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National monument will honor Emmett Till and his mother in Mississippi and Chicago

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1 year ago

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President Joe Biden is expected to sign documents Tuesday to create a national monument honoring Emmett Till and his mother, according to National Park Service officials.

“The Till story is a vital part of the American story, and it’s fitting that it’s recognized and protected by the federal government,” said Dave Tell, author of “Remembering Emmett Till.”

After he was killed in Mississippi, his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, insisted on opening his casket so “the world could see what they did to my boy.” Photographs of his brutalized body ran in Jet magazine and around the world, provoking international outrage.

In September 1955, an all-white jury acquitted half-brothers Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam — only for them to confess months later to Look magazine that they had killed the 14-year-old from Chicago.

Less than 10 weeks after the acquittal, Rosa Parks boarded a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, and refused to give up her seat. She was quoted later as saying she was thinking about Till the whole time.

To this day, he remains a flashpoint for civil rights activities. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. mentioned his name in the same breath with the 1963 assassination of his friend, Mississippi NAACP leader Medgar Evers.

In the decades since, Till’s name and photographs have appeared in protests alongside those of Trayvon Martin, Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd.

Among the sites making up the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument:

  • Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ in Chicago where Till’s funeral was held.
  • Graball Landing, near where Till’s body was found in the Tallahatchie River.
  • The Tallahatchie County Courthouse in Sumner, where the jury acquitted his killers.

Noticeably missing from the list is the former Bryant Grocery, where Till reportedly wolf-whistled at a white woman.

The store’s owners — the children of the late Ray Tribble, who voted with other jurors to acquit Till’s killers — have repeatedly refused to sell the store, demanding $4 million for the crumbling structure. That price tag prompted the late Alvin Sykes, the force behind the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crimes Act, to remark that the family was “holding history hostage.”

The Rev. Wheeler Parker Jr., the last living witness of Emmett Till’s kidnapping, said it’s been his life’s work “to tell the truth of what happened to Emmett.”

“This national monument designation makes certain that Emmett Till’s life and legacy, along with his mother Mamie Till-Mobley’s social action and impact, will live on and be used to inspire others to create a more just and equitable society,” Parker said. “We thank President Biden for codifying the national monument and are heartened to know these places will foster empathy, understanding and healing for years to come.”

Veteran state Rep. Tommy Reynolds, D-Water Valley, says the action of President Joe Biden to designate the national monument to honor Emmett Till is the culmination of hard work by local people.

“We had people in Tallahatchie County work together to form the Emmett Till Commission. It was half white and half Black. A lot of people worked to preserve the sites and deserve credit. They worked together,” said Reynolds, who represents much of the area in the Mississippi House and is the attorney for the Tallahatchie County Board of Supervisors. He will be present at the Tuesday ceremonies at the White House and at the Department of Interior. 

“This is going to be well received in our area. And it is appropriate to be remembered in hopes it will not happen again. We are all Americans and should have the right to life, liberty and happiness.”

Reynolds said the federal, state and local governments contributed to restoring the Tallahatchie County Courthouse in Sumner to its 1955 condition. In 1955 two white men were tried and acquitted by an all white jury for the murder of the teen-ager Till. The men later confessed to the murder.

The Mississippi Legislature passed a bill to allow Tallahatchie County to convey the deed to the courthouse to the federal government.

Money also has been raised to provide a new location to replace the historic Tallahatchie County Courthouse where routine business can be conducted. Under the agreement, the historic courthouse can still be used by the county until the new location is ready.

The center’s executive director, Patrick Weems, said the designation represents 15 years of hard work for a story that is pivotal in our nation’s history.

“The lynching of Emmett Till and the courage of Mamie Till Mobley served as a springboard to the modern Civil Rights Movement, and preserving this history in perpetuity will serve as a continual act of restorative justice,” Weems said. “We extend our deepest gratitude to the Tallahatchie County Board of Supervisors, and Congressman Bennie Thompson for championing this vision of reconciliation, which has now become a national monument.”

