Now under restoration, the original façade of Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ in Chicago, Illinois, where Emmett Till’s memorial service took place. The Church is one of three sites now federally protected by the monument designation.

An African American man dressed in a dark suit reaches up with this right hand toward a section on a brick wall

The Reverend Wheeler Parker Jr. (pictured) and Emmett Till were cousins and best friends who had traveled together to Mississippi in 1955 to visit family when Till was murdered. Rev. Parker Jr. was one of the last family members to see his cousin alive. 

An African American man identified as Reverend Wheeler Parker Jr. standing in a dark suit and a maroon tie with glasses and his hands folded

Emmett Till and his mother Mamie Till-Mobley. Photo: Alamy

Emmett Till and his mother

An African American wearing blue glasses and a pastel patterned shirt Dr. Marvel Parker, Executive Director, Emmett Till & Mamie Till-Mobley Institute, sitting at their desk with hands folded.

When Emmett went to Mississippi in 1955, he had no idea that he was going behind an invisible iron curtain.

Three Landmarks and a Story Forever Protected

Inside the Tallahatchie County Courthouse in Sumner, Mississippi, where in 1955 an all-white jury acquitted J.W. Milam and Roy Bryant, both white men, who later confessed to murdering Emmett Till.

A view inside a courthouse room set with rows of wooden chairs and sunlight coming in from the tall windows on the right side of the room

Inside Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ in Chicago, Illinois, where Emmett Till’s memorial service was held on September 3, 1955. According to newspapers, the Church was filled to capacity, with an additional 10,000 attendees listening to the service on loudspeakers outside. Mamie Till-Mobley chose an open-casket service so that mourners—and ultimately the nation—could see what racist violence had done to her child.

A view down the maroon tile aisle of a church that is roped off with a velvet rope

A commemoration to mark Graball Landing, where Emmett Till’s body is believed to have been recovered from Mississippi’s Tallahatchie River. Multiple markers, starting with the first one in 2008, were desecrated until the 2019 installation of this bulletproof sign, now observed by security cameras. Along with the courthouse and Roberts Temple, Graball Landing is now federally protected.

A metal plaque describing "Graball Landing" set on a stand in a field

Near the marker for Graball Landing, which commemorates the site where Emmett Till’s body is believed to have been recovered, visitors can walk to the river bank of the Tallahatchie River.

A view at sunrise looking down the Tallahatchie River in Mississippi. The river is still and is set between two banks of greenery.

Visitors to the Tallahatchie County Courthouse in Sumner can take part in tours of the site. Tours begin across the street at the Emmett Till Interpretive Center—an official nonprofit partner of the National Park Service—which serves as a public education space dedicated to storytelling and historic preservation. 

The exterior of the Tallahatchie County Courthouse in Sumner, Mississippi

Cotton fields dot the landscape across the Mississippi Delta, where two of the Till National Monument sites are located.

A view looking down a dirt road at sunset that is lined with white cotton plants on either side

Dr. Ann Frierson, a tenured member and choir director at Roberts Temple in Chicago. Members of the church have partnered with the Till family to preserve the church and restore it to its 1955 condition during the funeral of Emmett Till.

An African American woman dressed in a red top wearing glasses speaks at a podium

An archive of family photographs in the Roberts Temple Memorial Hall. Founded in 1916, the church has been a central place of worship for many who migrated from the South in the early 20th century.

A collage of black and white photographs depicting members of the Till family

Benjamin Saulsberry, director of public engagement and museum education for Emmett Till Interpretive Center, on the bank of the Tallahatchie River near Grabell Landing. Saulsberry considers the Monument sites as spaces for “reimagined utility,” used in ways that not only allow us to learn from the past, but also “speak to our potential, to the importance of telling and sharing new stories.” 

The profile of an African American man with a beard standing on the side of a river with greenery behind him

William Cheek, acting superintendent of the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument. He oversees the three sites in Illinois and Mississippi.

An African American man dressed in a state trooper uniform standing with his hands behind his back

Patrick Weems, executive director of the Emmett Till Interpretive Center, standing in the town square in Sumner, Mississippi where ETIC is located. The Tallahatchie County Courthouse sits nearby. 

A white man with long dark hair dressed in a light blue checked shirt and gray pants standing with his hands in his pockets outside of a car repair shop

A memorial wreath on a chair at the Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ in Chicago, Illinois.

Three chairs set next to each other. The two on the ends have dark green fabric cushions. The middle is draped in a white cloth with a decorative floral wreath sitting propped up on it.

A series of historically significant sites relating to the Till family are now federally protected. To those who fought for this designation for years, it’s a monumental victory.

Presidential Initiatives

Forever Connected: The Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument

Artists as Catalysts

Artists as Catalysts Navigation Image

Beyond Incarceration

A side profile of a Black poet who is wearing glasses and a hat with a feather hat pin.

Borderlands Cultures

In portrait orientation, an aerial view of a major highway running parallel to a large border wall set on a hilly landscape

Civic Engagement

A man in a brown jacket stands in front of blue bulletin board that is covered with papers and advertisements  

Evolving Higher Education

A vertical image of an Indigenous person who is sitting on a chair in front of a backdrop.

Expanding Public Knowledge

An interior room filled with audio and video equipment 

Monuments and Memory

A multicolored painted totem pole set in front of a foggy forest landscape

Multivocality

Five people stand together in a group photo. They are laughing and smiling.

Power of the Word

Five colorful neon signs hang on the wall with messages that include, "Freedom cannot wait," "Brown owned," and "America is for Dreamers."

Public Places‚ Public Stories

A group of Indigenous Maskoke people stand and sit in the wooden frame of a structure in a woods

Puerto Rico and Its Diaspora

In a vertical image, a black leather vest is adorned with colorful pins across the front of it. Embroidery on the vest reads: "Felícitas "La Prieta" Méndez" 

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