A touring exhibition that explores the lives and legacy of Emmett Till and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, until September 21, was on display at Mississippi Valley State University.
“Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley: Let the World See” is now open at the James Herbert White Library every weekday
The exhibition tells the story of Till, a 14-year-old black boy and his mother, Till-Mobley, who was murdered in 1955 in the Mississippi Delta, who decided to hold an open basket funeral for his son, an important catalyst in the civil rights movement. Till was wrongly accused of being kidnapped and murdered by Kobe's husband and his half-brother, deposed in a grocery store Carolyn Bryant.
More than 50 years after the incident, Kobe admitted that he had never touched her until he had never touched her. Roy Bryant and JW Milam, the men who murdered Thiel, were tried and acquitted by an all-white jury, but later admitted to the murder in a magazine interview.
The exhibition is free and developed by Till Family in partnership with Emmett The Orkentive Center and the Indianapolis Children's Museum. Considering that the campus is about 30 miles from the Tallahage River landing area where Tall's body was found, its stay at MVSU has special historical significance.
“This exhibition provides valuable educational opportunities for our students, faculty and the wider community,” said Katherine Stromile Golden, PhD, Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs, MVSU. “Let this powerful story be told at our university, very close to the unfolding of these tragic events, creating unique opportunities for reflection, learning and rehabilitation.”
Emmett until an announcement from the Interpretation Center said that the heart of the exhibition was a historical marker of bullet-holding that “both commemorates the tragedy and illustrates the ongoing scourge of racism.” For years, markers of the Thiel murder installed near the Tallahage River were documented, which was a years of vandalism, in which three University of Mississippi students were shot and posed in 2019.
“We are excited about the opportunity to work with it [MVSU] Taking this exhibition to the Mississippi Delta, the legacy of Emmett Louis Till and Mamie Till-Mobley continues to shape the way our communities recover.
“Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley: Let the World See” has established the National Humanities Foundation at MVSU, Democracy calls for wisdom, the Maddox Foundation, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the Historical Preservation Foundation. It is managed by the National Park Service.
The exhibition last visited Mississippi in 2023, held at two Mississippi Museums in Jackson for two months.