Emmett Till was 14 years old when he traveled by train in the summer of 1955 to visit relatives in the Mississippi Delta. What happened next shocked a nation and would prove to be a focal point for the Civil Rights Movement.
His tragic story is being retold by the powerful new television drama, “Women of the Movement.” The program also highlights his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, and her fight for justice following Emmett’s brutal lynching.
You’re invited to join Christina Shutt, Executive Director of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, on Thursday, February 17 at 7pm via Facebook Live, as she moderates a special conversation during Black History Month on the life and legacy of Emmett Till.
The conversation will feature Marissa Jo Cerar, the creator and writer of “Women of the Movement,” along with Pamela Junior, Executive Director for the Two Mississippi Museums and Steven D. Booth, Archivist/Project Manager of the for Johnson Publishing Company Archive, co-stewarded by the Getty Research Institute and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
They’ll discuss the historical context of the two very different worlds Emmett Till experienced in Chicago and Mississippi, the impact photographs of his death published by Jet magazine had on public opinion at the time, and the importance the new television drama has had in fostering dialogue on the past and its relevance to present-day events.
To watch this Facebook LIVE! event, please go to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum Facebook page. Then open the page at the appointed time and scroll to the post highlighting the live event. Once you’re there, simply click on the image and watch the live video stream.