Many know the tragic story of 14-year-old Emmett Till, who became a symbol of the civil rights movement after he was lynched in Mississippi in 1955.
Till’s mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, worked to make sure his name wasn’t forgotten.
It was Mamie Till-Mobley who insisted on an open casket to show his brutalized body. Jet magazine published the photos.
This month, ABC aired the limited series drama “Women of The Movement” and a companion docuseries about Till-Mobley.
On Monday, “Chicago Tonight” co-host and “Chicago Tonight: Black Voices” host Brandis Friedman moderated the latest edition of our “Chicago Tonight: Black Voices” community conversation series in a discussion focused on the legacy of Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley.
Friedman was joined by the Rev. Wheeler Parker, Emmett Till’s cousin who was in the Mississippi home the night Till was kidnapped; Chris Benson, a professor at Northwestern University who co-wrote a book with Mamie Till-Mobley about the lynching of her son; and Tanya Huelett of Facing History and Ourselves, which is developing a curriculum around the story of Emmett Till.
The guests discussed why Till’s story is still relevant today, and how family members and other community leaders are working to keep his memory alive.
Upcoming Event
Our next “Chicago Tonight: Latino Voices” community conversation is set for 8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 28 and will be about Afro-Latino history. Visit wttw.com/events to RSVP.
