Flier announcing an NAACP Memorial Meeting for Emmett Till
date: label: Date
content: October 23, 1955
name: label: Created by
content: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, American, founded 1909
label: Subject of
content: Emmett Till, American, 1941 - 1955
label: Subject of
content: St James' A.M.E. Church, American, founded 1842
notes: label: Caption
content: 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.
label: Caption
content: 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!!!"
label: Caption
content: 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.
label: Description
content: 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: label: Place depicted
content: Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: African Methodist Episcopal
label: Topic
content: Civil Rights
label: Topic
content: Methodist
label: Topic
content: The Black Church
label: Topic
content: Violence
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Memorabilia and Ephemera - Political and Activist Ephemera
label: Movement
content: Civil Rights Movement
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2012.46.34.4
objectType: label: Type
content: fliers (printed matter)
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: No known copyright restrictions
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: ink on paper
label: Dimensions
content: H x W: 11 x 8 1/2 in. (27.9 x 21.6 cm)