Far too often, our history books diminish the roles of powerful Black women. In some retellings, Rosa Parks was just an older woman who wanted to sit on the bus, not a movement leader engaging in radical civil disobedience. Coretta Scott King was merely a dutiful wife, not a civil rights leader in her own right. And Mamie Till-Mobley was just a grieving mother, not an activist who sparked a movement.
Now, Till-Mobley, whose decision to let the world see her son, Emmett Till’s open-casket, fueled the civil rights movement, is beginning to take her rightful place in our history. Over the weekend, Argo Community High School unveiled a massive statue honoring Till-Mobley. The school, which Till-Mobley attended, is right outside of Chicago, where Till-Mobley and Emmett Till lived.
While many people know Till-Mobley because of Emmett Till, after his death, she continued to fight for the civil rights movement. “What happens to any of us, anywhere in the world, had better be the business of all of us,” Till-Mobley once told a crowd as she toured the nation fighting for equal rights.
The 850-pound statue, which depicts Till-Mobley giving a speech, also includes a photo of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old Black boy who was brutally murdered by two white men who were never convicted. A quote from Till-Mobley hovers just above the photo of her son. “We are only given a certain amount of time to do what we were sent here to do. You don’t have to be around a lifetime to share the wisdom of a lifetime. There is no time to waste,” said Till-Mobley in the quote.
For Emmett Till’s living family members, the tribute is incredibly touching. “The effect of this memorial speaks volumes to the race issue in America. The Emmett Till and Mamie Till Mobley Walkway represent a welcome home to Emmett that he was not able to experience in life,” said Reverend Wheeler Jr, Emmett’s cousin, in a statement, “and as a beacon of hope that change is possible.”
The fact that the statue is outside of Argo Community Highschool is symbolically meaningful, says Chris Benson, President of the Till Institute. Till-Mobley, a talented academic, was the first African-American student at the high school to make the honor roll.
“Not only does the statue represent an incredibly accurate likeness, but it also represents a source of inspiration for generations at the gateway to the school where Mother Mobley was an honor student,” said Benson. “As a teacher for more than two decades, Mother Mobley considered her leadership in education as a high form of activism—preparing students for future challenges armed with the understanding of the sacrifices that had made it possible for them to succeed.”
The death of Carolyn Bryant, the white woman whose accusations against Emmett Till led to his death, brought the young boy’s murder back into the spotlight. But this weekend’s unveiling hopefully brings a positive light to the story of a Black woman who turned her grief into action.
“It is difficult to express how we feel about the great honor Argo High School and the Village of Summit have bestowed on Emmett Till and his courageous mother, Mamie Till Mobley,” said Dr. Marvel Parker, Executive Director of the Till Institute. “This beautiful statue stands as a memorial to her legacy of activism and her courage to let the world see what happened to her son.