[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 199 (Wednesday, December 21, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H9931-H9933]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 EMMETT TILL AND MAMIE TILL-MOBLEY CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL ACT OF 2021

  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (S. 450) to award posthumously the Congressional Gold Medal to 
Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                 S. 450

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Emmett Till and Mamie Till-
     Mobley Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2021''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds the following:
       (1) The brutal lynching of Emmett Till and the subsequent 
     bravery and boldness of his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, became 
     a catalyst for the civil rights movement.
       (2) On August 28, 1955, 14-year-old Emmett Till was 
     kidnapped, beaten, and shot in Money, Mississippi, where he 
     had traveled from Chicago to stay with his great uncle, Moses 
     Wright.
       (3) The corpse of Emmett Till was discovered 3 days later 
     in the Tallahatchie River and his murderers were acquitted 
     despite Moses Wright providing an eyewitness testimony that 
     the men on trial kidnapped Emmett Till.
       (4) Mamie Till-Mobley, the mother of Emmett Till, 
     demonstrated her love for her son and her courage and 
     strength in suffering in the days that followed as she 
     brought the body of Emmett Till back to Chicago for burial 
     and demanded an open casket funeral, which drew more than 
     50,000 attendees.
       (5) Mamie Till-Mobley further allowed a photograph to be 
     taken of Emmett Till in his casket, which was shown 
     throughout the world.
       (6) The original casket of Emmett Till stands on display at 
     the National Museum of African American History and Culture 
     as an enduring reminder of the racial violence that is a part 
     of the history of the United States that the people of the 
     United States must confront.
       (7) The heroic actions of Mamie Till-Mobley in the midst of 
     evil, injustice, and grief became a catalyst for the civil 
     rights movement and continued in the years to come as she 
     worked for justice and honored the legacy of Emmett Till.
       (8) Mamie Till-Mobley went on to create the Emmett Till 
     Players, which was a significant national cultural 
     contribution as teenagers traveled throughout the country 
     presenting Martin Luther King Jr. speeches in the name of 
     Emmett Till.
       (9) Mamie Till-Mobley also served as chair and co-founder 
     of the Emmett Till Justice Campaign, which had the dual 
     mission of reopening the murder of Emmett Till for a 
     reinvestigation and a passage into law of Federal legislation 
     to ensure that other racially motivated murders during the 
     civil rights era were investigated and, when possible, 
     prosecuted.
       (10) The efforts of the Emmett Till Justice Campaign led to 
     the successful joint investigation by the State of 
     Mississippi, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the 
     Department of Justice in 2004, the passage of the Emmett Till 
     Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act of 2007 (Public Law 110-344; 
     122 Stat. 3934), signed into law by President George W. Bush, 
     and the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crimes 
     Reauthorization Act of 2016 (Public Law 114-325; 130 Stat. 
     1965), signed into law by President Barack Obama.
       (11) The people of the United States honor the legacy of 
     Emmett Till and the incredible suffering and equally 
     incredible courage, resilience, and efforts of Mamie Till-
     Mobley that led to the civil rights movement that began in 
     the 1950s.

     SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

       (a) Presentation Authorized.--The Speaker of the House of 
     Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate 
     shall make appropriate arrangements for the posthumous 
     presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal of 
     appropriate design in commemoration of Emmett Till and Mamie 
     Till-Mobley.
       (b) Design and Striking.--For purposes of the presentation 
     referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury 
     (referred to in this Act as the ``Secretary'') shall strike a 
     gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, 
     to be determined by the Secretary. The design shall bear an 
     image of, and inscriptions of the name of, ``Emmett Till'' 
     and ``Mamie Till-Mobley''.
       (c) Award of Medal.--
       (1) In general.--After the award of the gold medal referred 
     to in subsection (a), the gold medal shall be given to the 
     National Museum of African American History and Culture, 
     where it shall be displayed as appropriate.
       (2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
     the National Museum of African American History and Culture 
     should make the gold medal received under paragraph (1) 
     available for display elsewhere, particularly at other 
     locations and events associated with Emmett Till and Mamie 
     Till-Mobley.

     SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

       The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of 
     the gold medal struck under section 3, at a price sufficient 
     to cover the costs of the medals, including labor, materials, 
     dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses.

     SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS.

       (a) National Medals.--Medals struck under this Act are 
     national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, 
     United States Code.
       (b) Numismatic Items.--For purposes of section 5134 of 
     title 31, United States Code, all medals struck under this 
     Act shall be considered to be numismatic items.

     SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF SALE.

       (a) Authority to Use Fund Amounts.--There is authorized to 
     be charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise 
     Fund such amounts as may be necessary to pay for the costs of 
     the medals struck under this Act.

[[Page H9932]]

       (b) Proceeds of Sales.--Amounts received from the sale of 
     duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 4 shall be 
     deposited into the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Waters) and the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California.


                             General Leave

  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise in support of S. 450, the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley 
Congressional Gold Medal Act, which is a companion to a House bill 
sponsored by Representative Rush.
  This bill will provide for a Congressional Gold Medal in 
commemoration of two very important figures in our American history and 
heroes of the civil rights movement, Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley.
  It was not long ago that Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African-American 
child from Chicago, visited his family in Money, Mississippi. Shortly 
after his arrival, he was kidnapped, beaten, mutilated, and shot in the 
head. His murderers then sunk his body in a river with a cotton gin fan 
tied around his neck with barbed wire.
  Mamie Till-Mobley, Emmett Till's mother, expressed both love and 
heroism in the face of the unthinkable, ensuring that her son's body 
was brought home to Chicago and insisting that his funeral be open 
casket.
  She ensured that Emmett was dressed in his Sunday best and that 
nothing else about his body was touched, so that people could see the 
violence that had been perpetrated upon him and bear witness to the 
horrors of lynching.
  Mamie issued an open invitation to her young son's funeral. 50,000 
people heeded the call and were moved by the devastating effects that 
racism, prejudice, and hate had on Emmett's body and very life.
  She allowed Jet Magazine to photograph Emmett in his casket, ensuring 
that all of America would have an image of her son to galvanize a 
nation against the horrors of lynching and illuminate the need for the 
civil rights of all.
  Representative Rush was 8 years old when Till was lynched and 
murdered; and he has said that one of the sharpest memories of his 
childhood is the image of Mamie Till-Mobley looking at her son's body 
in Jet Magazine.
  Mamie Till-Mobley's bravery was a fomenting force for the civil 
rights movement, paving the way for subsequent advocacy to increase 
racial equality, including the Montgomery boycott. While we still have 
a long way to go to ensure racial equity, we owe a great deal of 
progress to the bravery and sacrifice of Mamie Till-Mobley and the way 
that she honored her son's life.
  Representative Rush represents Illinois' First District, where Emmett 
Till and Mamie Till-Mobley resided. While Representative Rush has been 
in office, their house has become a national landmark.
  Representative Rush is also the sponsor of H.R. 55, the Emmett Till 
Antilynching Act, which was signed into law earlier this year, and 
makes lynching a Federal hate crime, punishable by up to 30 years in 
prison. Due to the absence of this and other Federal and legal 
protections, Emmett Till's murderers served no time in prison for their 
crimes.
  I am so appreciative of Representative Rush's dedication to Emmett 
Till and Mamie Till-Mobley and his work to ensure that lynching is 
recognized as a Federal crime, and that the Tills are honored for their 
bravery and legacy.
  I am pleased to be able to vote ``yes'' for this bill before 
Representative Rush's retirement at the end of this term, and I 
congratulate him on this accomplishment. I urge my colleagues to 
support this very important Congressional Gold Medal bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of S. 450, a bill that 
will award, long overdue, the Congressional Gold Medal to Emmett Till 
and Mamie Till-Mobley. It is a pleasure to be on the House floor with 
Chair Waters to speak in favor of this bill and its strong bipartisan 
support.
  On August 28, 1955, a 14-year-old African-American boy was brutally 
murdered while visiting family in Money, Mississippi, based on nothing 
more than an accusation, an accusation that he had flirted with a White 
woman 4 days earlier. This boy's name was Emmett Till.
  The way Emmett was murdered by the woman's husband and brother are 
far too gruesome to describe here or in the findings of this bill, but 
they left a scar on America's history in a way that we will never 
forget.
  When Till's body was found, it was so badly disfigured it was nearly 
unrecognizable, even to Emmett's own family. The only clue they had to 
identify him was an initialed signet ring.
  As it happened far too often during this period in our history, 
authorities tried to expedite his burial to try to make the incident go 
away. Yet, Emmett's mother, as so eloquently described by Chair Waters, 
Mamie Bradley insisted that her son's body be sent home to Chicago 
where he could be properly memorialized.
  She knew that it was only through her son's mutilated body that the 
world could truly understand the evil that was perpetrated on her son. 
I cannot begin to imagine how difficult this decision was for her at 
that time and with those feelings.
  But it was this decision that prompted Jet Magazine to publish the 
photo of Emmett; and it was this decision that ultimately led 
mainstream media to shine a light on the story.
  I wish I could say that those who murdered Emmett Till were brought 
to justice but, sadly, and most unjustly, less than 2 weeks after 
Emmett's body was buried, an all-White jury deliberated for less than 
an hour and issued a not guilty verdict; this, despite the fact that 
there was ample eyewitness evidence to the contrary.

