For Emmett Till's family, national monument proclamation cements his inclusion in the American story

When President Joe Biden signed a proclamation Tuesday establishing a national monument honoring Emmett Till and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, it marked the fulfillment of a promise Till's relatives made after his death 68 years ago

- Aaron Morrison and Emily Wagster Pettus

The Black teenager from Chicago, whose abduction, torture, and killing in Mississippi in 1955 helped propel the Civil Rights Movement, is now an American story, not just a civil rights story, said Till's cousin, the Rev. Wheeler Parker Jr.

"It has been quite a journey for me from the darkness to the light," Parker said during a proclamation signing ceremony at the White House attended by dozens, including other family members, members of Congress, and civil rights leaders.

"Back then, in the darkness, I could never imagine the moment like this, standing in the light of wisdom, grace, and deliverance," he said.

With the stroke of Biden's pen, the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument, located across three sites in two states, became federally-protected places. Before signing the proclamation, the president said he marvels at the courage of the Till family to "find faith and purpose in pain."

"Today, on what would have been Emmett's 82nd birthday, we add another chapter in the story of remembrance and healing," Biden said.

It's the fourth such designation by the Democratic president's administration, reflecting its broader civil rights agenda, the White House said. The move comes as conservative leaders, mostly at state and local levels, push legislation that limits teaching of slavery and Black history in public schools.

"At a time when there are those who seek to ban books (and) bury history, we're making clear, crystal clear," Biden said. "We can't just choose to learn what we want to know. We should know everything — the good, the bad, and the truth of who we are as a nation. That's what great nations do."

On Tuesday, reaction poured in from other elected officials and from the civil rights organizing community. The Rev. Al Sharpton said the Till national monument designation tells him "that out of pain comes power."