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This press release is old, but it was news that I hadn’t heard before now and thought maybe you hadn’t either.

(BLACK PR WIRE) WASHINGTON, Aug. 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The original glass-topped casket that held the battered body of Emmett Till, the 14-year-old African American boy brutally murdered in Mississippi in 1955, will be given to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The donation will be announced prior to a memorial service at the Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ, the site of the 1955 funeral, Friday, Aug. 28, the 54th anniversary of Till’s death.

A young boy from Chicago, Till was killed by white men during a visit to his great-uncle Moses Wright’s house in Money, Miss. While the precise details of Till’s actions remain unclear, he was perceived to have offended a white woman, and thus crossed the racial boundaries of 1955 Mississippi. His mother, Mamie Till Mobley, had her son laid out in the glass-topped casket so the world could see “what they did to my boy.” He was buried in Burr Oak Cemetery in suburban Chicago. The body was exhumed for an autopsy in 2005 during another criminal investigation into his murder, and Till was reburied in another coffin.

The glass-topped coffin was found in poor condition in a storage shed on the cemetery grounds during a police search last month, following the arrest of cemetery employees accused of digging up more than 300 graves and reselling the plots. Till’s plot was undisturbed.

Till’s murder and the images of his body, first published in Jet magazine and carried around the world by the news media, are considered by historians to be the beginning of the civil rights movement in America.

“We are both honored and humbled that the Till family has entrusted this sacred object to the museum for preservation and safekeeping,” said Lonnie G. Bunch III, director of the museum. “The death of Emmett Till shocked the conscience of the world and fueled the civil rights movement. It is our duty to ensure that this iconic artifact is preserved so that we will never forget.”

Simeon Wright, 66, who was with his cousin Till on the night of the murder, led the family’s efforts to donate the casket. “If we didn’t have this casket, no one would ever believe this could happen in America,” Wright said. “Some people would say this is just a wooden box, scuffed up on the outside and stained on the inside. But this very particular box tells a story, lots of stories. And by sending it to the Smithsonian’s African American museum we—Emmett’s few remaining relatives—are doing what we can to make sure those stories get told long after we’re gone.”

The deed of gift notes that the family is making the donation “In memory of Emmett Till and his mother, Mamie Till Mobley.”

The casket will be transported by truck to Washington, D.C. Its condition will be assessed by conservation staff at the Smithsonian’s Museum Support Center, where it will be housed.

News Briefing
A brief news conference will be held at 9:30 a.m. in the Roberts Temple Fellowship Hall. Bunch will speak as will Wright and Linda Johnson Rice, a member of the museum’s council and chief executive officer of Johnson Publishing Company Inc., publisher of Jet and Ebony magazines.

The Ceremony
The hour-long memorial service is set for 11 a.m., Friday, Aug. 28, at the Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ, 4021 South State Street, Chicago. The memorial sermon will be delivered by Bishop Cody Vernon Marshall, who will be joined by clergy from the church, including Pastor Cleveland Wardlow Jr. Speaking for the Till family will be Rev. Wheeler Parker and Wright, both cousins of Till. Music will be provided by the Emmett Till Memorial Choir of Chicago, whose director, Dolores “Honey” Sykes, was at the Till funeral in 1955.

About the Museum
The National Museum of African American History and Culture was established in 2003 by an Act of Congress, making it the 19th Smithsonian Institution museum. It is the only national museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African American life, art, history and culture. It will be built on the National Mall between the Washington Monument and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and is scheduled to open in 2015. For more information about the museum, go to nmaahc.si.edu.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 26, 2009

18th Annual Festival to Take Place in Los Angeles February 10-15

LOS ANGELES, CA – After the Pan African Film Festival (PAFF), America’s largest and most prestigious Black film and arts festival, has extended its film submission deadline through November 15, 2009, for its 18th Annual signature event taking place February 10-15, 2010 in Los Angeles. The PAFF will accept applications for films and videos made by and/or about people of African descent. Films should preferably depict positive and realistic images and can be of any genre – drama, comedy, horror, adventure, animation, romance, science fiction, experimental, etc. PAFF accepts features and shorts; narratives and documentaries as well as works in progress; however, films and videos must be completed no later than December 15, 2009. For the PAFF’s complete guidelines for film submissions, including application and fee information, please visit www.paff.org.

About the Pan African Film & Arts Festival

Established in 1992, The Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) is a non-profit corporation dedicated to the promotion of cultural and racial tolerance and understanding through the exhibition of film, art and creative expression.

It is PAFF’s goal to present and showcase the broad spectrum of Black creative works, particularly those that reinforce positive images and help to destroy negative stereotypes. We believe film and art can lead to better understanding and foster communication between peoples of diverse cultures, races, and lifestyles, while at the same time, serve as a vehicle to initiate dialogue on the important issues of our times.

The 18th Annual PAFF will take place February 10-15, 2010 in Los Angeles, CA.

www.paff.org

Related Links

affrodite.net- all posts on this blog mentioning PAFF

AFI FEST 2009 presented by Audi takes place October 30th – November 5 in the heart of historic downtown Hollywood at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, the neighboring Mann 6 Theater (in the Hollywood and Highland Center) and the Roosevelt Hotel, then moves to Santa Monica for two days of screenings at AFM, the American Film Market.

The Black List Project is currently running a promotion where you can win a free copy of The Black List Vol. 2 on DVD via Facebook and Twitter. See below for details.

Atlanta, GA – October 20, 2009 – In 2007 alone, 21,755 Blacks tested positive for HIV in the United States. Over the past 10 years, almost 200,000 Blacks have tested positive for HIV in the United States. Given these alarming rates, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as the lead federal agency responsible for preventing diseases, continues to underdevelop and underfund HIV prevention in Black America.

Over the weekend, I was watching Don Lemmon on CNN talk on several occasions about the new dress code at Morehouse College. If you aren’t aware, Morehouse is an all male Historically Black College and University (HBCU) and considered to be an elite institution for black men. While there are 11 points addressed on the policy, the one about not wearing women’s attire is gaining the most attention.

I was overjoyed to run across an article on BlackNews.com about this new website SunkissedGirlz.com. Just launched on October 14, 2009 by founders Yanique Redwood, PhD, MPH; Alana Jones, and Aisha Penson who not only realized the lack of positive imagery for young African-Americans but took matters into their own hands by launching Sunkissed Girlz. African-Americans are so diverse and unfortunately sometimes divided when it comes to matters of skin tone, body shape, and hair texture.

You know when something is so funny because it’s rooted in truth? That was the SNL skit last night. The healthcare reform part was my favorite!

Macro Marketing & Promotions Group presents the 5th Annual Cavalcade of Authors in Chicago with your hosts: National best-selling author, Naleighna Kai, NAACP Image Award Nominee, J. L. Woodson, and best-selling inspirational author, Rev. Renee Sesvalah Cobb-Dishman.