  Despite a lack of immediate justice for this brutal murder, Emmett's 
mother, Mamie, never stopped drawing attention to her son's murder. As 
demonstrated by all of us here today, the Till trial brought to light 
the brutality of the Jim Crow South.
  Mr. Speaker, S. 450 will honor Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley for 
the injustice that they suffered, and the bravery shown in the 
aftermath of this terrible incident in American history.
  Mr. Speaker, I support S. 450, and I urge my colleagues to support it 
as well. I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Danny K. Davis).
  Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman 
from California for bringing this bill to the floor and giving me the 
opportunity to comment on it.
  I rise in strong support. I grew up across the river from Mississippi 
in the State of Arkansas. I happened to be the same age as Emmett Till 
when he was murdered; I was 14, he was 14.
  Then I had the opportunity to work with his mother, Ms. Mamie Till-
Mobley, who lived in Chicago. The church, Roberts Temple, is now in my 
district, where his funeral was held, so I have always felt close to 
the situation. I have always felt a part of it.
  Ms. Mobley, Emmett Till's mother, was a premier activist in Chicago. 
She lived in Bobby's district, Congressman Rush's district, but she was 
all over the city, all over the country, all over the world, hoping to 
bring attention to the situation.

                              {time}  1500

  Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for 
closing.
  I encourage my colleagues to support S. 450. I thank my friend, Mr. 
Davis of Parkdale, Arkansas, for his testimony. Parkdale is a great 
city in our southeast corner of Arkansas. I thank Chairwoman Waters for 
her passionate support of this bill. This is a bill that has the 
universal support of people on both sides of the aisle.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support S. 450, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.

