JACKSON — "Remembering Emmett: From Silence to Social Justice," a series of public talks tracing the history of Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley, has launched at the Creative Arts & Scholarly Engagement (CASE) Festival hosted by Jackson State University April 4-5. The series is part of the schedule of events organized by the Emmett Till Interpretive Center (ETIC) throughout 2025 to mark the 70th anniversary of Emmett’s murder and Mamie’s courage in sharing their story with the world.
Held at JSU’s Margaret Walker Center, the CASE Festival is free and open to the public. The festival’s full schedule is available here.
The Mississippi Humanities Council awarded ETIC a grant last year to fund the Remembering Emmett series. This first engagement on April 4 serves as the opening plenary talk for the 19th annual CASE Festival. In addition to staff from ETIC providing historical context and exploring the legacies of Emmett and Mamie, this particular panel, from 3 p.m. to 4:20 p.m., features Rev. Wheeler Parker, Emmett’s cousin and the last surviving eyewitness to his abduction. Rev. Parker will share his hopes for this generation and the future.
The CASE Festival invited proposals from students at Jackson State and other institutions at various grade levels that either focused on this year’s theme of the life and legacy of Emmett Till or another topic entirely. Presentations will include poetry and spoken word, visual art, essays and performing arts. Additionally, two awards will be presented at the festival: the Margaret Walker Annual Award will be given for the best essay on the Black experience in the American South by a JSU student, and the Doris Derby Visual Arts and Social Justice Award will be given to a student from any institution whose contribution best reflects the festival’s theme. Natasha Trethewey, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and a former Poet Laureate, will deliver the keynote address to close out the festival.
ETIC is partnering with the Veterans of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement, an organization dedicated to preserving the history of civil rights in Mississippi, to bring Remembering Emmett to the public.
Future installments of the series will feature civil rights veterans sharing oral histories of their historic work to shape attitudes and policies as well as the significance of Emmett’s murder on the movement. The series will also examine the history of Emmett’s 1955 visit to Mississippi, from his murder and the subsequent trial through the present, with ETIC’s efforts to preserve the legacies of Emmett and Mamie through memorials and community work. These free talks will be hosted at various institutions across the state.
“Taking time to remember the lives of Emmett Till and Mrs. Mamie Till-Mobley is vitally important when taking inventory of the past and present,” said Benjamin Saulsberry, ETIC’s public engagement and museum education director. “Without a doubt, Mississippi and society at large are beneficiaries of the character of Mrs. Mamie Till-Mobley, Moses Wright, Dr. T.R.M. Howard, and others who simply wanted justice for Emmett Till and put their lives on the line in its pursuit. We’re grateful to share our work at this year’s CASE Festival in hopes that people are inspired, encouraged and motivated to do good work as well.”
Inquiries about the 70th anniversary programming and Remembering Emmett speaking engagements can be directed to Dr. Daphne Chamberlain, dchamberlain@emmett-till.org.
