Jan 11, 2022 - Politics & Policy

Senate passes bill to award Emmett Till Congressional Gold Medal

TuAnh Dam

Photo of Emmett Till. Photo: Via Getty Images

The Senate passed a bill on Tuesday to posthumously award Emmett Till and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, with the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor Congress can give.

Why it matters: Till's death in 1955 and his mother's decision to hold an open casket funeral helped spark the civil rights movement.

Till, who was 14 at the time, was abducted, tortured and murdered in Mississippi by white supremacists.
Till-Mobley allowed a photograph of her son's body to be taken and published.

Flashback: The bipartisan bill was originally sponsored by Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.) in 2020, with Burr calling it a "long-overdue recognition."

Booker said that Till-Mobley's decision forced the country "to confront its collective failure to address the evil of racism."

Go deeper: Justice Department closes Emmett Till murder probe

Add Axios on Google

Senate passes bill to award Emmett Till Congressional Gold Medal

What to read next