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The Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley Institute, in partnership with Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ, is undergoing a collaborative effort with support from the National Trust's African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund and the Mellon Foundation’s Monuments Project to restore and preserve Chicago’s Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ.

The first phase of restoration of Roberts Temple started in March with the removal of the 1990s-era masonry to reveal the original façade, which was visible at the time of Emmett Till’s funeral and extended visitation in 1955. Last fall, the project team conducted preliminary investigation and opened parts of the façade, which revealed the existence of original masonry and windows. The full removal has revealed significant findings, confirming the condition of the original masonry and steel and wood windows and other character defining such as painted brick and crosses. With this information, the project team will be able to finalize treatment recommendations and construction documents with restoration scheduled to begin this fall.

Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ was constructed in 1922. Its appearance at the time of Emmett Till’s funeral was the result of a renovation in 1927 and 1944. In partnership with Roberts Temple church leadership, the Till Institute and its preservation specialists (Bauer Latoza Architects, Berglund Construction), the restoration will be phased to address priority stabilization, restoration of the exterior facade and interior sanctuary, and rehabilitation of the full church and site.

On July 25, 2023, President Joseph Biden established the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument. The new national monument includes the Tallahatchie County Courthouse and Graball Landing in Mississippi and Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ in Chicago.

From July 25, 2023

On Tuesday, May 10, Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Shannon Estenoz toured several sites in Illinois that honor individuals and events that advanced the Civil Rights Movement. This visit continues the effort to tell a fuller story of the struggle for civil rights in America, building on Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and Assistant Secretary Estenoz’s visit earlier this year to several sites and communities in Mississippi.

As part of her trip, Assistant Secretary Estenoz visited sites associated with the lives of Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley, where she met with Till relatives, historians, local and state historic preservation advocates, and other community leaders working to preserve those sites. The National Trust’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund team, the Till Institute, National Park Conservation Association, and the Emmett Till Interpretive Center were part of these meetings and discussed the shared mission to tell America’s full story.

Congressman Bobby Rush (D-IL) joined Assistant Secretary Estenoz during her visit to Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ (listed on the National Trust’s list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places in 2020) on Chicago’s South Side. Bipartisan legislation is pending in Congress to designate Roberts Temple, a City of Chicago Landmark, as a unit of the National Park System. The delegation continued its tour by visiting the Emmett and Mamie Till Mobley House, Burr Oak Cemetery, and sites associated with the Till family in Summit, Illinois.

The Emmett Till Interpretive Center, in partnership with the Till family, launched an Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Park Campaign in March 2021 to support the creation of a National Park with multiple sites across the Mississippi Delta and at Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ in Chicago. To learn more about the Till National Park Campaign, visit TillNationalPark.org.

• Read the full press release from the U.S. Department of the Interior.

On Tuesday, February 15, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory, at the invitation of Congressman Bennie Thompson (D-MS), visited sites across the Mississippi Delta associated with Emmett Till’s life and murder to gather local input on the creation of a National Park dedicated to Emmett Till and his mother, Mamie Till Mobley.

Sites visited included the Tallahatchie County Courthouse and Emmett Till Interpretive Center in Sumner, the Tutwiler Funeral Home in Tutwiler, Mound Bayou, and the Emmett Till Historic Intrepid Center in Glendora. At each site, Secretary Haaland and Chair Mallory met with and listened to local residents.

The Tallahatchie County Courthouse was the site of the trial of J.W. Milam and Roy Bryant for Emmett’s murder. Over the last 15 years, the Tallahatchie County Board of Supervisors and the Emmett Till Memorial Commission partnered to restore the courthouse to its 1955 condition during the murder trial to act as a site of conscience. In 2007, the courthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places and restoration of the building was complete in December 2020.

The Emmett Till Interpretive Center, in partnership with the Till family, launched an Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Park Campaign in March 2021 to support the creation of a National Park with multiple sites across the Mississippi Delta and at Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ in Chicago. To learn more about the Till National Park Campaign, visit TillNationalPark.org.

• Read the full Press Release from the Emmett Till Interpretive Center.
• Read more about Secretary Haaland’s visit via AP News.