“He would have been the center of everything”: the art exhibition imagining if Emmett Till lived
Dedicated to the boy whose lynching partially ignited the US civil rights movement, the new exhibition celebrates Black creativity and invites audiences to reckon with racism in America
TL;DR
- The exhibition 'If Emmett Till Lived: Freedom on American Ground' in Chicago explores the question of what Emmett Till's life might have been like.
- The show uses an imagined photo library to prompt reflection on memory, history, and racial justice in America.
- Co-curators Sarah Elizabeth Lewis and Reverend Wheeler Parker Jr. aim to challenge how the country remembers its past and perceives its history.
- Recent efforts to honor Emmett Till include designating July 25th as Emmett Till Day and the preservation of the barn where he was murdered.
- The exhibition features a wide range of photographers and includes reflections from notable figures, using images as monuments to lives lost.
- The project serves as a tribute not only to Emmett Till but also to other young Black individuals whose lives have been tragically cut short.
- The curators emphasize the need for a transformation in how people see each other and the importance of witnessing injustice.
- Mamie Till-Mobley's decision to hold an open casket funeral and have Till's body photographed was a pivotal act of witnessing.