Remembering Emmett Till: Reflections on Geography, Race, and Memory

This essay uses the commemoration of Emmett Till in the Mississippi Delta to explore the connections among race, geography, and memory. I provide four examples of how race and memory have conspired to fundamentally alter the geography of the Delta. I suggest that these four examples challenge the hi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAdvances in the history of rhetoric Vol. 20; no. 2; pp. 121 - 138
Main Author Tell, Dave
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Taylor & Francis Group 04.05.2017
Routledge
Subjects
General Interest
History
Philosophy
Technology
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Summary:This essay uses the commemoration of Emmett Till in the Mississippi Delta to explore the connections among race, geography, and memory. I provide four examples of how race and memory have conspired to fundamentally alter the geography of the Delta. I suggest that these four examples challenge the historic articulation of memory and site. While site is traditionally figured as a stable ground for commemorative work, I suggest that practices of commemoration can transform sites of memory. I conclude by previewing a collaborative, digital, public humanities initiative called the Emmett Till Memory Project. The project seeks to commemorate Till’s murder even as it alters the meaning and practice of commemoration.
ISSN:1536-2426
1936-0835
DOI:10.1080/15362426.2017.1325414