Today, on the eve of what would have been Emmett Till’s 85th birthday—a date that the State of Illinois has now established as Emmett Till day—curator, author, and scholar Dr. Sarah Elizabeth Lewis announced a major multi-media initiative, If Emmett Till lived, bringing together a host of distinguished participants. In partnership with the Reverend Wheeler Parker Jr., Emmett Till’s cousin, best friend, and last surviving witness to his kidnapping, her project comprises a major exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College Chicago, opening on September 10, 2026, and a freestanding book published concurrently by MoCP/DelMonico Books•D.A.P. If Emmett Till lived calls the public to join us in asking, “What would Emmett Till’s life have been, if he had safely boarded the train back home to Chicago? What would that life have required of us all? Have we made good on his sacrifice?”.

Lewis has stewarded a collective endeavor by gathering civic and cultural leaders to select an image for the show to represent their hopes for Till’s unlived life. Collaborators in imagining Emmett Till’s unlived life include Dr. Marvel Parker and Rev. Wheeler Parker Jr., along with Lonnie G. Bunch III, Chelsea Clinton, Ava DuVernay, Alicia Garza, Sherrilyn Ifill, Colin Kaepernick, Mitch Landrieu, John Legend, Brent Leggs, Franklin Leonard, Wynton Marsalis, David Oyelowo, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, RaMell Ross, Amy Sherald, Yara Shahidi, Hank Willis Thomas, Hamza Walker, Patrick Weems, and Deborah Willis. The full set of contributors, including members of the Till family, geographically represent Till’s untaken journey home from Mississippi to Chicago and the Great Migration, born in part of the violence and injustices of the Jim Crow rule that took his life.

The exhibition, publication, and related public programming are announced at a pivotal moment in the ongoing e ort to honor Emmett Till and engage with his enduring legacy. Together, they are helping to amplify and connect a series of significant preservation initiatives and commemorations taking place across the country.

In Chicago, Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ, the site of Emmett Till’s funeral in 1955, is currently undergoing a comprehensive preservation e ort with support from the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund at the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Mellon Foundation. To mark the completion of the first phase of work, the restoration of the building's façade to its 1955 appearance, a newly fabricated replica of the church’s historic neon sign will be illuminated for the first time in early September.

This summer, outside of Drew, Mississippi, the Emmett Till Interpretive Center will formally take possession of the barn where Till was murdered, in advance of its opening as a public memorial in 2030.

At the Tallahatchie County Courthouse in Sumner, Mississippi, where Till’s murderers were tried and acquitted, Reverend Parker conducted a public conversation on July 16 with Walter Henry, the FBI agent who led the second investigation into the incidents surrounding Till’s abduction and death, and Jak Smith, the son of the prosecutor of the historic trial in Sumner. The event is organized by the Delta Center for Culture and Learning to help educators from around the country teach the history of Emmett Till.

On July 31, The Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley Institute will host an 85th Birthday Commemoration Dinner at the Obama Presidential Center Home Court featuring a conversation with the Reverend Parker and remarks by notable figures such as Mayor Brandon Johnson and Senator Tammy Duckworth.

Extending these efforts, a dedicated website—ifemmettlived.org—will launch in September, providing visitors with expanded information about the exhibition and its related public programs.