Washington (AP) – President Joe Biden is set to establish a national monument commemorating Emmett Till, the Black teenager from Chicago who was tragically abducted and killed in 1955. Alongside Till, the monument will also honor his mother. The announcement was made by a White House official on Saturday.
On Tuesday, Biden will sign a proclamation to create the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument across three sites in Illinois and Mississippi. The official, speaking anonymously, revealed this information before the formal announcement from the White House.
Notably, Tuesday marks the anniversary of Emmett Till’s birth in 1941.
The monument will preserve and protect locations that played a central role in Till’s life and death at the age of 14. It will also highlight the acquittal of his white killers and the activism of his mother. The decision to have an open casket at Till’s funeral, revealing the brutality of his murder, as well as the publication of his mutilated body in Jet magazine, significantly contributed to the advancement of the Civil Rights Movement.
Biden’s decision to establish this monument comes at a time when racial issues in the United States are increasingly fraught. Conservative leaders are resisting the teaching of slavery and Black history in public schools, as well as the promotion of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in various settings.
Vice President Kamala Harris recently criticized a revised Black history curriculum in Florida, which suggests that enslaved people benefited from the skills they acquired from their oppressors. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican presidential candidate, supported the curriculum, accusing public schools of liberal indoctrination.
In response, Harris questioned how anyone could suggest that there were benefits to the severe dehumanization endured by enslaved individuals.
DeSantis, on the other hand, defended the curriculum’s factual basis.
The Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument will span three sites in Illinois and Mississippi. In Illinois, it will include the Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ in Bronzeville, a historically Black neighborhood where thousands gathered to mourn Till in 1955.
In Mississippi, the sites are Graball Landing, where Till’s mutilated body was discovered in the Tallahatchie River, and the Tallahatchie County Second District Courthouse in Sumner, where Till’s killers were acquitted by an all-white jury.
The monument will be the fourth that Biden has established since taking office in 2021, demonstrating his ongoing commitment to honoring Emmett Till. During Black History Month, he hosted a screening of the movie “Till,” which depicts Till’s lynching. Additionally, in March 2022, Biden signed the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act into law, marking a significant step in addressing racially motivated violence. The Justice Department also closed its investigation into Till’s murder in December 2021.
In conclusion, President Biden’s decision to establish the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument serves as a poignant reminder of the injustices faced by Black Americans throughout history. By preserving important locations and stories, this monument contributes to the ongoing fight for racial equality and justice in the United States.
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