07.25.23

Ranking Member Grijalva Statement on Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument

Washington, D.C. – House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today released the following statement on President Biden’s designation of the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument. Today would have been Emmett Till’s 82nd birthday.

“The brutal murder of Emmett Till and the acquittal of his murderers was an injustice of the most unthinkable kind. But even worse, it was no anomaly,” said Ranking Member Grijalva. “The long and ongoing history of oppression and violence against Black people is an inescapable part of the American story, but it is also one we must recognize and understand if we want to repair. While efforts to censor our nation’s truth seem to be increasing by the day, I’m grateful that this administration not only acknowledges that truth but is following the lead of Emmett Till’s mother and countless champions to ensure it is memorialized and learned from for good.”

Ranking Member Grijalva has been a longtime champion for the designation of national monuments to honor and protect the nation’s most valued natural, cultural, historical, recreational, and scientific resources.

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