Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley

In the summer of 1955, 14-year-old Emmett Till was kidnapped, tortured and lynched while visiting relatives in Money, Mississippi. The determination of his mother Mamie Till-Mobley to show the world what had been done to her son became a catalyst that launched the modern Civil Rights Movement.

The murderers, who later admitted their brutal acts, were acquitted in a matter of minutes, leaving the Till family without the justice they deserved. By preserving key sites related to Emmett Till, his murder and its aftermath, this park site helps ensure that his story is honored and remembered.

The national park site is comprised of two major sites in two states.

Tallahatchie County Courthouse in Sumner, Mississippi

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The five-day murder trial of Roy Bryant and his half-brother J.W. Milam, the two men who kidnapped and killed Till, took place in this courthouse in 1955.

[[article 3289]]Thanks to a fundraising effort by Tallahatchie County and the Emmett Till Memorial Commission of Tallahatchie County Inc., the courthouse’s interior has been restored to its 1955 appearance and an Emmett Till Interpretive Center has opened across the street.

The courthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places. That same year, the Emmett Till Memorial Commission issued a public apology on behalf of the residents of Tallahatchie County to the Till family.

Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ in Chicago

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Till’s open-casket memorial service was held in this church in early September 1955, drawing tens of thousands of people who responded to Mamie Till-Mobley’s public cry that the world see what racists in Mississippi did to her son. The church was filled to capacity, while another estimated 10,000 people stood outside listening to the service over loudspeakers.

That Emmett Till’s body even made it to Chicago from Mississippi demonstrates Mamie Till-Mobley’s determination and resilience. She paid nearly a year’s salary to have his body transported by train and insisted the casket be opened, despite signed agreements by undertakers in both states to keep it sealed.

In 2006, city leaders declared Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ a City of Chicago Landmark in recognition of the funeral’s impact on American history.

NPCA was a proud partner in the community-led effort to create an Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument to preserve Emmett and Mamie’s legacy, while sharing the story that reopened the nation’s eyes to the brutal realities of racism.