A traveling exhibit chronicling the life of Emmett Till and the enduring legacy of his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, is on display at Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU) through September 21.
Titled “Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley: Let the World See,” the exhibition is open to the public free of charge at the James Herbert White Library in Itta Bena on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The exhibit recounts the story of Till, a 14-year-old Black youth who was murdered in the Mississippi Delta in 1955 after being falsely accused of making advances toward a white woman, Carolyn Bryant. It also highlights the role of his mother, Till-Mobley, whose decision to hold an open-casket funeral became a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement.
The men who kidnapped and murdered Till, Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam, were acquitted by an all-white jury but later confessed to the crime in a magazine interview. More than 50 years after the incident, Carolyn Bryant admitted that Till had never touched her.
The exhibit’s stop at MVSU is historically significant, as the campus is located just 30 miles from the Tallahatchie River landing where Till’s body was recovered.
“This exhibition provides an invaluable educational opportunity for our students, faculty, and the broader community,” said Dr. Katherine Stromile Golden, MVSU’s provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. “Having this powerful story told at our university, so close to where these tragic events unfolded, creates a unique opportunity for reflection, learning, and healing.”
A centerpiece of the collection is a bullet-riddled historical marker that once stood near the river. The Emmett Till Interpretive Center describes it as a piece that “both commemorates a tragedy and illustrates the ongoing scourge of racism.” Memorials commemorating Till’s murder have been repeatedly vandalized over the years, including a 2019 incident where three white university students shot a marker and posed for a photo with it.
The exhibit was developed by the Till family, the Emmett Till Interpretive Center, and The Children’s Museum Indianapolis. “This experience will help people process past pain and imagine new ways of moving forward, which is a critical part of our work to promote restorative justice and foster community healing and understanding,” said Patrick Weems of the interpretive center.
Its presentation at MVSU is supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Maddox Foundation, the Institute for Museum and Library Services, and the Historic Preservation Fund administered by the National Park Service. The exhibit was last in Mississippi in 2023, when it was hosted for two months at the Two Mississippi Museums in Jackson.
Source link
