Emmett Till’s Chicago Home Granted Official Landmark Status
The Chicago City Council had officially announced that Emmett Till’s home has been granted landmark status, which recognizes its historical significance and protects it from being demolished.
In the press release, they state, “The brick two-flat was the home of 14-year-old Emmett Till when he was brutally murdered by racists while visiting rural Mississippi in 1955. Upon his body’s return to Chicago, Till’s mother, Mamie, held an open-casket funeral to show the world the horrifying violence her son had suffered. Though two men were acquitted on murder charges, Till’s death became a rallying cry for the civil rights movement.”
“Mamie Till-Mobley continued to live in a three-bedroom apartment on the home’s second floor until 1962 while she worked to honor the legacy of her only child by devoting her life to eradicating racism and improving the quality of life for people of color.”
The 2,400-square-foot home was constructed in 1895. It is located in the Woodlawn neighborhood of Chicago at 6427 S. St. Lawrence Ave.
Per the Chicago Tribune, in a statement about the landmark, Alderwoman Jeanette Taylor said, “A lot of times, history involving African Americans gets forgotten about. We will repeat history if we don’t remember it and have these hard conversations.”
In 1955, 14-year-old Emmett Till was kidnapped, mutilated, and lynched by two white men in Mississippi. This was after a caucasian woman falsely accused him of whistling at her and trying to grab her. In 2017, the woman,Carolyn Bryant, recanted her story. An all-white jury later acquitted his killers, Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam.
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