Bacon introduces bipartisan bill to posthumously honor Emmett Till

U.S. Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) on Oct. 16 offered bipartisan legislation that would posthumously award the Congressional Gold Medal to educator and activist Mamie Till-Mobley and her son, Emmett Till, who was murdered in Mississippi in 1955 after allegedly offending a white grocery store cashier. He was 14.

“This is a meaningful step in the right direction of addressing our past, acknowledging mistakes, and using those lessons to better ourselves and our country,” said Rep. Bacon.

For Emmett Till’s funeral in Chicago, Mamie Till-Mobley insisted that the casket be left open to show the world what had happened to him. Following his murder, she became an educator and activist in the Civil Rights Movement.

“It is fitting that this medal be commissioned so our nation recognizes the horrendous lynching of Emmet Till and the legacy made by his mother Mamie Till-Mobley, in her noble quest for justice for her son,” Rep. Bacon said. “We can never and must never forget his story, and the stories of the over 4,700 victims of lynching who experienced racial terror in this country.”

Rep. Bacon is the original cosponsor of H.R. 8619 with bill sponsor U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) to award both Tills with a Congressional Gold Medal, which is awarded as a national acknowledgment of renowned persons, institutions or events, according to the congressman’s office.

“Emmett Till’s death brought the unvarnished, brutal truth of racism to the forefront, largely because of Mamie Till-Mobley’s brave decision to hold an open-casket funeral for her son,” said Rep. Rush. “Mamie Till-Mobley’s courage during the most trying time of her life galvanized the Civil Rights Movement and helped put America on the path to becoming a fairer and more just country.”

H.R. 8619 has been referred for consideration to both the U.S. House Financial Services Committee and the U.S. House Administration Committee.