GRAND BOULEVARD — Activists and politicians who lobbied the federal government to preserve the church that hosted Emmett Till’s funeral were on hand Tuesday as the building was introduced as a national monument.
National and local officials gathered at Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ, 4021 S. State St., to unveil a temporary sign designating the church as one part of a three-site national monument to honor Till’s life and his mother Mamie Till-Mobley’s effort to keep his legacy alive.
A permanent sign is forthcoming, officials said.
The historic church is well known as the site of Till’s homegoing after white supremacists lynched the 14-year-old in Mississippi, an act many consider the catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement.
Two sites in Mississippi — Graball Landing near Glendora, where Till’s body was discovered after being dumped in the Tallahatchie River, and the courthouse in Sumner, where a jury of white men acquitted Till’s killers — also are included in the monument.
President Joe Biden signed the proclamation for the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument last week on what would’ve been Till’s 82nd birthday.
Dozens of dignitaries, including Gov. JB Pritzker, Mayor Brandon Johnson, former congressman Bobby Rush, Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth and U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland were on hand for a special program at the church to mark the occasion, along with members of the Till family.
Haaland visited the church in October 2022, joining Rush, Durbin and Rep. Danny Davis for a community conversation about the designation. In March 2021, Durbin and Duckworth introduced a bill that would have Roberts Temple declared a national historic site.
“Each piece of this monument from here in Chicago to Tallahatchie County in Mississippi tells a pivotal story in our country’s fight for the justice that every single American deserves to have,” Haaland said. “The story is so painful, but it must be told. That’s what Mamie Till-Mobley wanted. She wanted this nation to be unable to look away. Today, we honor her strength and courage because we would not be here without it.”
Relatives did not offer comment at the program. Rev. Wheeler Parker, Jr., Till’s cousin and the last living person who witnessed Till’s kidnapping, previously said the national monument “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.”
While the 101-year-old building received city landmark designation in 2006, the push to receive national landmark status has been a labor of love for many local stakeholders. The building has been beset by structural issues, so church leaders have had to fundraise to help pay for repairs.
The national monument designation will give the three sites access to federal resources for upkeep, renovations and staffing, officials said.
Rush thanked Biden and Haaland, among others, for working so diligently to get Roberts Temple the federal recognition and protection it richly deserved.
Rush said Till-Mobley’s fateful decision to have an open casket funeral, laying bare the country’s racism and brutality, helped spur the passage of the Civil Rights Act, the Till anti-lynching bill and the election of the first Black president in Barack Obama.
“Mamie Till-Mobley listened to the voice of the Holy Ghost, and the Holy Ghost told her ‘Keep that casket open.’ I thank God for the power of the open casket,” Rush said.
The designation is part of a larger effort to establish Bronzeville as a national heritage area. With Biden signing the Bronzeville–Black Metropolis National Heritage Area Act into law, Roberts Temple Church stands to receive access to even more federal resources.
Bronzeville Historical Society Founder Sherry Williams and Bronzeville Trail Task Force Founder John Adams have been part of the push to turn the community into a cultural destination. Both attended the conversation with Haaland at the church last year and joined calls to have Roberts Temple recognized.
“All of us who’ve been in the trenches for this work in terms of protecting and preserving the heritage and history, the real narratives around this … we all know each other because we’ve all been pushing for advocacy, for recognition of those who paid the cost,” Williams said. “This is a celebration for everyone who said, ‘I’m not going to change the truth to satisfy what might be comfortable for someone else.’ They pushed and persevered and made certain that the narrative was told with the truth, even though it might have been ugly.”
For Adams, seeing how close the entrance to the proposed Bronzeville Trail is in relation to the historic church makes him think about the scores of mourners who poured into Roberts Temple to pay their respects, many of them getting off at the station that once stood steps away.
Seeing it all come together makes the moment impactful, he said.
“Today is really a culmination of a good number of successes. We had a Black Lieutenant Governor speak. Three Black congresspeople spoke, our Black mayor and the Secretary of the Department of Interior, a Native American. Although a lot of progress has been made, we know that the struggle continues. We’re grateful to be a part of this,” Adams said.
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