Rev. Willie Williams, chair of the board of directors of the Emmett Till Interpretive Center, praised the decision to designate a national monument.

“Out of the tragedy of Emmett Till’s brutal murder, a national monument has risen as a symbol of hope, healing, and reconciliation,” he said. “Through this designation, we affirm that what man intended for evil, God can indeed use for good. We honor the memory of Emmett Till and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, whose courageous actions sparked a civil rights movement and continue to inspire us today. We are grateful to the local people of Tallahatchie County who have tirelessly worked to make this monument a reality. Their efforts remind us that out of the ashes of tragedy, beauty can emerge, and that through collective action, we can transform pain into progress.”

The National Trust for Historic Preservation’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund and the Mellon Foundation are investing $5 million to help preserve the Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ for future generations.

Theresa Pierno, president and CEO of National Parks Conservation Association, said throughout our nation’s history, “There are few stories as heart wrenching as the murder of Emmett Till. It is a story that lays bare the brutality of systemic racism and injustice for the world to see. 

“But it is also a story of determination,” Pierno said. “This is a story of a brave young mother who experienced a parent’s worst nightmare, but found the strength and power to rise up and shine a light on injustice as a leader in the Civil Rights Movement. Mamie Till-Mobley galvanized a movement and inspired a nation.

“Yet despite the progress we have made since 1955, the work is not done. The America we live in still bears many of the scars of the past, and some of our darkest history repeats itself. We still see echoes of Emmett’s story and blatant racial injustice in our society today, and as national park advocates, we are committed to doing our part to fight it. Black Lives Matter. They matter in our homes, they matter in our stores, our cities, and yes, in our national parks.”

Mississippi Today political reporter Bobby Harrison contributed to this report.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Mississippi Today

On this day in 1997

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22 hours ago

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December 22, 2024

By

mississippitoday.org – Jerry Mitchell – 2024-12-22 07:00:00

Dec. 22, 1997

Myrlie Evers and Reena Evers-Everette cheer the jury verdict of Feb. 5, 1994, when Byron De La Beckwith was found guilty of the 1963 murder of Mississippi NAACP leader Medgar Evers. Credit: AP/Rogelio Solis

The Mississippi Supreme Court upheld the conviction of white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith for the 1963 murder of Medgar Evers. 

In the court’s 4–2 decision, Justice Mike Mills praised efforts “to squeeze justice out of the harm caused by a furtive explosion which erupted from dark bushes on a June night in Jackson, Mississippi.” 

He wrote that Beckwith’s constitutional right to a speedy trial had not been denied. His “complicity with the Sovereignty Commission’s involvement in the prior trials contributed to the delay.” 

The decision did more than ensure that Beckwith would stay behind bars. The conviction helped clear the way for other prosecutions of unpunished killings from the Civil Rights Era.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Mississippi Today

Medicaid expansion tracker approaches $1 billion loss for Mississippi

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23 hours ago

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December 22, 2024

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mississippitoday.org – Bobby Harrison – 2024-12-22 06:00:00

About the time people ring in the new year next week, the digital tracker on Mississippi Today’s homepage tabulating the amount of money the state is losing by not expanding Medicaid will hit $1 billion.

The state has lost $1 billion not since the start of the quickly departing 2024 but since the beginning of the state’s fiscal year on July 1.

Some who oppose Medicaid expansion say the digital tracker is flawed.

During an October news conference, when state Auditor Shad White unveiled details of his $2 million study seeking ways to cut state government spending, he said he did not look at Medicaid expansion as a method to save money or grow state revenue.

“I think that (Mississippi Today) calculator is wrong,” White said. “… I don’t think that takes into account how many people are going to be moved off the federal health care exchange where their health care is paid for fully by the federal government and moved onto Medicaid.”

White is not the only Mississippi politician who has expressed concern that if Medicaid expansion were enacted, thousands of people would lose their insurance on the exchange and be forced to enroll in Medicaid for health care coverage.

