Emmett Till funeral site - Robert's Temple Church of God in Christ, Chicago, IL
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adgorn
N 41° 49.273 W 087° 37.574
16T E 447992 N 4630115
For four days in September 1955, Roberts Temple, 4021 S. State St., the site of the funeral of Emmett Till, was the center of the civil-rights movement.
Waymark Code: WMY11Z
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 03/30/2018
Views: 3
More from the Journal of Gospel Music (
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"Till, a Chicago teenager, was lynched that August while visiting relatives in Mississippi. His murder and his mother’s decision on an open-casket funeral called national attention to the plight of African-Americans in shockingly graphic detail.
“The events that took place in this building showed the world the grave injustices and inhuman treatment to which African-Americans were subjected in the 1950’s and demonstrated the need for civil-rights legislation,” said Mayor Daley.
Built in 1922, it was the first church of its denomination to be established in Chicago and was considered the “Mother Church” in northern Illinois. [Editor’s Note: Before it was renamed Roberts Temple, the church was known as “Fortieth” because of its location at 40th and State Streets].
The original building was designed by Chicago architect Edward G. McClellan with simple ornamentation and red brick. By 1927, the building was expanded to include a large second-floor sanctuary.
In 1953, the church was renamed after its founder, Bishop William Roberts. In 1992, the building was refronted with tan brick and the sanctuary was remodeled."
See (
visit link) for a thorough overview of this tragic time in our history, as well as photographs of the throngs of people who came to pay their respects.
Text of the Chicago Landmark plaque on the front of the building:
"Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ Building
1922, original building
1927, second floor added
This church building was the location in early September 1955 of the open-casket visitation and funeral for Emmett Till, an African-American teenager from Chicago who was murdered while visiting relatives in Mississippi. His brutal, racially-motivated killing was a catalytic moment in the modern civil-rights movement, drawing thousands of mourners to the visitation and funeral and horrifying countless others who saw photographs of his badly-mutilated body in African-American publications such as Jet magazine.
Designated on March 29, 2006
Richard M. Daley, Mayor
Commission on Chicago Landmarks"