National Monuments · Illinois and Mississippi
Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument
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Check the official park website for current access, conditions and visitor information.
Introduction
Background: 1
In 1955, 14-year-old Emmett Till traveled to Money, Mississippi, to visit relatives. He was kidnapped, tortured, and murdered after reportedly whistling at a white woman. His mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, insisted on an open-casket funeral near their hometown of Chicago. Her brave decision let the world see the racist violence inflicted upon her son and set the Civil Rights Movement into motion.
Geography
History and culture
History & Culture: 5
Emmett arrived by train to Mississippi on Sunday, August 21, and went to stay at the home of his great uncle Moses (Mose) Wright outside of Money. A few days into his visit, Emmett and his cousins drove to Bryant’s Grocery and Meat Market to buy snacks after a day spent picking cotton. Emmett bought candy from Carolyn Bryant, the young White woman working behind the counter, who owned the local store with her husband. Eyewitnesses with Emmett said he whistled at Mrs. Bryant, and the boys quickly left. The subsequent, vicious response to this perceived breach of racial customs shook the country and sparked a movement for social justice.
After learning of the horrific murder of her only child, Mrs. Till-Mobley demanded Emmett’s body be returned to Chicago. Her next request turned private grief into the grief of the nation. Knowing the powerful effect it would have, his mother insisted on an open-casket funeral for Emmett. All eyes turned to Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ for the viewing and funeral in September. Confronted with the image of Emmett’s battered body, the nation could no longer ignore the deadly impacts of hatred and racism. Thousands of mourners visited the church, flooding the surrounding Chicago streets. Local and national news outlets covered the event, including television, enabling the tragedy to reach a worldwide audience. Jet , a popular Chicago-based African American magazine, published graphic images of Emmett’s brutalized body. Heartbreak, disbelief, and rage galvanized observers to demand change. However, justice was still far from reach.
Visitor centers and places
Sumner Visitor Center: 6
The Sumner Visitor Center is open 12pm-5pm Tuesday through Saturday. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, and New Years Day.
Places to explore
Things to Do: 7
Ranger and visitors at the Tallahatchie County Courthouse in Sumner, MS. Image Credit: Nole Wade
Learn More Virtually Check out the Emmett Till Memory Project - a website and app that takes users to important sites in the Mississippi Delta and Chicago. At each site, the app provides information, archival documents, and historic photographs to hekp you immerse yourself in Emmett and Mamie's story.
Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument Headquarters P.O. Box 361 Sumner, MS 38957
Visitor information
Visitation
Sources & field notes
Source records (11)
Select a numbered reference to open a source card. Retrieval dates describe this edition’s source capture, rather than an independent verification or the date of the underlying information.
Background · Official park structured information. Open source ↗
- Information date
- Not supplied by the source
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-30
- Evidence
- Single source; not independently corroborated.
- Reuse
- NPS-supplied text; NPS-authored government work generally public domain, subject to third-party rights.
Clock tower · Nole Wade. Open source ↗
- Information date
- Not supplied by the source
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-30
- Catalog image date
- 08/01/2026
- Source scope
- Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument
- Evidence
- Single source; not independently corroborated.
- Reuse
- Public domain:Full Granting Rights
- Rights
- Public domain:Full Granting Rights
Designation · National Park System directory. Open source ↗
- Information date
- Not supplied by the source
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-30
- Evidence
- Single source; not independently corroborated.
- Reuse
- Factual reference data; source attribution retained.
State or territory · National Park System directory. Open source ↗
- Information date
- Not supplied by the source
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-30
- Evidence
- Single source; not independently corroborated.
- Reuse
- Factual reference data; source attribution retained.
History & Culture · National Park Service. Open source ↗
- Information date
- Not supplied by the source
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-30
- Evidence
- Single source; not independently corroborated.
- Reuse
- NPS-authored U.S. government material is generally public domain; third-party material may have separate rights. No images copied.
Sumner Visitor Center · National Park Service park structured data. Open source ↗
- Information date
- Not supplied by the source
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-30
- Evidence
- Single source; not independently corroborated.
- Reuse
- NPS-supplied text; NPS-authored U.S. government work is generally public domain, subject to third-party rights.
Things to Do · National Park Service. Open source ↗
- Information date
- Not supplied by the source
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-30
- Evidence
- Single source; not independently corroborated.
- Reuse
- NPS-supplied text; NPS-authored U.S. government work is generally public domain, subject to third-party rights.
Physical Address · Official park structured information. Open source ↗
- Information date
- Not supplied by the source
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-30
- Evidence
- Single source; not independently corroborated.
- Reuse
- NPS-supplied text; NPS-authored government work generally public domain, subject to third-party rights.
Mailing Address · Official park structured information. Open source ↗
- Information date
- Not supplied by the source
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-30
- Evidence
- Single source; not independently corroborated.
- Reuse
- NPS-supplied text; NPS-authored government work generally public domain, subject to third-party rights.
Telephone · Official park structured information. Open source ↗
- Information date
- Not supplied by the source
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-30
- Evidence
- Single source; not independently corroborated.
- Reuse
- NPS-supplied text; NPS-authored government work generally public domain, subject to third-party rights.
Recreation visits · National Park Service Visitor Use Statistics. Open source ↗
- Information date
- 2025
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-30
- Methodology
- NPS reporting unit; annual total is the sum of 12 monthly recreation visit estimates.
- Reporting unit
- Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley NM
- Evidence
- Single source; not independently corroborated.
- Reuse
- Factual reference data; source attribution retained.