In 1955, 14-year-old Emmett Till traveled to Money, Mississippi, to visit relatives. He was kidnapped, tortured, and murdered after reportedly whistling at a white woman. His mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, insisted on an open-casket funeral near their hometown of Chicago. Her brave decision let the world see the racist violence inflicted upon her son and set the Civil Rights Movement into motion.

Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley, ca. 1954.

Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley

Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ in Chicago.

Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ

Fourteen-year-old Emmett Till’s body was found near Graball Landing on the Tallahatchie River following his lynching in 1955.

Graball Landing

The trial of the men accused of lynching Emmett Till took place at the Tallahatchie County Courthouse in Sumner, Mississippi in 1955.

Tallahatchie County Courthouse

At the Mississippi unit, visitor information can be found at the Emmett Till Interpretive Center, in Sumner, Mississippi.

Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument

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Nearby Parks

Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument

Coldwater River National Wildlife Refuge

Tallahatchie National Wildlife Refuge