The day independent autopsy results were shared for Nolan Wells, an 18-year-old Black student whose death off the coast of Mississippi days after a Fourth of July holiday boat trip captured national attention, 32 young learners at the Chicago History Museum were having in-depth discussions about the significance of another young Black teenager: Emmett Till.
Till would have been an octogenarian had the young Chicagoan not been slain in Mississippi while visiting family in summer 1955 at age 14. His death still resonates, according to Christopher Benson, Till Institute co-founder, journalist, attorney and associate professor at Northwestern University.
“I’ve been aware of the social constructs that have been built for many generations, that people have been discriminated against and judged for the color of their skin,” Maja Ventura, 17, a student at DeVry University Advantage Academy, said. “We are just covering up the mistakes that America has been making … it’s sad. It’s still happening; people don’t acknowledge it enough, but people are dying out here, literally. Why don’t we solve this?”
Ventura was among those gathered for the four-week paid, immersive educational program called the Summer Academy, where Chicago-area teens explore history, storytelling and social justice.
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The program, conducted by the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley Institute, brought high schoolers together for a second year to discuss themes of power, imagery, and narratives surrounding Till’s legacy under the theme “Emmett Till: The Pursuit of Happiness, An American Reckoning.” The discussion was wide-ranging, peppered with topics such as democracy, diversity, equity and inclusion, censorship and cultural appropriation.
Finding meaning in stories recounting American history, field trips to local sites of the Till narrative — Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ in Bronzeville, where Till’s homegoing was held — were among the activities.
Mornings were spent in group conversation about press freedom and resistance as seen through the lens of Till’s case. Afternoons were set aside for “artivism,” or activism and art. Students produced video/photo/poster works that interpreted the “American Reckoning” theme and were featured in the museum in conversation with the museum’s existing Emmett Till exhibition. Raymond Thomas, creative director of The Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley Institute and curator of the exhibit “From Memory to Movement: Emmett at 85” oversaw the art aspect of the curriculum.
On that July afternoon, Natalie Morris, 15, a Whitney Young student, was busy creating art that incorporated the American flag. She joined this year’s Summer Academy because she likes history, especially Black History. Morris plans to practice law and enjoys research. She learned a little bit about Till in school, but said the Summer Academy deepened her understanding.
All lessons center on storytelling, teaching students how to find the truth in narratives and analyze them critically — so youth can apply what they learned to current social challenges, Benson said.
Participation in this year’s Summer Academy nearly doubled, according to Erica Griffin-Fabicon, the director of education for the Chicago History Museum. “Our young people are frustrated by the world that we have left them to contend with, both now and in the future,” Griffin-Fabicon said. “We acknowledge the harms of history while keeping the windows and all the doors open for the progress that could come with our support today and their brilliance in the future. We’re talking about the past, but connecting the past to the present in unique ways, and providing them the space to have a say.”
Emily Aning, 17, a Northside College Prep student, looked forward to being a part of the Summer Academy because her sister enjoyed doing it last year.
“My cousin was visiting and seeing them hanging out and having really good conversations made me interested,” she said. “I had spent the previous summer doing art and I wanted to continue doing art, so being able to have these conversations and learn about history in a different way is why I wanted to join this program.”
The premise that kids need to be protected from this kind of information is ridiculous, Benson said, as evidenced by current Summer Academy students who are children of refugees and immigrants. Benson said they came to the program because they grew up hearing the stories of atrocities their parents experienced, and saw commonality between them and the Emmett Till experience.
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“The other effort that we’re engaging in is to show that the Black experience is a gateway to understanding the experience of all people who’ve been marginalized,” Benson said. By reframing the dominant narrative with a counternarrative of the American experience, Benson said it shows that sharing with a multiracial, multicultural plurality does not mean losing power — it’s addition, not subtraction. Benson said that’s something the students understand and the narrative that the Summer Academy advances.
“Promises were made in the 18th century that have not been fulfilled (Declaration of Independence, the Fourth of July); Emmett Till stands as a stark reminder of the challenges we still face,” he said. “Emmett Till is challenging us to move forward in understanding our history — not censoring, not banning books — but being open to a full and thorough discussion of our history in order to chart our way forward.”