Congressman Bennie Thompson Announces $75,000 National Park Service Grant for Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley Sites

BOLTON, MS – Congressman Bennie G. Thompson (MS-02) is pleased to announce that the National Park Service (NPS) has awarded a $75,000 grant to the Emmett Till Interpretive Center as part of the Underrepresented Communities Grant Program. This funding will support the documentation and National Register nomination of multiple sites associated with the legacy of Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley in Mississippi.

This project is one of 20 initiatives across 17 states and the District of Columbia that will benefit from a total of $1,250,000 in funding under the program, which was established by Congress in 2014 to expand the National Register of Historic Places by recognizing places significant to underrepresented groups. Since its inception, the program has awarded $8.25 million to support historic surveys and nominations.

The funding is provided through the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF), which uses revenue from federal offshore oil and gas leases to support a wide array of preservation projects without spending taxpayer dollars. Since 1977, the HPF has awarded more than $2 billion in grants to states, Tribes, local governments, and nonprofit organizations to preserve cultural resources.