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Illinois Establishes July 25 as Emmett Till Day

The law seeks to encourage annual local events that teach about racial violence, civil-rights history.

Gordon Parks, “Drinking Fountains, Mobile, Alabama,” 1956
Dorothea Lange, “Highway to the West ‘They keep the road hot a goin' and a comin’”, 1938
Terry Evans, “Cliff Joseph: Artist, Activist, and Art Therapist,” 2015
Phil Borges, “Paternity,” 1990

Overview

  • Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the bill at Roberts Temple on Thursday, July 23, formally making July 25 a statewide day of remembrance.
  • The first statewide observance takes place on July 25, what would have been Emmett Till’s 85th birthday, and officials have launched education and reflection programming across Illinois.
  • Rev. Wheeler Parker Jr., Till’s cousin, stood with Pritzker at the signing and said he felt good to see the designation come to pass.
  • The designation recalls that Till, 14, was abducted and lynched in Mississippi in 1955 and that his mother Mamie Till‑Mobley’s open‑casket funeral drew national attention to racial violence.
  • State leaders describe the law as largely symbolic but say it is intended to spur local school lessons, community events and continued preservation work that builds on past honors such as scholarships, place namings and the 2023 national monument.