Wednesday of black history month. So were going to celebrate with this topic today. But its such an honor to really bring this story to you. I think this is a remarkable woman, and i am so honored to feature her work today. So i want to start by thinking about the ways that we are currently living in this age of remembering mamie tillmobley. In the last two years, we have observed the abc limited series women of the movement dramatized the lives and stories of emmett till and mamie tillmobley and make them a sex accessible on television screens, on mobile devices and the streaming platform. Hulu unfolding across six episodes over three weeks. Women are the movement centers to mobilize activist efforts in the wake of our sons brutal murder and brilliantly portrays the heroic deeds of the individual communities and organizations supporting our desire to bring awareness to tills death and hold accountable those responsible for its. After. Women of the movement aired each week. The three part docu series let the world see immediately followed, providing audiences with another resource to discover more about Mamie Till Mobleys life and how her decision to leave her sons casket open and board and others to invoke the memory of till end their fight for Racial Justice. During both the heirs of, jim crow and the black lives Matter Movement. Five months after the premieres of women of the movement and let the world see abc news amplify and tell mobleys experiences in the podcast reclaimed the story of mamie tillmobley on october 14th, 2022. The film tiller debuted in select theaters across the u. S. And became the first production about the till case to be distributed on the big screen. As stated on the films website, it too unveils the true story of mamie tillmobley relentless pursuit of justice and underscore across the universal power of a mothers ability to change the world. As you can see in this left corner, there, President Biden also screen the film till at the white house in february of last year. And he remarked this film powerfully tells the story of a mothers loss and a young sons promise. A nations reckoning about hate, violence and power. A few months later on, what would have been emmett tills 82nd birthday President Biden signed a proclamation to create the emmett till and mamie tillmobley national monument. The traveling exhibit emmett till and mamie tillmobley. Let the world see opened in the fall of 2022 at the Childrens Museum of indianapolis and a beautiful statue, as you can see, on the right of mamie tillmobley speaking behind a podium was unveiled on april 29th, 2023. Outside of Argo Community high school in illinois which is still mobleys alma mater. While these projects and occasions are powerfully presented to us as productions that richly contribute to tyll mobleys legacy, they are not the only ones in which tyll mobleys name and work has been invoked in recent memory. Although these occasions present holistic narratives that commemorate to tell mobley and her son some cases, unfortunately denote the racial animosity and violence that exist in our society. For example, when a Los Angeles Home owned by nba superstar lebron james was vandalized with a racial slur in may of 2017, james responded during a press conference by saying that racism and hate, especially for black americans, is our live every day. He also stated that one of the first things he thought of about learning after learning about the vandalism about his property was mamie tillmobley. In his words, the reason that she had an open casket is because she wanted to show the world what her son went through. As far as a hate crime. And being black in america is concerned. James his comments connected to mobleys stance with the responsibility for telling the truth about the work of achieving racial equality in the United States. Till mobleys name circulated in the sports world once again in 2022. On the first day of black history month, when brian flores, a former black nfl head coach, filed class action complaints against the nfl and the new york giants Miami Dolphins and Denver Broncos franchises due to their lack of hiring and retaining black head coaches, coordinators and general managers. And the complaints preliminary statement civil rights icon such as Martin Luther king jr. Rosa parks and Mamie Till Mobley were listed to honor the brave leaders that fought so hard to help break down racial barriers of injustice. And i want to point out this left photo here and the father of 2022 uk student kyla spring was verbally and physically attacked on campus by another student, repeatedly calling her a racial slur. So here locally at the university of kentucky, the courage that till mobley, despite displayed decades ago, continues to encourage students today to speak out against racism. Their encounter with miss spring was recorded and after she posted it to her social media account, the online video quickly went viral after days of campus protests and outrage. This spring posted an image of mamie tillmobley lee on her Instagram Page and wrote that till mobley is someone that she deeply admires and documenting an act of racism and circulating it for all to see. Kali spring operated in the tradition of til mobley and other black women who have become leaders of Racial Justice initiatives and another recent example of tim mobleys memory being spotlighted in a glaring way occurred also in 2022 and the aftermath of an incomprehensible act of brutal violence. The mass shooting at Rob Elementary School and yvonne, a texas on social media and in the mainstream press. Till mobleys decision to let the people see what happened to emmett till was offered as the latest model for how to reckon with and suppress gun violence in the United States. In a june 20, 22 Los Angeles Times article entitled after youve caught a shooting, people consider an emmett till moment