White House to establish national monument honoring Emmett Till
CBSAug 08, 2023
The Facts
Pres. Joe Biden is expected to sign a proclamation on Tuesday to establish the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument across three sites in Illinois and Mississippi. The event comes on the 82nd anniversary of Till-Mobley's birthday.
The mutilated body of Till — a 14-year-old Black boy from Chicago who was visiting family in Mississippi at the time of his death — was found on Aug. 31, 1955, three days after his abduction. His death became a touchstone moment in the civil rights movement.
The Spin
Republican narrative
Biden and his allies on the loony left can’t help but pander to anyone related to the civil rights movement. Till’s death was a tragedy that could easily be recognized with a museum or a national park, but Biden had to take things further and establish a national monument to prove his woke credentials ahead of the 2024 election.
Democratic narrative
Biden must establish this national monument – and others like it – to push back on Republican efforts to bury Black history and twist some historical accounts, including the recent Florida teaching standard that states enslaved people benefited during their oppression from learning skills. The national monument will keep Till’s story alive, and will aid society in marking the real history and enabling America to learn from it.