[[Page H9933]]

  

  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for 
closing.
  I appreciate Representative Rush's dedication to ensuring that Emmett 
Till and Mamie Till-Mobley's legacy and bravery are remembered and 
honored with this bill.
  This Congressional Gold Medal bill will allow the American people to 
pay tribute to these brave individuals who catalyzed the civil rights 
movement and stood up against racial injustice in the face of immense 
hardship and without whom we would not be where we are today as a 
country that continues to work toward racial equality for all.
  I thank Representative Rush for championing this important bill.
  I would add that, yes, I remember when it took place. I was 16 years 
old at the time. The parents and leaders of our community made sure 
that all the children in our communities, in our schools, and in our 
churches knew what had happened. They made sure that we understood what 
was going on in this country at that time.
  We are never to forget what happened to Emmett Till and what happened 
to so many others when lynching was a way of life.
  Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased that Mr. Rush has championed this 
important bill. I urge all of my colleagues to support it, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  Mr. RUSH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor to lives and legacies of 
Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley. Their story is of major significance 
in the African American community and speaks to a turning point in 
American history. Today, the House passed the Emmett Till and Mamie 
Till-Mobley Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2021, which would award 
Emmett and Ms. Till-Mobley a Congressional Gold Medal.
  I would like to start off by thanking Chairwoman Maxine Waters, 
Leader Steny Hoyer, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi for their assistance in 
shepherding this bill through the House. With their help, we have 
gotten 290 House cosponsors for the bill, including every House 
Democrat and 67 House Republicans. l would also like to acknowledge 
Rep. Don Bacon from the great state of Nebraska for serving as the 
Republican co-lead on this bill. I would also like to thank Senators 
Richard Burr of North Carolina and Cory Booker of New Jersey for 
serving as the Senate leads on the bill.
  This year, I sought to bring light to the injustice of Emmett Till's 
lynching, through this and the Emmett Till Antilynching Act, which 
President Biden signed into law earlier this year. For African 
Americans of my generation, his brutal torture and murder was a 
painful, but very real reminder of the true horrors of white supremacy.
  News of his death shaped my understanding of racism at a very early 
age. When the photo from Emmett Till's funeral ran in Jet Magazine, I 
will never forget how my mother gathered us around the coffee table and 
told us `That's why I brought my boys out of the South.'
  Emmett Till's lynching sent shockwaves through my community and 
deeply affected me and my family.
  His gruesome murder--as well as Mamie Till-Mobley's courageous 
decision to have Jet publish a photo of his body and to hold an open-
casket funeral for her son so people could see his mutilated body--
exposed the brutal truth of racism. This caused such outrage, not only 
in the United States but abroad, and sparked the Civil Rights Movement.
  It is no coincidence that the March on Washington, where Dr. Martin 
Luther King, Jr. gave his iconic ``I have a Dream'' speech, was held on 
the eighth anniversary of Emmett's death. Emmett's lynching was a wake-
up call for Black America and others. We could not stay quiet any 
longer.
  I feel a heavy responsibility to continue telling Emmett and Ms. 
Till-Mobley's story. Not only did Emmett's death resonate deeply with 
me others of my generation, but he grew up on the South Side of 
Chicago, in what is now the Congressional District that I represent. 
The work that Ms. Till-Mobley started on racial justice continues 
today, and the same struggle to protect Black lives, Hispanic lives, 
LGBTQ lives, immigrants lives, Jewish lives, and others. We must 
continue telling their story for future generations to learn from.
  Emmett's brutal murder catalyzed the Civil Rights Movement and a 
generation of civil rights activists. It had a ripple effect that can 
still be felt today, and began a worldwide movement to reckon with 
freedom, justice, and equality all around the world. His name will 
forever be spoken in the same breath as Dr. King's, Medgar Evers', Fred 
Hamtons, Mark Clark's, and George Floyd's just to name a few.
  But Mr. Speaker, I am left thinking of Emmett, who would have been 81 
years old if he were still alive today. He should be here today, 
reflecting on a life well lived, with still more yet to go. It is an 
unthinkable tragedy to lose a child in such a brutal, heinous way. This 
Nation allowed the horrors of white supremacy to fester for far too 
long, and that is what murdered Emmett Till. It is the least this 
Congress can do, 67 years after his death, to honor him and his mother, 
Mamie Till-Mobley, with the highest award Congress can bestow.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, S. 450.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________