[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.
____________________