Join Us in Sumner to Celebrate Emmett's 85th Birthday

WHAT: A Celebration in Honor of Emmett Till’s 85th Birthday

WHERE: Town square in Sumner, MS

WHEN: Saturday, July 25 from 4 to 7:30 PM

Join us for a celebration of what would have been Emmett Till’s 85th birthday! The youth-focused event will include a community bike ride around Sumner Square in his honor. In addition to the bike ride, guided tours of the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument will be available. Community members can also enjoy live music, art-making activities, and light refreshments.

A limited number of bikes will be available for youth between the ages of 9 and 18 to participate in the bike ride. If space is available to participate, youth are welcome to bring their own bike or scooter. In either case, a parent or guardian must be present to sign a waiver.

Space in the bike ride is limited for participation on a first-come, first-served basis. Youth interested in participating in the bike ride MUST register by Monday, July 20.

Register HERE.

Print and complete the waiver, including parent/guardian signature, HERE. Please bring the signed and completed waiver to the July 25 event.

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The below piece originally appeared in the ETIC newsletter from July 1, 2026.

This July 25th, on what would have been Emmett Till's 85th birthday, ETIC is embracing one of Emmett's favorite activities by hosting a bike ride in his honor. The bike ride will be held from 4 to 7:30 PM on the square in Sumner. In addition to the ride, after-hours guided tours will be available of the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument, which is also celebrating the third anniversary of the park designation on July 25th. The evening will conclude with refreshments and reflection for all community members.

The event is part of a series of commemoration activities organized by the National Parks Conservation Association. Mechelle Chane, Civil Rights Era Fellow for NPCA, saw an opportunity in the wake of the film, Till, to harness interest and to educate local youth about the history. In honor of Emmett’s 84th birthday in 2025, NPCA led a “Journey of Remembrance” with a day of activities for local youth, visiting sites connected to the Till story.

This year’s bike ride builds on that momentum from last year. In the weeks leading up to July 25, various youth groups will visit the Till National Monument, and youth ambassadors will have the chance to speak about Emmett’s childhood with Rev. Wheeler Parker, Emmett’s cousin and the last living eyewitness to the kidnapping. Two Tallahatchie County youth in conversation with Rev. Parker are 14 and 16, the same ages Emmett and Wheeler were in the summer of 1955.

Youth participants from the 2025 Journey of Remembrance visit the Emmett Till statue in Greenwood.Photo courtesy of Mechelle Chane

According to Chane, these commemoration activities are a good way to educate young people, especially since Emmett’s story is about a young boy and youth voices were so vital to the civil rights movement. She said that many local youth are excited to learn about the story. Our hope is that these young people’s engagement will ripple out to their friends and family, emulating the youth voices of the civil rights movement.

As the Till story touched the counties of Bolivar, Leflore, Sunflower, and Tallahatchie Counties, youth from groups in those four counties were recruited to participate in the bike ride. Bolivar is represented by Freedom Project: Rosedale, FlyZone - Forever Lifting Youth, Girl Scout Troop #30011, and St. Gabriel Summer Youth Program; Leflore by CURRage to Change; Sunflower by the Emmett Till Academy and Freedom Project: Sunflower; and Tallahatchie by I Am MS. The hope is that next year commemorative activities will take place in each of those four counties, aimed at spotlighting the heritage of the places connected to Emmett’s story.

“By learning both local history and the legacy of youth leadership, today’s young people can see themselves as part of that continuum, not just as learners, but as leaders," said Chane. "It reinforces that they have the power to influence their communities, carry stories forward, and create lasting change. As we honor Emmett Till’s life, we also recognize the enduring importance of youth leadership in carrying this history forward."

Support for the bike ride is courtesy of the National Parks Conservation Association, the Emmett Till Interpretive Center, Hydro Productions, We2Gether Creating Change, Friends of the Environment, and SALUTEtions, LLC.

Please come out to support the youth and celebrate the joy in Emmett’s life.