Emmett Till Interpretive Center

Emmett Till Interpretive Center Racial reconciliation begins by telling the truth.

In 1963, civil rights activist Medgar Evers was assassinated and the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham was bombed...
06/05/2026

In 1963, civil rights activist Medgar Evers was assassinated and the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham was bombed, killing four girls. James Baldwin dedicated his 1964 play, ‘Blues for Mister Charlie,’ to Evers, his family, and those killed in the bombing. The play is loosely based on the murder of Emmett Till. “I do not know why the case pressed on my mind so hard—but it would not let me go,” Baldwin wrote in the notes preceding the play.

Author Devery S. Anderson published his colossal book, ‘Emmett Till: The Murder That Shocked the World and Propelled the...
06/03/2026

Author Devery S. Anderson published his colossal book, ‘Emmett Till: The Murder That Shocked the World and Propelled the Civil Rights Movement,’ in 2015. The book took over 20 years to research and write, resulting in a comprehensive 600-page account of the case. It was the basis for the 2022 ABC miniseries, ‘Women of the Movement.’

Anderson spoke about the book in 2016 at the Kansas City Public Library, and the event was recorded by C-SPAN. “As I watched that [Emmett Till] case as it was covered in that fifteen minutes [in ‘Eyes on the Prize’], it just grabbed me immediately, like nothing ever had in my life.” You can watch the talk at the link in the graphic.

Our website has a new look! We’ve streamlined the design with the intent of making it both easier to read and easier to ...
06/01/2026

Our website has a new look! We’ve streamlined the design with the intent of making it both easier to read and easier to find information. Browse around and please let us know what you think!

Originally published in 2002, John Edgar Wideman’s “Looking at Emmett Till” recollects the author’s experience seeing th...
05/29/2026

Originally published in 2002, John Edgar Wideman’s “Looking at Emmett Till” recollects the author’s experience seeing the ‘Jet’ magazine photos of Emmett’s brutalized body and the welter of emotions he felt. In the essay, Wideman ruminates on the mythology of race, how we have all refused to acknowledge and thus heal from the wounds affecting us.

Read the full essay at: https://creativenonfiction.org/writing/looking-at-emmett-till-2/

05/27/2026

The signs erected at Graball Landing mark the fact that Emmett’s body was recovered from the Tallahatchie River, even if we don’t know for certain the exact location. Each had been vandalized until the bullet-proof marker was installed in 2019. We refuse to let this history be erased.

We are grateful to those who gave their lives in service of our country. This Memorial Day, we remember their sacrifices...
05/25/2026

We are grateful to those who gave their lives in service of our country. This Memorial Day, we remember their sacrifices.

In his NYT bestseller ‘The Barn,’ Wright Thompson chronicles the history of the specific parcel of land where Emmett Til...
05/22/2026

In his NYT bestseller ‘The Barn,’ Wright Thompson chronicles the history of the specific parcel of land where Emmett Till was beaten, from its exploration by Hernando de Soto through the brutality of 1955 to the dedication of the Till National Monument in 2023. It is a rich examination of a place and the people connected to it, some distantly, others integrally, the American story in microcosm from a fresh perspective.

05/20/2026

The “confession” from Milam and Bryant published in ‘Look’ magazine changed the location of Emmett’s torture to protect accomplices, becoming the story of record for decades. The barn where it happened was thus erased. We at ETIC plan to develop the barn into a memorial so that the story is told truthfully, that none of us forget what happened there and why.

In ‘We Must Uncover This History,’ a documentary presented by AARP of Mississippi, Hermon Johnson Sr., Hermon Johnson Jr...
05/18/2026

In ‘We Must Uncover This History,’ a documentary presented by AARP of Mississippi, Hermon Johnson Sr., Hermon Johnson Jr., and Daryl Johnson relate the history of the town of Mound Bayou. Mound Bayou produced at one time the most-desired cotton in the world and was a community for Black success. Dr. T.R.M. Howard, a major figure in the Till trial who spoke about the tragedy publicly, called Mound Bayou home and was instrumental in its growth.

The Johnson brothers founded the Mound Bayou Museum of African American Culture and History.

See the full documentary on YouTube at the link in the graphic.

Dr. Clenora Hudson-Weems, author of Emmett Till: The Sacrificial Lamb of the Civil Rights Movement (1994), has received ...
05/15/2026

Dr. Clenora Hudson-Weems, author of Emmett Till: The Sacrificial Lamb of the Civil Rights Movement (1994), has received very little credit in offering up the first historical argument that Emmett Till's murder was the catalyst of the modern civil rights movement. Today, we acknowledge her and lift up her scholarship.

Address

158 N Court St
Sumner, MS
38957

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

Telephone

+16628498142

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