Great Lives Lecture: Emmett Till

Sixty-six years after his lynching, the story of Emmett Till is more prominent than ever. Beginning with the murder in 1955, Dave Tell will chart the long after-life of Emmett Till. Tell will explain how and why Till’s story was buried for 49 years before roaring back to life in the twenty-first century. Tell will account for long silences as well as brief, passionate outbursts of memorial investment. He will tell the backstories of the signs and museums that now punctuate the land where Till was killed. These stories reveal a world of controversy, patronage, nepotism and enduring racism lurking just behind the placid surface of polished historical markers. The commemoration of Emmett Till did not simply disseminate a settled story; it has transformed most of what we think we know about the night Till was killed. Subject to be a virtual-only event. Check here for more info: Emmett Till – Great Lives (umw.edu)