Advances in the History of Rhetoric May 2017

Remembering Emmett Till: Reflections on Geography, Race, and Memory

Dave Tell

Abstract

ABSTRACT This essay uses the commemoration of Emmett Till in the Mississippi Delta to explore the connections among race, geography, and memory. I provide four examples of how race and memory have conspired to fundamentally alter the geography of the Delta. I suggest that these four examples challenge the historic articulation of memory and site. While site is traditionally figured as a stable ground for commemorative work, I suggest that practices of commemoration can transform sites of memory. I conclude by previewing a collaborative, digital, public humanities initiative called the Emmett Till Memory Project. The project seeks to commemorate Till’s murder even as it alters the meaning and practice of commemoration.

Journal
Advances in the History of Rhetoric
Published
2017-05-04
DOI
10.1080/15362426.2017.1325414
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Topics
race and writing multilingual writers

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (1)

  1. Adamczyk (2017)
    Confederate Memory in Post-Confederate Atlanta—a Prolegomena
    Advances in the History of Rhetoric

Cites in this index (0)

No references match articles in this index.

Also cites 8 works outside this index ↓
  1. Barton (2010)
    Incorporating Social Justice in Tourism Planning: Racial Reconciliation and Sustainable D…
    Community Development  ↗
  2. Dickinson (1997)
    Memories for Sale: Nostalgia and the Construction of Identity in Old Pasadena
    Quarterly Journal of Speech  ↗
  3. Gallagher (1999)
    Memory and Reconciliation in the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
    Rhetoric & Public Affairs  ↗
  4. Houck (2008)
    Emmett Till and the Mississippi Press
     ↗
  5. Jorgensen-Earp (1998)
    Public Memory and Private Grief: The Construction of Shrines at the Site of Public Tragedy
    Quarterly Journal of Speech  ↗
  6. Pezzulo (2003)
    Touring ‘Cancer Alley,’ Louisiana: Performance of Community and Memory for Environmental …
    Text & Performance Quarterly  ↗
  7. Saikku (2005)
    This Delta, This Land: An Environmental History of the Yazoo-Mississippi Floodplain
     ↗
  8. Savage (1997)
    Standing Soldiers, Kneeling Slaves
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 10 View in citation network →

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