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By: Elizabeth Guerrero
Marches, boycotts, and campaigns were the forefront of the 20th century Civil Rights Movement. Many of these initiatives were motivated by horrible tragedies which filled civil activists with justifiable rage and even brought new leaders to the cause. The murder of Emmett Till is one of the most well known tragedies that happened at the start of the civil rights movement. A young 14 year old African American boy was lynched after being accused of whistling at a white woman. 12 years later Till’s name was cleared after the white woman admitted to making the whole thing up. This unjust turn of events is what brought Mamie Till Mobley forward in the Civil Rights Movement. Mobley was distraught at the fact that her son wasn’t getting the justice he deserved. When Emmett’s murderers were acquitted by a white jury, she began to give speeches sharing the news and a stunning amount of letters were sent to the White House demanding justice. The world got to know Emmett’s name through his mother’s voice.
After her son’s death, Mobley decided to hold the funeral publicly. Fifty thousand people attended and viewed Emmett’s body. She knew the importance of this act; people had to see the brutality that Emmett had suffered and understand the importance of preventing something like this from happening again. Mobley went from being an everyday person to being a hardworking activist for the Civil Rights Movement. She advocated for underprivileged children and racial injustice. Everything she did was to preserve her son’s memory and protect the future generations. To pass on her knowledge she founded the Emmett Till Players, a group of students who dedicated themselves to educating people on the Civil Rights Movement. Mobley’s work continued on until her death in 2003. She spoke out against injustice including the lynching of James Byrd, an African American man murdered by three white supremacists in 1998.
Mobley’s work can be an inspiration to us all. She went through something traumatic which led her to realize her role in the Civil Rights Movement. That being said, Mobley’s role would have still been relevant in response to the many other injustices that took place during the 20th century. In today’s world we are witnessing injustice upon injustice target the BIPOC community. As members of this community (or allies), knowing such things are occurring should motivate us to speak up and act.
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