President Biden Designates Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument

Today, on what would have been Emmett Till’s 82^nd birthday, President Biden will sign a proclamation establishing the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument in Mississippi and Illinois. The new national monument will tell the story of the events surrounding Emmett Till’s murder, their significance in the civil rights movement and American history, and the broader story of Black oppression, survival, and bravery in America.  

The new national monument will be anchored at three historic sites in Chicago, Illinois; Sumner, Mississippi; and just outside of Glendora, Mississippi. These sites are central to Emmett Till’s racially motivated murder in 1955 and the defining events that followed – including the courageous activism and leadership of his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley. The new national monument will also encourage and enable partnerships between the Department of the Interior, the National Park Service, and local communities and organizations to help conserve and interpret a broader network of historic sites that help tell the story of Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley.

The nationwide coverage of the horrific lynching of Emmett Till, as well as Mamie Till-Mobley’s courageous efforts to honor her son’s story through education and activism, elevated the broader reality of the injustices and inequality that Black people experienced during the Jim Crow era and helped catalyze the civil rights movement. Mere months following Emmett Till’s murder, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a Montgomery city bus. She later cited Emmett Till as the reason she would not acquiesce. 

Today’s designation builds on the Biden-Harris Administration’s work to advance civil rights and racial justice, including through the President’s signing of the Emmett Till Antilynching Act that codified lynching as a federal hate crime. The Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument is President Biden’s fourth new national monument, and reflects the Administration’s commitment to protecting places that help tell a more complete story of our nation’s history.

Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument

The Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument will be managed by the National Park Service, and comprises 5.70 acres across three separate historic sites in Illinois and Mississippi. Through the historical objects protected at these sites, the monument tells the story of Emmett Till’s too-short life and murder, the unjust acquittal of his murderers, and the activism of his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, who courageously brought the world’s attention to the brutal injustices and racism of the time.

While on a trip from his home in Chicago to visit family in the Mississippi Delta in 1955, 14-year-old Emmett Till was accused of making inappropriate advances toward a white female grocery clerk. Emmett Till’s cousins and friends, who were present at the scene, disputed the claim. Four days after the alleged incident, he was pulled from his bed, kidnapped, and brutally murdered by at least two white men. Three days following this abduction, on August 31, 1955, Emmett Till’s mutilated body was pulled from the Tallahatchie River.

Graball Landing, located just outside of Glendora, Mississippi, is one of the three sites preserved by the new national monument. Graball Landing is believed to be the site where Emmett Till’s body was discovered in the Tallahatchie River. In 2008, the community installed a memorial sign that has been removed or vandalized multiple times since it was first erected. The most recent version of the sign – dedicated in October 2019 – is over an inch thick and bulletproof.

Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ in Bronzeville, a historically Black neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side, is the second monument site. The church is where on September 3, 1955, Mamie Till-Mobley held an open-casket funeral service for her son in defiance of directives from Mississippi authorities that Emmett Till be buried quickly in Mississippi. Over the course of several days, as many as 125,000 people attended the visitation and funeral services to mourn Emmett Till and bear witness.

The third monument site is the Tallahatchie County Second District Courthouse in Sumner, Mississippi where the trial of Emmett Till’s murderers began on September 19, 1955 in a segregated courtroom. An all-white jury wrongfully acquitted Emmett Till’s two killers after just over an hour of deliberation. Both killers later admitted their crimes to a leading magazine in an interview for which they were paid. No one was ever held legally accountable for Emmett Till’s death.

In addition to designating the three sites as a new national monument, today’s proclamation directs the National Park Service to develop a plan in consultation with local communities, organizations, and the public to support the interpretation and preservation of other key sites in Mississippi and Illinois that help tell the story of Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley. This may include the Glendora Cotton Gin (currently known as the Emmett Till Historic Intrepid Center), Mound Bayou, the Tutwiler Funeral Home, and the Emmett Till Boyhood Home.

