In recognition of the presidential designation of the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument, the U.S. Department of the Interior issued a news release July 25. The national monument is the 425th site under the management of the National Park Service.
"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," Deb Haaland, Department of the Interior secretary, said in the release. "President [Joe] 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. 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."
Biden issued a proclamation on the establishment of the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument July 25, in which he acknowledged the importance of the three sites and the items located there: the Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ, where Emmett’s funeral was held; the Tallahatchie County Second District Courthouse, where the trial for Emmett’s murder was held; and Graball Landing, where his body was pulled from the Tallahatchie River.
"WHEREAS, it is in the public interest to preserve and protect the objects of historic interest associated with the story of Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley and the birth of the American Civil Rights Movement in Illinois and Mississippi; NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by the authority vested in me by section 320301 of title 54, United States Code, hereby proclaim, set apart, and reserve as the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument (monument), the objects identified above and all lands and interests in lands owned or controlled by the Government of the United States within the boundaries described on the accompanying maps entitled 'Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument Boundary,' which are attached to and form a part of this proclamation, for the purpose of protecting those objects," Biden said in the proclamation. "The reserved federal lands and interests in lands within the monument’s boundaries encompass approximately 5.7 acres, which is the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected."
Emmett Till was 14 when he traveled to Money, Miss., from Chicago to visit friends; according to the National Park Service’s history and culture section on the newly dedicated space. He did not return home with stories to tell.
Early in his visit, he went to Bryant’s Grocery and Meat Market, where he bought candy from Carolyn Bryant, a white woman behind the counter, the NPS reported. Eyewitnesses said he whistled at her, which set the events leading to his death in motion. He was removed from his cousin’s home Aug. 28, 1955, was beaten and shot and dumped in the Tallahatchie River. It was not until Aug. 31, 1955, that his body was pulled from Graball Landing, with a cotton gin fan and barbed wire around his neck.
The process of designating the new national monument dates back to February 2022, when Haaland, with White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory and U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., visited with community members, the release said. From there, a variety of partners played a role in getting specific places ready for this designation.
