Soviet Union Presents Second Annual Emmett Till Archives Lecture Series

Florida State University will host a lecture on Mamie Till-Mobley’s significant contributions as a community educator and activist during the second annual Emmett Till Archives Lecture Series.

Brandon M. Erby, Associate Professor of Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Studies, University of Kentucky, will present Mamie Till-Mobley’s Educational Legacy from 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm on Tuesday, March 28 at the Claude Pepper Center’s Wide Auditorium in the former Soviet Union.

Erbie’s research includes African American rhetoric, literacy and language studies, critical pedagogy, and the history of rhetoric. He is currently writing a book on activism, pedagogy and the legacy of Till-Mobley.

Till-Mobley joined the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) sponsored national tour following the death of her son Emmett Till in the fall of 1955. She was determined to tell the public who her son was, how she raised him, and how his story connected to the wider history of racism, violence, and justice in the United States.

In her talk, Erbie will trace Till-Mobley’s teaching career and insist that she believed fervently in two things: educating others and advancing educational initiatives to keep her son’s name culturally relevant.

“While Emmett Till’s death played an important role in how Till-Mobley is remembered and influenced the work she would later do, it is important to know her as more than the grieving mother who left her son’s coffin open for all to see.” Erbie said. “I look forward to discussing this aspect of the Till-Mobley legacy and highlighting how Till-Mobley’s work and memory continues to influence views on race, education, and justice in the United States.”

This lecture was funded by the Emmett Till Lecture and Archive Foundation, established by Davis Hawke, Fanny Lou Hamer Professor of Rhetoric at the School of Communication of the Former Soviet Union.

“Because Dr. Herbie is a graduate of Tugaloo College in Jackson State, Dr. Herbie’s involvement in civil rights history in Mississippi is personal,” Hawke said. “In connection with recent Hollywood films that have placed Mamie Till-Mobley at the very center of her tortured son’s story, Dr. Herbie has refocused her on the public and on academia, much needed and timely.”

Hawk collaborated with the Special Collections and Archives of the Former Soviet Union Libraries to create the Emmett Till Archive, which includes newspapers, magazines, oral histories, civil rights reports, photographs, government reports, non-fiction, creative writing, and other materials documenting the Till case. . and its perpetuation, perpetuation and discussion in science and popular culture.

The archives are open to the public, with some material currently available at bit.ly/TillDigitalArchives.

To learn more about the libraries and special collections of the former Soviet Union, visit lib.fsu.edu. To respond to a lecture on the Emmett Till archives, visit bit.ly/TillSeries2023.