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Landecker Fellow Tsione Wolde-Michael brings Emmett Till marker to the Smithsonian

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The bullet-ridden commemorative marker that was erected near where Emmett Till’s body was found will go on displace at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. An article by Hyperallergic highlights how the marker has been an important form of commemoration, the defacement of the marker, and the pervasiveness of anti-Blackness in the United States.

The piece quotes Landecker Fellow and Humanity in Action Senior Fellow Tsione Wolde-Michael, who is the curator of African American social justice history at the National Museum of American History. In partnership with the Mississippi community, the marker will “bring its story along with Emmett’s to the public.”

In what would have been Emmett Till’s 80th year, this vandalized sign demonstrates the ways histories of racism and violence continue into the present.

Read the full article about the bullet-ridden marker here.

Tsione’s efforts to commemorate Emmett Till’s story have further been picked up by multiple media outlets.

To learn more about the Reckoning with Remembrance exhibition, watch this NBC news coverage or visit the official exhibit website. You can also explore the op-ed Tsione wrote on the topic of defaced racist monuments in May or this summary for further insight.

Tsione is one of thirty 2020-2021 Landecker Democracy Fellows. This fellowship, a collaboration between the Alfred Landecker Foundation and Humanity in Action, was created to strengthen a new generation of leaders whose approaches to political and social challenges can become catalysts for democratic placemaking and community building. Read more about the fellowship here.