to change the gun debate. The viewing of emmett tills corpse is described as an event that infuriated and motivated people to create social change. As stated in the article, some people believe and emmett till moment could change the course of the countrys gun control debate by illustrating the bloody and deadly impact of firearms. The idea of communities and lawmakers seeing gruesome photos or videos the dead children has raised questions about whether it might bolster long awaited traction on gun control measures at the state and federal levels. In the op ed photos of slain children might jolt the us into reality. Published in 2022 in the saint louis postdispatch. A woman named e. B. Writes as outrageous and sickening as it may seem, perhaps if we saw photos of those torn and mangled, divided children with their faces protected, the reality wasnt those. And insulated from the truth. I am a mother, so i dont know if i would be as strong as emmett tills mother was in 1955 when she wanted photos of her slain son to be published. But mamie till knew that horror had to be seen. We need to be shocked to be moved. I mentioned these latter examples today because although they each bring attention to mamie tillmobley legacy, they also underscore her role as a grieving black mother whose response to her only childs cruel death ignited civil rights activism and situated her within the history of the Civil Rights Movement. However, although her decision to open tills casket is significant, what else do we know about . What were her additional acts of engagement . How does she continue to pursue justice for her son and for others . And 68 years after emmett murder and 21 years after till mobleys death, how are people still adding to both of their legacies . And the ongoing fight for justice . These are some of the questions that i ask in my work on mamie tillmobley. While emmett tills death was major influence on who Mamie Till Mobley would become and, the work that she would do it did not solely define who she was. When mamie tillmobley died from kidney failure on january six, 2003, at the age of 81, almost 50 years after her sons segments of her life and work were remembered fondly in numerous as she was honored in National Periodicals such as the Chicago Tribune and the new york times. While the recognition of till mosleys life and work is commendable, we must consider how she is represented and remembered the words her pain united a are inscribed on to mobleys gravestone. Abouelkassem fitri the alsip, illinois Burial Ground where emmett till is interred. And although an obituary published five days after mobleys death in the Washington Post mentions time speaking publicly about her son and his death, it also claims that many black leaders felt her greatest role came at the height of her pain. The decision to have an open coffin. So in this lecture today, my goal is to expand our on mamie tillmobley and portray her as not just a woman painfully grieved the barbaric death of her son, but as a devoted social change agent who was influenced by a robust African American rhetorical tradition and traditions includes how black writers, thinkers interlocutors and, activists deliberately used communicative acts and texts to influence others to move, act, believe and promote causes for survival and freedom. Although mobley is widely credited for her open casket decision and in many ways inspiring a new generation of civil rights activists, we often leave her in this moment and neglect to understand the scope of her work and its impact. I expand how we see mamie tillmobley in my larger book project and over the course of six main chapters i detail the importance of labeling till mobley as one a prepare as i explain how to mobley taught her son about navigating the ways of the jim crow south. Richard wright referred to this concept as the ethics of living crow and today iterations of this tradition live on in what is commonly referred to as the talk that parents with black adolescence to educate them about racism and policing. So mobley was also an orchestrator. She arranged how her sons corpse was to different audiences from the images of him in his best that she painted. Tills casket to illustrate the violent ways that White Supremacy violated black bodies and disrupted black life. To the images printed in the black press that circulated across the country we must also see till mobley asks three and orator and four and educator due to her, that still story should always be told and taught. Given her interest in subjects like english and poetry, and her experiences as a public teacher, playwright on the south end and playwright on the south side of chicago, mamie tillmobley believe that knowledge creation is a transformative because. She did not confine herself to the classroom. Till mobley was also political lobbyists. She was a fighter for racial and was committed to Holding State powers accountable for the roles that played in the death of her son. This image here shows mamie tillmobley canvasing on the us capitol a or so after emmett till is killed. And next we must see mamie tillmobley as a four mother. A few years prior to her death, till mobley was asked about her legacy and the role that she played in making the world. A better place. Some things are better till mobley remarked. But what happened to my boy . Still happens, honey. Dont forget that. She told the interviewer. Over the last decade or so. The black lives Matter Movement has centered the deaths of black youth and adults from martin and Michael Brown to Tyree Nichols and breonna taylor. To tell as many of the dominant narratives that circulate why these people were killed just as till mobley wanted us to see her son as a human being first not a victim, a martyr or a racial stereotype. We see similar acts from black mothers today seeking to protect their childrens legacies