Thank You for Joining Us at the Barn to Honor Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley

Roses are laid in the barn where Emmett was murdered. Photo credit: RJ Fitzpatrick

We are grateful to the people who joined us in person at the Barn and online via the livestream to remember Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley this past Saturday.

ETIC has been organizing this memorial service since 2022, and this year was the first that the Barn was under ETIC ownership. The illustrious Mississippi Mass Choir gave a powerful performance, as did young Abee Hudson. ETIC's Venita Halbert and Gloria Dickerson of We2gether Creating Change welcomed everyone, acknowledging that the day was not only about looking back but looking forward. "It's about building a world where every child, whether Black or they're brown or they're white or they're rural or they're urban, can live," Dickerson said. "They can dream and they can grow without fear."  Rev. Darryl Johnson of the Mound Bayou Museum expressed the purpose of this communal gathering: "to continue the work that truth requires."

ETIC Board Chair Rev. Willie Williams gave the keynote address, saying we can honor Emmett and Mamie through respect, forgiveness, and love.

Attendees had the chance to lay a rose at the entrance to the barn in honor of Emmett. ETIC Board Member Mike Small and his wife Tina, friends of Mamie Till-Mobley's late in her life, took the roses to Chicago and placed them on the graves of Emmett and Mamie.

Left to right: Abee Hudson, Rev. Willie Williams, and the Mississippi Mass Choir took part in this year's memorial event. Photos credit: RJ Fitzpatrick

People brought their hearts and minds to this work and put into words how important this history is, how vital that we all preserve it with care and intention.

Thank you to the ETIC staff, interns, and volunteers, We2gether Creating Change, the Mound Bayou Museum, the National Park Service, and everyone who gathered to remember. If you missed the ceremony, you can find a recording on our Facebook page.