National Emmett Till Commemoration Brings Family, Civil Rights Leaders, Impacted Families to MS

JACKSON, Miss. - EntSun -- The casket will remain open. History will not be erased!

Emmett's tragic death at the tender age of 14, on August 28, 1955, became a defining catalyst of the modern Civil Rights Movement. The March on Washington memorial event being held in Washington, D.C. this weekend was first held on the 8th anniversary of Till's murder, in 1963, a direct result of Emmett's tragic death which inextricably ties these two events together.

Given recent race-related incidents, including traumatic, eerily reminiscent and suspicious tree hangings, disappearances, questionable local investigations and lack of Federal investigations in Mississippi and nationally, the events of this weekend put into focus the ongoing civil rights issues plaguing this nation.

Mamie Till-Mobley, a native Mississippian, transformed her unimaginable grief into a national call for justice that helped change the course of American history.

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FRI. AUGUST 28
10:00 A.M. PRESS CONFERENCE
Mississippi State Capitol
400 High Street
Jackson, Mississippi

SPEAKERS
Deborah Watts
Cousin of Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley. Co-Founder Emmett Till Legacy Foundation

Mayor John Horhn
Mayor of Jackson

Reena Evers-Everette
Daughter of Medgar Evers and Myrlie Evers Williams

Commissioner De'Keither Stamps

Dinelle Hardin
Sister of Ronald Greene

Paula C. Johnson
Professor, Syracuse University
Co-Director, Cold Case Justice Initiative

Dennis Dahmer Son of Vernon Dahmer Sr.

Cephus "Uncle Bobby X" Johnson
Uncle of Oscar Grant

Beatrice "Aunt Bee X" Johnson Sister of Dorothy Jean Dale- Chambers and cousin of Gail Keeton-Smiley

Shelton Chappell
Son of Johnnie Mae Chappell

Wharlest Jackson Jr., Denise Jackson-Ford and Vanessa Ealy
Son, Daughter and Cousin of Wharlest Jackson, Sr.

Reverend Eric D. Williams
Pastor, Farish Street Baptist Church Jackson, MS

Attorney Jaribu Hill
Founder, Mississippi Workers' Center for Human Rights

Impacted Families attending the commemoration weekend
Karen Wells — Mother of Amir Locke

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Lisa Keys — Mother of Brandon Keys

12:00 NOON  A MOMENT OF SILENCE FOR EMMETT TILL & "SAY THEIR NAMES" REMEMBRANCE
Myrlie's Garden
3611 Missouri Street
Jackson, MS

MEDGAR AND MYRLIE EVERS HOME NATIONAL MONUMENT TOUR UNTIL 1:30 P.M.
2332 Margaret W. Alexander Drive
Jackson, MS

MISSISSIPPI CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUM TOUR OPEN UNTIL 5:00 P.M.
222 North St. #2205
Jackson, MS

6:00 P.M. "TILL" MOVIE SCREENING & TALKBACK with Candlelight Vigil immediately following
The Patton House & Gallery
512 North State Street
Jackson, MS

SAT. AUGUST 29
9:00 A.M. TILL TRAIL OF TEARS AND TERROR EDUCATIONAL TOUR to historic sites of Emmett Till's final journey

SUN. AUGUST 30
10:30 A.M. WORSHIP IN WHITE
Farish Street Baptist Church
619 N. Farish St.
Jackson, MS

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/emmett-till-71st-anniversary-commemoration-weekend-aug-28-30-2026-tickets-1990317574443