Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley, ca. 1954. NAACP Records, Library of Congress

President Biden on Tuesday captured a poignant chapter of U.S. history when he designated the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument, which protects three historic sites in Illinois and Mississippi that were central to Emmett Till’s racially motivated murder, the acquittal of his murderers, and the subsequent activism by his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, that helped catalyze the Civil Rights Movement.

This national monument, established on what would have been Emmett Till’s 82nd birthday, will become the country’s 425th site managed by the National Park Service and reflects the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to advancing civil rights and racial justice.

“Over the past two years, it has been my honor to visit the sites that help tell the story of Emmett and Mamie’s lives with the family and community members who loved them. President Biden’s establishment of this national monument is a testament to the strength and bravery of Mamie Till-Mobley to honor her son and ensure that his death was not in vain,” said Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. “We are honored to be entrusted with the responsibility of preserving their stories as part of our enduring effort to pursue a more perfect union.”

Mamie Till-Mobley’s decision to hold an open-casket funeral for her 14-year-old son, Emmett — who was lynched on August 28, 1955, for allegedly making inappropriate advances toward a white woman while visiting relatives in Mississippi — rocked the nation and helped spur the modern Civil Rights Movement. Efforts by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Black press and others to help Till-Mobley investigate and amplify her son’s story caused the world to bear witness to the racial violence and injustice that many Black people endured in the Jim Crow South. When two men were tried for Till’s murder, they were quickly acquitted by an all-white jury. They later confessed to their crimes in a paid interview. No one was ever held legally accountable for Till's death.

The Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument includes Graball Landing in Glendora, Miss., the area that is believed to be the site where Till’s brutalized body was recovered from the Tallahatchie River; Roberts Temple Church of God In Christ in Chicago, Ill., the site of Till’s widely attended open casket visitation and funeral; and the Tallahatchie County Second District Courthouse in Sumner, Miss., where Till’s murderers were tried and acquitted.

In addition to designating these three sites as a new national monument, the President directed the National Park Service to develop a plan in consultation with local communities, organizations and the public to support the interpretation and preservation of other key sites in Illinois and Mississippi that help tell the story of Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley. This may include the Glendora Cotton Gin (currently known as the Emmett Till Historic Intrepid Center), Mound Bayou, the Tutwiler Funeral Home, and the Emmett Till Boyhood Home.

"“Throughout American history, there are few stories as heart wrenching as the murder of Emmett Till. It is a story that lays bare the brutality of systemic racism and injustice for the world to see," said Theresa Pierno, president and CEO of the National Parks Conservation Association. “But it is also a story of determination. This is a story of a brave young mother who experienced a parent’s worst nightmare, but found the strength and power to rise up and shine a light on injustice as a leader in the Civil Rights Movement. Mamie Till-Mobley galvanized a movement and inspired a nation."

Many partners, including the Emmett Till Interpretive Center, the National Park Foundation, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ, Tallahatchie County, and Walker Sturdivant were instrumental in the process of preparing properties for inclusion in the National Park System.