Abolitionist Patrisse Cullors performs ceremony in honor of Emmett Till

To commemorate the lives and legacies of Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley, abolitionist Patrisse Cullors performed a libation ceremony at the Spencer Museum of Art on April 10. 

Emmett Till and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, became prominent figures of the civil rights movement after Emmett's murder in 1955 and Mamie's subsequent activism.

A libation ceremony is a ritual where one offers water and libations in honor of those who have passed away. The ceremony is an aspect of Ifa spiritual tradition, which originated from the Yoruba people of West Africa and survived the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. 

“Because this … exhibition [is] around Mamie Till and Emmett Till are these two powerful ancestors that helped ignite the civil rights movement, I felt like it was really important to honor them in this way,” Cullors said.

The ceremony began outside the museum with Cullors reciting a prayer for the attendees’ ancestors, Till and Till-Mobley, Indigenous peoples and slavery abolitionists who founded Lawrence. 

“May we see the righteous path of a liberatory life,” Cullors said during the ceremony. 

Next, Cullors instructed attendees to write the name of an ancestor they wanted to honor on an index card along with a special memory of the individual. Attendees took turns pinning their index cards onto cloths, creating an altar. 

Attendees each said the name of their ancestor over a bowl of water. At the end of the ceremony, Cullors poured the water into the ground to represent the connection between water, humans and the earth. 

“I really enjoyed the ceremony,” sophomore applied behavioral sciences major Alexa Ymker said. “... The most impactful part was how she [Cullors] was able to be inclusive of other religions. I haven’t been part of a ceremony that allowed for that degree of religious inclusivity while also being so culturally specific.” 

The ceremony was in honor of Till and Till-Mobley, whose lives and legacies are the subject of two current exhibitions at the Spencer Museum of Art. “One History, Two Versions” and its companion exhibition “Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley: Let the World See” share the tragic story of Emmett Till, the activism of his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley and the impact of racial violence. 

Emmett was the victim of a hate crime after being brutally murdered at the age of 14. His mother, Till-Mobley, decided to “let the world see” and hold an open casket funeral for her son, allowing the press and public to witness the deadly results of racism in America. 

“I hope attendees felt grounded and connected to the Emmett Till story,” Andrew W. Mellon academic coordinator and event coordinator Connor Joseph said. “I also hope visitors walked understanding the humanity with this story and with each other. We are all connected.” 

Cullors said that Connection is a key aspect of her identity as an abolitionist and the way she goes about her art and activism. 

“My art and activism are an extension of who I am, which is an abolitionist,” Cullors said. “An abolitionist is the belief in the way we treat each other and how we show up for each other.”

Cullors hopes that the libation ceremony and the exhibitions encourage attendees to strengthen their connections with fellow humans, art, the past or the present.

“I think it’s important that we remember that we’re honoring this powerful exhibition, we’re also reminding ourselves how there’s still so much work to do, and I think art really allows us to be in the moment and move, and it also allows us to move in action,” Cullors said. 

The exhibition “One History, Two Versions” will be on display in the Spencer Museum of Art until June 16, 2024. The exhibition “Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley: Let the World See” will be on display until May 19, 2024. For more information on the exhibitions, visit the Spencer Museum of Art website.