Last month, Harvard University professor Sarah Lewis released a new book titled *If Emmett Till Lived: A Creative Monument*, which explores a hypothetical life of Emmett Till, the 14-year-old African American boy whose 1955 murder in Mississippi became a catalyst for the civil rights movement. The book combines original photography and essays to imagine what might have been, while also reflecting on the societal changes that would have been required for Till to survive.
Till’s death occurred after he was brutally tortured and killed by two white men, who were later acquitted by an all-white, all-male jury but eventually confessed to the crime in a journalist’s interview. Lewis’s work seeks to confront the tragedy by posing the question of what Till’s life would have looked like had he lived, and what systemic shifts would have been necessary to prevent his death.
The book serves as a companion to an exhibit of the same name at the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago, which runs through December 19. The exhibit extends the book’s themes, inviting visitors to reflect on Till’s legacy and ongoing discussions around racial justice. A digital platform also accompanies the project, allowing the public to engage directly by submitting personal reflections and creative responses to the prompt, “What if Emmett Till lived?” Visitors can select images that represent their hopes for Till’s unrealized life and share their own writings on the website.
Lewis explained that the inspiration for the project came from a visit to Mississippi, where a monument honoring Till at Graball Landing had repeatedly been vandalized by gunfire. The current marker is bulletproof and heavily fortified, symbolizing resilience in the face of persistent attacks. “What if Emmett Till lived?” Lewis said was a question that “should have been possible” and one that forces a reckoning with the norms that would need to change in society for such a life to exist.
A significant collaboration on the project came through Rev. Wheeler Parker Jr., who was Emmett Till’s best friend and the last living eyewitness to the events surrounding Till’s murder. At 87 years old, Parker has contributed his memory and perspective, providing crucial testimony in the absence of photographic documentation of key moments in Till’s final days. Lewis described Parker’s involvement as vital to completing both the book and the exhibition, calling it “the honor of a lifetime” to work alongside him and his family.
The project stands as both a memorial and a call to imagine a different history, while fostering dialogue on racial justice and remembrance through multiple forms of artistic and personal engagement.