Statue honoring Mamie Till-Mobley unveiled in Illinois

The mother of Emmett Till is memorialized with a bronze statue outside the high school she attended

Apr 30, 2023

CHICAGO (AP) — A memorial honoring Mamie Till-Mobley, the mother of Emmett Till, was unveiled Saturday outside the suburban Chicago high school she attended as a young woman, long before she became a critical player in the Civil Rights Movement.

Emmett Till’s 1955 lynching in Mississippi and his mother’s insistence on an open-casket funeral for the 14-year-old served as a catalyst for civil rights. Till-Mobley was a civil rights activist for the rest of her life.

A memorial honoring Mamie Till-Mobley was unveiled Saturday, April 29, 2023, outside the suburban Chicago high school she attended as a young woman, long before she became a critical player in the Civil Rights Movement. (Argo Community High School)

The memorial opened to the public Saturday outside Argo Community High School in Summit, Illinois, including a bronze statue of Till-Mobley with hands spread wide and standing behind a podium, which bears bronze reliefs of her son, the Mississippi barn where he was killed and the Chicago funeral home where thousands of mourners gathered.

Also Read:
Emmett Till’s accuser, Carolyn Bryant Donham, has died

No one has been held accountable for the teenager’s kidnapping and murder; the white woman who accused him of whistling at and accosting her died last week at the age of 88.

Till-Mobley died in 2003 in Chicago and was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal posthumously in December along with her son.

Also Read:
Sheriff: No point serving decades-old warrant in Emmett Till kidnapping

Argo Community High School and the Argo Higher Education Foundation raised money toward the project and an annual scholarship for a graduate demonstrating a commitment to social justice.

TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku and Android TV. Also, please download theGrio mobile apps today!