It\u2019s been more than 70 years since 14-year-old Emmett Till\u2019s racially motivated murder devastated a nation and helped spark the Civil Rights Movement.<\/p>\n
But what if he had lived?<\/p>\n
In artist Raymond A. Thomas\u2019 dream, Till celebrates his 15th birthday, marries his high school sweetheart and has three children. He cares for his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, and grows old in Chicago. He finds joy spending time with his grandchildren, even as the world around him remains unjust for Black residents.<\/p>\n
That reality is depicted in Thomas\u2019 mixed media collage, \u201cWe Love You Paw Paw,\u201d which is on display in a new show,\u201cFrom Memory to Movement: Emmett at 85<\/u><\/a>,\u201d at Bronzeville\u2019s Blanc Gallery.<\/p>\n \u201cOur radical joy is a superpower that has kept us from our enslavement to now,\u201d said Thomas, who also curated the exhibit.<\/p>\n \u201cWe Love You Paw Paw\u201d by Raymond A. Thomas, who is the curator of \u201cFrom Memory to Movement: Emmett Till at 85,\u201d at Blanc Gallery in Bronzeville, Saturday, June 6, 2026.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The exhibit opened Friday and runs through July 25, when Till would have turned 85. It is presented in partnership with the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley Institute<\/u><\/a> nonprofit, where Thomas serves as creative director. The show features paintings, photographs, sculptures and mixed media works by a dozen Chicago artists. The pieces humanize Till and other Black children, provide commentary on race in America, and spark conversations about present and future struggles for justice.<\/p>\n It is also a commentary on the present-day banning of cultural history books and classes, and the erosion of diversity, equity and inclusion.<\/p>\n \u201cIn these times, with the erasure of our history and Black culture at hand, reaffirming our humanity to the world is vital,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cArtists\u2019 voices are what\u2019s needed to carry that further into the people\u2019s consciousness. That\u2019s why this show is not just about creating works for people to acquire, but it\u2019s about the call of action to where we need to be.\u201d<\/p>\n A Chicago native, Till was killed Aug. 28, 1955, amid backlash to racial integration efforts. The previous year, the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed racial segregation in public schools with its Brown v. Board of Education ruling.<\/p>\n While visiting family in Mississippi, Till reportedly whistled at a white woman working at a grocery store. In response, he was kidnapped, beaten, shot and dumped in the Tallahatchie River. His mother, Till-Mobley, ordered an open-casket funeral in Chicago for her son, whose death galvanized civil rights activists.<\/p>\n Paul Branton stands beside his painting, \u201cWhat You Meant to Weigh Us Down,\u201d which is part of \u201cFrom Memory to Movement: Emmett Till at 85\u201d at Blanc Gallery in Bronzeville, Saturday, June 6, 2026.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Benson also serves on the board of the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley Institute. The art exhibit is part of the organization\u2019s summer program series, \u201cEmmett Till: The Pursuit of Happiness and American Reckoning,\u201d which coincides with America\u2019s 250th anniversary<\/u><\/a>. The initiative also includes the return of a summer academy on Till.<\/p>\n Young people are eager to learn about racism, despite claims by some parents and government officials, Benson said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey have argued that these conversations about our difficult struggle are depressing to kids, and they feel guilty and responsible, and that\u2019s not the case,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat we saw was a hunger for these conversations.\u201d<\/p>\n In the exhibit, artists encourage dialogue through portrayals of Till. Gerard Griffin\u2019s acrylic painting, \u201cEvery Time We Rise,\u201d is a portrait of the teen dripping wet, as if he had emerged from the river. His clay sculpture, presented under the same title, shows Till sitting atop an American flag and the cotton gin fan that was tied around his neck to weigh his body down in the water.<\/p>\n \u201cAll of these elements are meant to suppress and diminish not only this kid but who we are as people,\u201d said Griffin, who also wrote a poem for the show. \u201cHe\u2019s risen above these attempts to destroy his memory and, in turn, destroy our memory and our identity.\u201d<\/p>\n Paul Branton\u2019s acrylic painting also depicts the cotton gin fan but transformed into playground equipment to convey Black Americans\u2019 longstanding pattern of overcoming obstacles.<\/p>\n \u201cI turned it into an object that children can play on that became harmless, something that became useful rather than destructive,\u201d said the Beverly artist.<\/p>\n \u201cEmmett\u2019s Last Night\/Eternal Night\u201d by Candace Hunter, which is part of \u201cFrom Memory to Movement: Emmett Till at 85,\u201d at Blanc Gallery in Bronzeville, Saturday, June 6, 2026.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Several artists i<\/b>n the show <\/b>said they felt connected to Till\u2019s story, not only as Black people, but as Chicagoans with southern roots. Candace Hunter even grew up near Woodlawn\u2019s McCosh Elementary School, which Till attended.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was not a child in our neighborhood who did not feel the effect of this boy\u2019s death for decades,\u201d said Hunter, whose mixed media piece, \u201cEmmett\u2019s Last Night\/Eternal Night,\u201d shows the reflection of the Tallahatchie River in Till\u2019s funeral suit.<\/p>\n One of the show\u2019s most abstract pieces is John Caleb Pendleton\u2019s \u201cTallahatchie Chiffarobe,\u201d a closet-like structure built with poplar, lotus pods, brunia and found objects.<\/p>\n \u201c[Till] is the skeleton in America\u2019s closet,\u201d said Pendleton, of Bridgeport, who also owns Planks & Pistils floral studio.<\/p>\nA life cut short by racism<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\n<\/picture>\nBringing Till to life<\/h2>\n
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