TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — Florida State University is home to one of the most expansive archives digging deeper into the life of Emmett Till and how his murder shaped the Civil Rights Movement. The black 14-year-old was lynched in 1955 after a white woman said he whistled at her.
Now FSU is sharing decades of archives collected with students in West Tallahatchie County, Mississippi. That's the county Till was murdered in.
Students attending West Tallahatchie High School (WTHS) will gain access to those documents for creative projects such as music, short films, and poetry.
"I hope it helps us connect, even with local school districts but also other K-12 programs throughout the country who are interest4ed in Till's story and what archival materials might help their students understand for the stories their students might be able to tell," said FSU Associate Dean of Libraries for Special Collections & Archives Katie McCormick.
The Emmett Till Archive Endowment will also award some of the best projects that come from the partnership.
The FSU-West Tallahatchie partnership is set to begin in Fall 2021. For more information about the Emmett Till Archives, click here.