via the complete and truthful stories that they share about them and the ways that they keep their childrens memories alive via political, ethical, educational, and Community Activism and. For the remainder of my time today, i like to share with you snippets of tell mobley as an orchestrator, orator and educator. When we think of the details of the emmett till case, what perspectives our vantage points get amplified the most. In other words, what do we choose to circulate about this . Public knowledge. The case usually unfolds in this way on august 28th, 1955, about a week into his summer of visit to the mississippi delta, emmett till, a 14 year old black teenager from, was kidnaped at gunpoint from his great uncles home and and murdered by a group of white men led by half brothers. Roy bryant and j. W. Milo. As a black male, till allegedly had committed one of the souths most egregious offenses flirting with assaulting and whistling at a white woman as punishment for his alleged crimes. Till was beaten, whipped and shot in the head. His nude and mutilated body was found in the Tallahatchie River on august 31st. Barbed wire connected his neck, a constant fan that weighed in the range of 75 pounds. Once tills body was discovered in the Tallahatchie River. His mother mandated that his corpse be returned to chicago for burial, a decision that countered the state of mississippis plans to to immediately and without wide range media coverage. When tills body arrived in chicago till mobley insisted that she identify her son and decided to hold an open casket and subsequent memorial again, ignoring the wishes of the state of mississippi. Ive got a job do, she said. When others tried to prevent her from seeing and revealing sons body, she deliberately chose present to present people with an opportunity to bear witness to an act of brutal racialized violence in the american south. Mamie tillmobley received the news her son was missing around 9 30 a. M. On the morning of august 28th, approximately 7 hours after he was kidnaped from his bed at his great uncles home. Almost immediately, she assembled a network of people to a sister with handling this devastate situation, including union organizers. The black press and the cp. When till mobley was finally that two have been killed and that her mississippi relatives were preparing memorialize him in the mississippi delta and leave his body there permanently. She firmly said no, i wouldnt want him buried in mississippi under any circumstances, she asserted. She then orchestrated a series of steps to ensure that her son would be laid to rest on her terms. Two of these steps, including car included raynor, one of one of chicagos most prominent funeral directors, and asking him to prepare emmett tills body for not only burial, but public viewing. When raynor failed to dissuade mobley from her decision, he ultimately asked if he should try make teal appear more presentable before being exhibited. No, let the world. See what ive seen. Mamie till said. Raynor worked on tills face anywhere until mobley committed him for what must have been a challenging and mentally draining task for him raynor had to remove tills tongue and his dangling eye, and he closed his mouth and eyelid which means that the images of two that ultimately haunted all over the world were not as horrific as the actual body that till mobley examined at the funeral parlor. As many as 5000 people saw tills body in the first night that it was made available to the public on friday, september 2nd, 1955. More than 40,000 people view tills body the next day, the day that chicagoans attended his funeral at Roberts Temple church of god in christ. Loudspeakers were set up outside the church so that the 10,000 individuals waiting in line across eight or more blocks could hear the service and tills burial postponed from saturday until tuesday to give more people the opportunity to see his body, which was available from 6 a. M. To 12 a. M. On these extended days. Hundreds of thousands of people walk past emmett tills casket over a four day period. Black parents brought their children with them so that they could bear witness to the atrocity to which chicago friends served as pallbearers and nurses were posted near his casket to help individuals who could not contain their composure after they saw the state of tills body. One out of every five people who viewed tills corpse had to be assisted due to fainting. And as this article says here, all were shot. Some horrified and appalled. Many prayed. Scores fainted and practically. All men. Women and children wept. As Mamie Till Mobley put it. People had to face my son and realize just how twisted, how distorted how terrifying race hatred could be, how i menace my son. During his last tortured hours on earth, how it continued to stalk us all, which why people also had to face themselves. They would have to see their own responsibilty to see him pushing for an end to this evil. After tills funeral, many individuals throughout the United States felt emboldened. Blame all of mississippi for tills death, and directed their anger towards state. Maybe mobley asserted that her sons killing was a habitual act of racial oppression. Violence in the southern state. After claimed that the state was going to be held accountable for her sons death, someone is going to pay this. The entire state of mississippi is going to pay for this. He didnt do anything to deserve this till mobley vowed before stating that tills death was an illustration of an everyday occurrence in mississippi and that navigating state was like walking into a den of snakes. Perhaps the most scathing response of all came from acp executive secretary roy wilkins. Wilkins, mississippi officials of fostering an environment of racial inferiority for African Americans in the state and argued that tills killers entitled in the state to mainta