Today’s designation honors the tireless efforts of Emmett Till’s family, community and civil rights leaders, and local, state, and federal elected officials to ensure that these sites are protected and that Emmett Till’s story continues to be told. In the lead up to the designation, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory visited the sites and met with community members to learn about their vision on how to best educate the public about not only the brutal lynching of Emmett Till, but how the events surrounding his death helped to dismantle Jim Crow and served as a turning point in the struggle for civil rights in the United States.

Background on Antiquities Act Designations

President Theodore Roosevelt first used the Antiquities Act in 1906 to designate Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming. Since then, 18 presidents of both parties have used this authority to protect unique natural and historic features in America, including the Grand Canyon, the Statue of Liberty, the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument, Stonewall National Monument, and the César E. Chávez National Monument.

The Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument is President Biden’s fourth new monument designation, following the creation of the Castner Range National Monument in Texas and Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in Nevada this spring, and Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument in Colorado last fall.

President Joe Biden: A Proclamation on National Sickle Cell Awareness Month, 2022

Sickle cell disease (SCD) presents grave health challenges for an estimated 100,000 Americans.  For some, it triggers intermittent episodes of pain, difficulty with vision, and serious fatigue.  Other survivors experience this disease more acutely — SCD can cause infections, strokes, and even organ failure.  For almost everyone impacted, coping with inherited red blood cell disorders means putting plans on pause, living with excruciating pain, paying for expensive treatments, and hoping for a day when medications and doctor visits no longer interrupt life.  During National Sickle Cell Awareness Month, we recognize the perseverance of SCD patients, and we recommit to working with our partners in State and local government, the nonprofit space, and the private sector to develop treatments and cures for this debilitating disease.

     Like many rare diseases, SCD affects our population unevenly.  Black and Brown Americans are disproportionately affected.  About 1 in 13 Black children tests positive for the sickle cell trait, and about 1 in 365 Black Americans develops the disease over the course of their lifetime.  Due to persistent systemic inequities in our health care system, these same patients are also often the last to get help.  Few specialty clinics are available for SCD treatments, information about detecting this disease is not always widely shared, and pain management can be a challenge due to the intermittent nature of sickle cell crises and persistent racial disparities in pain assessment and treatment.  Moreover, there exists no universally effective cure; bone marrow and stem cell transplants have allowed some people to overcome SCD, but low donor availability and treatment-related complications render these procedures unviable for many patients.

     Medical professionals and scientists in my Administration and across our Nation are working to put an end to SCD.  The Food and Drug Administration recently approved new drug therapies to help patients manage their pain.  Through its “Cure Sickle Cell Initiative,” the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is striving to develop safe and effective genetic therapies and exploring applications for machine learning to predict organ function decline in SCD patients.  Additionally, the NIH has invited researchers to apply for funding to support large-scale clinical trials on treating SCD pain symptoms.  We are closer than ever to finding a cure today for all patients, and I am optimistic about our progress.

     Even so, it is still important for Americans to understand the signs of this disease, the risks of inheriting this condition, as well as the various resources available to those who test positive.  Most people with the sickle cell trait do not exhibit symptoms, and many are unaware of their potential to carry on this gene.  Experts agree that it is important to get tested, especially if you have family members who have been diagnosed with SCD.  There are also helpful resources online to learn more about this disease, like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s sickle cell information page at cdc.gov/ncbddd/sicklecell/index.html.

     As we continue our quest to cure sickle cell disease, let us celebrate the strides our health experts have made in understanding and treating this condition.  Let us offer strength to those Americans fighting its effects today and unite in our mission to enhance the quality of life for those diagnosed with SCD.

     NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim September 2022 as National Sickle Cell Awareness Month.  I call upon the people of the United States to learn more about the progress we are making to reduce the burden of this disease on our fellow Americans.

     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of August, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-two, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-seventh. 

                             JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

Statement from President Joe Biden On the Passing of Bill Russell

President Biden released the following statement on the death ofBill Russell:

The promise of America is that we are all created equal and deserve to be treated equally throughout our lives. We’ve never fully lived up to that promise, but Bill Russell made sure we never walked away from it.

By August 1963, he had won six of what would be 11 NBA championships in his 13 years in the league with the Boston Celtics, a defining career that would include five regular season Most Valuable Player awards, an Olympic gold medal, and serving as the first Black coach of any major sports league in America.