Mississippi Today’s projections used for the tracker are based on studies conducted by the Institutions of Higher Learning University Research Center. Granted, there are a lot of variables in the study that are inexact. It is impossible to say, for example, how many people will get sick and need health care, thus increasing the cost of Medicaid expansion. But is reasonable that the projections of the University Research Center are in the ballpark of being accurate and close to other studies conducted by health care experts.

White and others are correct that Mississippi Today’s calculator does not take into account money flowing into the state for people covered on the health care exchange. But that money does not go to the state; it goes to insurance companies that, granted, use that money to reimburse Mississippians for providing health care. But at least a portion of the money goes to out-of-state insurance companies as profits.

Both Medicaid expansion and the health care exchange are part of the Affordable Care Act. Under Medicaid expansion people earning up to $20,120 annually can sign up for Medicaid and the federal government will pay the bulk of the cost. Mississippi is one of 10 states that have not opted into Medicaid expansion.

People making more than $14,580 annually can garner private insurance through the health insurance exchanges, and people below certain income levels can receive help from the federal government in paying for that coverage.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, legislation championed and signed into law by President Joe Biden significantly increased the federal subsidies provided to people receiving insurance on the exchange. Those increased subsidies led to many Mississippians — desperate for health care — turning to the exchange for help.

White, state Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney, Gov. Tate Reeves and others have expressed concern that those people would lose their private health insurance and be forced to sign up for Medicaid if lawmakers vote to expand Medicaid.

They are correct.

But they do not mention that the enhanced benefits authored by the Biden administration are scheduled to expire in December 2025 unless they are reenacted by Congress. The incoming Donald Trump administration has given no indication it will continue the enhanced subsidies.

As a matter of fact, the Trump administration, led by billionaire Elon Musk, is looking for ways to cut federal spending.

Some have speculated that Medicaid expansion also could be on Musk’s chopping block.

That is possible. But remember congressional action is required to continue the enhanced subsidies. On the flip side, congressional action would most likely be required to end or cut Medicaid expansion.

Would the multiple U.S. senators and House members in the red states that have expanded Medicaid vote to end a program that is providing health care to thousands of their constituents?

If Congress does not continue Biden’s enhanced subsidies, the rates for Mississippians on the exchange will increase on average about $500 per year, according to a study by KFF, a national health advocacy nonprofit. If that occurs, it is likely that many of the 280,000 Mississippians on the exchange will drop their coverage.

The result will be that Mississippi’s rate of uninsured — already one of the highest in the nation – will rise further, putting additional pressure on hospitals and other providers who will be treating patients who have no ability to pay.

In the meantime, the Mississippi Today counter that tracks the amount of money Mississippi is losing by not expanding Medicaid keeps ticking up.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Mississippi Today

On this day in 1911

Published

2 days ago

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December 21, 2024

By

mississippitoday.org – Jerry Mitchell – 2024-12-21 07:00:00

Dec. 21, 1911

A colorized photograph of Josh Gibson, who was playing with the Homestead Grays Credit: Wikipedia

Josh Gibson, the Negro League’s “Home Run King,” was born in Buena Vista, Georgia. 

When the family’s farm suffered, they moved to Pittsburgh, and Gibson tried baseball at age 16. He eventually played for a semi-pro team in Pittsburgh and became known for his towering home runs. 

He was watching the Homestead Grays play on July 25, 1930, when the catcher injured his hand. Team members called for Gibson, sitting in the stands, to join them. He was such a talented catcher that base runners were more reluctant to steal. He hit the baseball so hard and so far (580 feet once at Yankee Stadium) that he became the second-highest paid player in the Negro Leagues behind Satchel Paige, with both of them entering the National Baseball Hame of Fame. 

The Hall estimated that Gibson hit nearly 800 homers in his 17-year career and had a lifetime batting average of .359. Gibson was portrayed in the 1996 TV movie, “Soul of the Game,” by Mykelti Williamson. Blair Underwood played Jackie Robinson, Delroy Lindo portrayed Satchel Paige, and Harvey Williams played “Cat” Mays, the father of the legendary Willie Mays. 

Gibson has now been honored with a statue outside the Washington Nationals’ ballpark.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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