July 25, 2023
Presiding Bishop J. Drew Sheard on National Monument Honoring COGIC Members Emmett Till and His Mother Mamie Till-Mobley
On July 25, 2023, what would be Mr. Emmett Till’s 82nd birthday, I am delighted that our nation, under President Joe Biden’s leadership, will honor Mr. Till and his mother, Mrs. Mamie Till-Mobley, with a national monument established across three locations in Illinois and Mississippi, in an effort to protect the actual places that tell Till’s agonizing story.
The monument will serve as a reminder of the atrocities that occurred in August 1955, when two white men abducted, tortured, and killed Till, a 14-year old Black boy, accused of offending a white woman. The monument also allows for reflection of the valiant activism demonstrated by his mother, determined to keep the story of her son’s senseless murder alive.
For today’s generation, the monument is a critical symbol of the tribulation endured by African Americans during the harrowing, culture shifting years of the Civil Rights era in America.
As the funeral of Mr. Emmett Till was held at Robert’s Temple Church Of God In Christ in Chicago, Illinois, the Church Of God In Christ, Inc. is incredibly humbled to have been a haven for Mrs. Mamie Till-Mobley and her family, as they courageously displayed the injustice inflicted upon the young Emmett Till.
This brave family has been a part of the Church Of God In Christ for many generations.
In His Service,
Bishop J. Drew Sheard
Presiding Bishop and Chief Apostle
Church of God in Christ, Inc.