But on the historic day of August 28, 1963, there he was at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial as a towering champion for freedom, equality, and justice as Dr. King delivered a dream for the Nation.

That was Bill Russell. From a childhood in segregated Louisiana to a career playing on the biggest stages in sports at the height of the Civil Rights Movement, Bill faced the hostility and hate of racism embedded in every part of American life. Yet, he never gave up. Throughout his life, he forced us to confront hard truths. And on this day, there are generations of Americans who are reflecting on what he meant to them as someone who played for the essential truth that every person is entitled to be treated with dignity and respect.

Bill Russell is one of the greatest athletes in our history – an all-time champion of champions, and a good man and great American who did everything he could to deliver the promise of America for all Americans.

Statement from President Joe Biden on the Passing of Nichelle Nichols

President Biden released the following statement on the death of Nichelle Nichols:

In Nichelle Nichols, our nation has lost a trailblazer of stage and screen who redefined what is possible for Black Americans and women.

A daughter of a working-class family from Illinois, she first honed her craft as an actor and singer in Chicago before touring the country and the world performing with the likes of Duke Ellington and giving life to the words of James Baldwin.

During the height of the Civil Rights Movement, she shattered stereotypes to become the first Black woman to act in a major role on a primetime television show with her groundbreaking portrayal of Lt. Uhura in the original Star Trek. With a defining dignity and authority, she helped tell a central story that reimagined scientific pursuits and discoveries. And she continued this legacy by going on to work with NASA to empower generations of Americans from every background to reach for the stars and beyond.

Our nation is forever indebted to inspiring artists like Nichelle Nichols, who show us a future where unity, dignity, and respect are cornerstones of every society.

President Biden nominates Dana M. Douglas for Fifth District Court of Appeals

President Joe Biden is nominating Judge Dana M. Douglas for the United States Fifth District Court of Appeals. If confirmed, Judge Douglas would be the first woman of color to serve on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Prior to joining the bench Douglas was a partner at Liskow & Lewis, where she worked from 2001 to 2018.

Douglas served on the New Orleans Civil Service Commission from 2003 to 2013.

She served as a law clerk for Judge Ivan L. R. Lemelle on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana from 2000 to 2001.

Douglas received her J.D. from Loyola University New Orleans School of Law in 2000 and her B.A. from Miami University of Ohio in 1997.

Among those backing her nomination are Louisiana Senators John Kennedy and Bill Cassidy, former Mayor Marc Morial, now president of the National Urban League, and retired Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honore.

President Biden Pardons Abraham Bolden, the first Black Secret Service Agent to serve on a presidential detail

President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced his first batch of pardons and commutations. Among those pardoned was Abraham Bolden, an 86-year-old former U.S. Secret Service agent and was the first African American to serve on a presidential detail during the Kennedy administration.

In 1964, Mr. Bolden was charged with offenses related to attempting to sell a copy of a Secret Service file. His first trial resulted in a hung jury, and following his conviction at a second trial, even though key witnesses against him admitted to lying at the prosecutor’s request, Mr. Bolden was denied a new trial and ultimately served several years in federal custody.

He has steadfastly maintained his innocence, arguing that he was targeted for prosecution in retaliation for exposing unprofessional and racist behavior within the U.S. Secret Service. Mr. Bolden has received numerous honors and awards for his ongoing work to speak out against the racism he faced in the Secret Service in the 1960s, and his courage in challenging injustice. Mr. Bolden has also been recognized for his many contributions to his community following his release from prison.

In a statement posted Tuesday afternoon on his Facebook page, Bolden said he got the call about the pardon early in the morning and accepted the “justifiable action by President Joe Biden with sincere gratitude.”

He also thanked his family for “giving me the will to fight through some of the darkest days of my life.”

“While initial attempts to affirm my innocence were unsuccessful, almost 60 years later, my victory was won,” he wrote. “It is my hope that my pardon will inspire others to continue to fight for justice and to stand on the truth.”

READ MORE ABOUT ABRAHAM BOLDEN'S STORY