpretive Center!
Be a responsible visitor! Remember the old adages: Pack out what you pack in! Take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but footprints!