Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument

In 1955, 14-year-old Emmett Till traveled from Chicago to Money, Mississippi, to visit relatives. He was kidnapped, tortured, and murdered after reportedly whistling at a white woman, and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, insisted on an open-casket funeral so the world could see the racist violence inflicted on her son, a decision that helped set the Civil Rights Movement in motion. The monument's Mississippi sites include the Tallahatchie County Courthouse in Sumner, where his accused killers were tried and acquitted, and Graball Landing on the Tallahatchie River, where his body was recovered.

Start at the Sumner Visitor Center's interpretive exhibits, then take a guided or self-guided tour of the courthouse square and the monument's other Delta sites. For a challenge, trace the full story across both states, pairing Sumner and Graball Landing with Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ in Chicago.