OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

The Emmett Till Interpretive Center led the national campaign for the establishment of a national park dedicated to Emmett Till. That campaign achieved its goal with President Biden designating by executive order the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument on July 25, 2023, what would have been Emmett’s 82nd birthday. The Monument includes Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ in Chicago, where Emmett’s funeral was held; the Tallahatchie County Courthouse, where the trial for the murder was held; and Graball Landing, where Emmett’s body was recovered from the Tallahatchie River.

Since the Monument’s founding, ETIC has been an official partner. As part of this partnership, we have done the following work:

• We have staffed the Monument’s Visitor Center on behalf of the National Park Service, continuing to offer visitor tours of the Tallahatchie County Courthouse.

• We have installed in the Visitor Center a copy of our award-winning traveling exhibit, Emmett Till & Mamie Till-Mobley: Let the World See. The exhibit is a collaboration among ETIC, The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, the Emmett Till & Mamie Till-Mobley Institute, and the Till family as a means of facilitating conversations among families about the harms of racism and having the courage to advocate for change.

• We have collaborated with the National Park Service on public programming, such as the annual memorial service for Emmett Till at the barn where he was murdered.

• We are helping to facilitate the construction of a new county courthouse so the existing courthouse can function as a full-time historic site.

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We look forward to continuing to partner with the Park Service to educate the public about the Till story and its lasting impact on our country.