[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 86 (Thursday, May 18, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E663]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            RECOGNIZING THE EMMETT TILL MEMORIAL COMMISSION

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 18, 2017

  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the 
Emmett Till Memorial Commission based in Tallahatchie County of the 
Second Congressional District of Mississippi.
  In 2006, the Tallahatchie County Board of Supervisors formed the 
Emmett Till Memorial Commission and charged them with the development 
and oversight of the Emmett Till Memorial Site. The site is a memorial 
to the memory of Mr. Emmett Louis Till, a 14-year old African American 
teenager who was brutally murdered in Mississippi and whose murderers 
were never brought to justice. The site also fosters racial 
reconciliation efforts and restorative justice programs. The 
Commission's mission statement is to remember, preserve, and educate 
the public about the history, stories and cultural legacy of the Civil 
Rights Movement of Tallahatchie County and other vital sites along the 
Emmett Till trail and their lasting effects on the County, State and 
the Nation. The Emmett Till Memorial Commission is comprised of 18 
members and is multiracial in makeup.
  In 2007 they began efforts to restore the Tallahatchie County Second 
District Courthouse to its 1955 character, where the trial of Mr. J.W. 
Milam and Mr. Roy Bryant, the two murderers of Emmett Till, took place 
despite a not-guilty verdict. On October 2, 2007, the project was 
officially launched with a racial healing ceremony organized by the 
William Winter institute for Racial Reconciliation at the University of 
Mississippi.
  Over 400 people attended including members of the Till family. 
Following the ceremony, a bus tour was conducted of the sites 
significant to the Emmett Till story. In 2012 funding was secured and 
the work began to establish the Emmett Till Interpretive Center on the 
square directly across from the entrance to the Tallahatchie 
Courthouse.
  On March 21st, 2015 the courthouse reopened after an extensive 
restoration process. The restoration of the courthouse helped solidify 
the apology that the community wrote in 2007 that began by saying ``We 
the citizens of Tallahatchie County believe that Racial Reconciliation 
begins by telling the truth.'' The courthouse and the Emmett Till 
Interpretive Center memorialize not only the murder and injustice, but 
of the brave actions of Mrs. Mamie Till, Mr. Mose Wright and others who 
forced the nation to acknowledge the racial injustices of the era. The 
restoration of the courthouse and the opening of the Emmett Till 
Interpretive Center could not have happened without the local 
leadership of the Emmett Till Memorial Commission of Tallahatchie 
County.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the Emmett 
Till Memorial Commission located in Tallahatchie County, MS inside of 
the Second Congressional District of Mississippi.

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