CHICAGO—Emmett Till was just a kid from Bronzeville when he was murdered at age 14 in 1955 by two white men while visiting his great-uncle in Money, MS.
A victim of a racial hate crime, his death was the catalyst for the Civil Rights movement when his mother, Mamie Till Mobley, insisted on an open casket when his body was returned from Mississippi authorities. The sight of her dead son's mutilated body and face in photographs published by the Black news media exposed the brutality of racism in America and to the world.
On what would have been Till's 85th birthday, legislators and community members joined Gov. J.B. Pritzker Thursday at Roberts Temple Church of Christ—the same church where Till's funeral was held—to sign HB 4323. The bill formally designates July 25 of each year as Emmett Till Day.
Till was born in Chicago on July 25, 1941. He grew up in Summit and later on the city's South Side, raised by his mother and grandmother and surrounded by a community of family and friends in Bonzeville. His life and legacy are honored in many ways throughout Illinois—memorialized in scholarships for local youth, the names of roads and community centers, and nationally recognized monuments across the state. In 2023, Roberts Temple was made a national landmark by President Joe Biden.
"In Illinois, we understand that we cannot build a more just future if we are unwilling to confront the injustices of our past," Pritzker said. "This legislation ensures that Emmett Till and his mother Mamie Till-Mobley will never be forgotten, their legacy will continue to challenge us to be better, and their example will continue to inspire us to build a state and a nation that lives up to its highest ideals."
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul praised Mamie's courage to hold an open-casket funeral, "forcing the world to see the brutality and gravity of a hate crime" in 1950s America.
"She did so despite the unimaginable grief of losing a child," Raoul said during his remarks at the signing. "The commemoration of Emmett Till Day in Illinois reminds us that we must not allow hate crimes directed toward Black people to be normalized. We must carry on the legacy of Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley by fighting ongoing hate crimes and attacks on civil rights."
More than 50,000 people filed past the 14-year-old's open casket for his funeral at Robert's Temple. Jet Magazine, with Mamie's permission, published photos of Till's mangled body in his casket that shocked white Americans.
Even before Till boarded the Spirit of New Orleans Amtrak train with his 16-year-old cousin, Wheeler Parker Jr., to visit their great-uncle and grandfather, respectively, Mamie had misgivings about her rambunctious son's ability to fit in with the Deep South. Her son was a joker, unfamiliar with the customs and mores of Jim Crow laws.
Till was murdered on Aug. 28, 1955, by two white men, Roy Bryant and his half-brother, J.W. Milam, allegedly for wolf-whistling at Bryant's wife. The 14-year-old boy was stolen from his bed in the middle of the night at his great-uncle's house. Following their acquittal by an all-white jury, Bryant and Milam later confessed in "Look" to beating, shooting and tying a cotton gin with barbed wire around Till's neck before disposing of his body in the Tallahatchie River.
"Emmett Till's story is a painful chapter in our nation's history, but it is one we must continue to remember and teach," said State Senator Mattie Hunter, whose 3rd District includes the Bronzeville neighborhood where Till lived with his mother. "By recognizing Emmett Till Day, we honor his life, the courage of his mother Mamie Till-Mobley, and the generations of advocates who have fought for justice and equality."
Emmett Till's story is part of Illinois history. Pritzker believes that the state has a responsibility to not only remember his life and legacy, but to protect Black history from erasure by those in power, denounce attempts to disenfranchise communities across the U.S., and strive to make Illinois the best state for every person to call home.
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