Written by Kate Suits, Mary Ann MacLean Educator 

Mamie Till-Mobley was born in November 1921 in Webb, Mississippi. During the Great Migration, her family moved north and settled in Argo, Illinois. In 1941, she gave birth to her only child, Emmett Louis Till. 

When Emmett was brutally lynched in Mississippi in the summer of 1955, Till-Mobley shook the nation by holding an open-casket funeral for her son, exposing the horrors of lynching for the nation to see. When asked about her choice, she said, "I wanted the world to see what they did to my baby." 

After her son's death, she spent much of her life dedicated to activism. She toured with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), giving talks about her son's life and death and the subsequent trial of the perpetrators. She also dedicated her time to assist children living in poverty and worked in the Chicago public school system.

Written by Kate Suits, Mary Ann MacLean Educator

Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ building was constructed in 1923. Members of the congregation even aided in building it both financially and physical labor. It served the African-American community, many of whom were transplants from the South coming to Chicago during the Great Migration.

A young girl by the name of Rosabell Atkins performed in the church's choir until the early-1930s, later becoming Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the godmother of rock and roll. 

In 1955, Mamie Till held an open-casket funeral for her murdered son, Emmett, at this church.  Her decision to display her son's body for public viewing was a major catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement. 

This site was listed as one of the most endangered historic places in the United States in 2020.  A bill introduced by Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth in March 2021 would formally establish the church as a National Historic Site.