The Two Mississippi Museums hosted a special tour Sunday to remember the life and legacy of Emmitt Till, who was slain 65 years ago in Money, Mississippi.Till was murdered in Mississippi when he was 14-years-old, his death sparking a movement. Till would have turned 80 years old on July 25.Two Texas friends, Amanda Franklin and Cynthia Fagan, took a road trip and visited the museums. They stopped in Jackson Saturday and decided to visit the two Mississippi Museums on Sunday to learn more about the state’s history during the Civil Rights Movement.”If we don’t remember where we come from then we don’t remember where we are going. And to actually see what happened in the past and where we are today from it just shows progress and it showed change,” said Amanda Franklin.”Didn’t know today was his birthday today, but it is still a good day. It makes the day that much more important to visit this museum,” said Franklin. “People need to know about it, because if we just ignore it and act like it didn’t happen, we are just ignoring a part of where this country started and what it is based on. Black history is American history and everything needs to be continuously taught.”Lauryn Sarp-Evans, 11, sat in on the presentation.”I learned that Emmett Till, he didn’t do anything to the lady, but they still thought something happened just because it was a white lady and a Black man,” said Sarp-Evans.She said knowing that Till was just three years older than her, she cannot imagine how his family must have felt.Continuing to educate young people like her is why places like the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum exist today.”A lot of people don’t know who Emmett is. It was our chore to make sure we did themed tours today, so we wanted to make sure that they remember this 14-year-old boy who lost his life when he came to Mississippi,” said Director of Two Mississippi Museums Pamela Junior.It is widely recognized that Till’s murder on Aug. 28, 1955, sparked the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and ’60s.
The Two Mississippi Museums hosted a special tour Sunday to remember the life and legacy of Emmitt Till, who was slain 65 years ago in Money, Mississippi.
Till was murdered in Mississippi when he was 14-years-old, his death sparking a movement. Till would have turned 80 years old on July 25.
Two Texas friends, Amanda Franklin and Cynthia Fagan, took a road trip and visited the museums. They stopped in Jackson Saturday and decided to visit the two Mississippi Museums on Sunday to learn more about the state’s history during the Civil Rights Movement.
“If we don’t remember where we come from then we don’t remember where we are going. And to actually see what happened in the past and where we are today from it just shows progress and it showed change,” said Amanda Franklin.
“Didn’t know today was his birthday today, but it is still a good day. It makes the day that much more important to visit this museum,” said Franklin. “People need to know about it, because if we just ignore it and act like it didn’t happen, we are just ignoring a part of where this country started and what it is based on. Black history is American history and everything needs to be continuously taught.”
Lauryn Sarp-Evans, 11, sat in on the presentation.
“I learned that Emmett Till, he didn’t do anything to the lady, but they still thought something happened just because it was a white lady and a Black man,” said Sarp-Evans.
She said knowing that Till was just three years older than her, she cannot imagine how his family must have felt.
Continuing to educate young people like her is why places like the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum exist today.
“A lot of people don’t know who Emmett is. It was our chore to make sure we did themed tours today, so we wanted to make sure that they remember this 14-year-old boy who lost his life when he came to Mississippi,” said Director of Two Mississippi Museums Pamela Junior.
It is widely recognized that Till’s murder on Aug. 28, 1955, sparked the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and ’60s.