In honor of Black History Month, President Biden hosted a screening of Till at the White House. The film tells the story of Mamie Till-Mobley’s relentless pursuit of justice for her 14-year-old son Emmett Till.
“To remember history is to shine a light on the good, the bad, the truth, and who we are as a nation,” said President Biden.
“And our history shows that while darkness and denialism hide very much, they erase nothing. They can’t erase the past, and they shouldn’t. Only with truth comes healing and justice and repair and another step forward in that promise we all made but have never reached: a more perfect union. But we’ve never fully given up on it.
“That’s why we can’t just choose to learn what we want to know and what we should know. We have to learn what we should know. We should know everything about our history. And that’s what the great nations do. Great nations. And we’re a great nation.
“And that’s why history matters so much. You know, that’s why this film matters so much.”
A year ago, President Biden signed the nation’s first-ever anti-lynching law in Emmett Till’s name. The historic signing, which was done during a White House ceremony on the South Lawn, happened 67 years after a White mob murdered Till for allegedly whistling at a White woman.
