Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ is a Christian house of worship located in the Bronzeville neighborhood of

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. The church was the site of Emmett Till's open-casket funeral in 1955. The church was designated as a Chicago landmark in 2005 and was included on the National Trust for Historic Preservation's 2020 list of 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. The Church was designated as part of

Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument The Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument is a United States national monument that honors Emmett Till, an African American boy who was abducted, tortured, and lynched in Mississippi in 1955 at the age of 14, and his mother, Mamie ...

on July 25, 2023.

Establishment

Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ was founded by Elder William Roberts in 1916. Its services were held in various Chicago buildings until 1922 when its permanent building was constructed at 4021 S. State Street. The church was initially built as a one-story brick structure. A second story was added in 1927. In 1992, a tan brick exterior was added and the sanctuary was renovated.

Funeral of Emmett Till

In the summer of 1955, Emmett Till, a fourteen-year-old

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

boy from Chicago was visiting family in

Webb, Mississippi Webb is a town in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi. The population was 565 at the 2010 census. History Webb was founded circa 1880. The first post office was founded in 1880 and named Hood for one of the earlier settlers. In 1882, Judge James L.A ...

. On August 28, Till was abducted, beaten, and

lynched Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged transgressor, punish a convicted transgressor, or intimidate people. It can also be an ex ...

by two white men after they accused him of whistling at one of the men's wives. After Till's murder, his body was returned to Chicago. His mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, decided that his casket would remain open during his visitation and funeral. She is quoted as saying: "There was just no way I could describe what was in that box. No way. And I just wanted the world to see." A one-day visitation was held at Rayner Funeral Home on Friday, September 2, 1955. It is said that 5,000 people attended, though accounts vary. The open-casket funeral was held on September 3 at Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ. Roughly 2,000 attendees witnessed the service inside the church with thousands more attending outside. Rev. Isaiah Roberts, pastor of Roberts Temple, presided over the funeral. The

eulogy A eulogy (from , ''eulogia'', Classical Greek, ''eu'' for "well" or "true", ''logia'' for "words" or "text", together for "praise") is a speech or writing in praise of a person or persons, especially one who recently died or retired, or as a ...

was given by Bishop Louis H. Ford of the St. Paul Church of God in Christ.

Historic designation

The church was named a Chicago landmark in 2005. It was included on the National Trust for Historic Preservation's 2020 list of 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. In March of 2021, Senator Tammy Duckworth introduced

legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolled bill, enrolling, enactment of a bill, enacting, or promulgation, promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous Government, governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law i ...

that would make the church a

national monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a spec ...

for its significance to the

Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...

References

{{coord, 41.82124, -87.62602, format=dms, type:landmark_region:US-IL, display=title Chicago Landmarks African-American churches Churches completed in 1922 Churches in Chicago History of African-American civil rights Emmett Till

Establishment

Funeral of Emmett Till

Historic designation

See also

References