- Created by
- National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, American, founded 1909
- Subject of
- Till, Emmett, American, 1941 - 1955
- St James' A.M.E. Church, American, founded 1842
- Date
- October 23, 1955
- Medium
- ink on paper
- Dimensions
- H x W: 11 x 8 1/2 in. (27.9 x 21.6 cm)
- Caption
- This flier, from a collection of documents related to the Boston chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), provides insight into the Northern reaction to the violence against African Americans in the American South.
- On August 28, 1955, 14-year-old Emmett Till was brutally lynched in Drew, Mississippi. The murder and subsequent acquittal of the perpetrators were catalysts for a new determination among African Americans in the fight for civil rights. Emmett’s mother, Mamie Till-Mobley said, "The murder of my son has shown me that what happens to any of us, anywhere in the world, had better be the business of us all!!!"
- In the same year, Lamar Smith, a farmer and World War I veteran, was shot and killed on the courthouse steps of Brookhaven, Mississippi, and George W. Lee, a grocery store owner and director of the local NAACP branch, was murdered in Belzoni, Mississippi, both in retaliation for encouraging Blacks to register to vote. The violence shocked the nation and inspired new action in the Civil Rights Movement across the country.
- Description
- A hand-written and typed facsimile flier annoucing an NAACP sponsored memorial meeting for Emmett Till at the St. James A.M.E. Church in Newark, New Jersey. At the top of the flier is an American flag graphic followed by large, hand-lettered text reading [HEAR THE MISSISSIPPI STORY / ATTEND NAACP MEMORIAL MEETING / For / EMMETT TILL]. There are no marks or inscriptions on the back.
- Place depicted
- Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, United States, North and Central America
- Classification
- Memorabilia and Ephemera - Political and Activist Ephemera
- Movement
- Civil Rights Movement
- Topic
- African Methodist Episcopal
- Civil rights
- Methodist
- The Black Church
- Violence
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2012.46.34.4
- Restrictions & Rights
- No known copyright restrictions
- Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.




