Washington, DC – Today, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries released the following statement after the Biden-Harris administration’s creation of the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument. 

Today’s proclamation establishes the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument, which honors the story of Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley in three sites across Illinois and Mississippi that mark the journey Mamie took as a young girl with her family to flee the danger and oppression of the Jim Crow South. Though she would escape, that same hate and violence claimed the life of her son. 

Emmett’s brutal murder and Mamie’s courage to show the world the cruel violence inflicted on her son helped galvanize the Civil Rights Movement in America. The creation of this national monument places the life and legacy of Emmett Till among our nation’s most treasured memorials. Last year, the Biden-Harris administration signed the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act into law, making lynching a federal crime for the first time in American history.

In the face of efforts to erase and rewrite Black history, including in Florida, it is essential to make sure that stories like Emmett Till’s are told and not forgotten. Black history is American history. I am thankful to President Biden for his inclusive and decisive leadership.