Spencer Museum to host event with the Rev. Wheeler Parker Jr., cousin of Emmett Till

LAWRENCE — The Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas will host a public event with the Rev. Wheeler Parker Jr., cousin and childhood best friend of Emmett Till, in conjunction with the traveling exhibition “Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley: Let the World See.” The event will take place at 6 p.m. April 24 at the Spencer Museum. Seating is limited; free tickets are required.

Parker was 16 years old and Till was 14 when they traveled from Chicago to Mississippi in 1955 to visit family. Their trip ended in tragedy with Till’s lynching after playfully whistling at a white woman. Parker is the last living witness to Till’s whistle and kidnapping.

“Emmett Till’s story is not a pleasant story — it’s not a pretty story, but it has to be told. It must be told because we need to know the truth,” Parker said. “The thing I want families to take away from this is that we can learn from the past on what not to do and we can improve on race relations at this time.”

Parker will be introduced by his wife, Marvel Parker, who serves as executive director of the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley Institute. “Let the World See” was created collaboratively by the institute, the Till family, the Emmett Till Interpretive Center and the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis.

Dave Tell, KU professor of communication studies, served as a historical consultant for the design and content of the exhibition and will moderate a conversation with Parker during the event.

“There are plenty of museum exhibits about the Till story,” Tell said. “This one is unique because it was created in consultation with the Till family and because it brings the story up to the present day. We don’t just learn what happened in 1955. We also learn how hard it has been to tell the story of what happened in 1955.”  

Following the conversation, Parker will sign copies of his book “A Few Days Full of Trouble,” which recounts the events surrounding Till’s murder and their ongoing legacy. The Raven Bookstore will sell copies of the book on site.

Free tickets for this event are required and can be reserved online. Doors open at 5 p.m., and any unoccupied seats will be opened to public entry beginning at 5:45 p.m. Overflow seating will be available in Room 211 in the Spencer Museum with a live simulcast. A livestream of the event will also be available on the Spencer's YouTube channel.

The Spencer Museum will also host media availability to ask Parker questions and film in the exhibition space on the afternoon of April 24. Due to space constraints, no filming will be allowed during the evening event. Reporters should contact Elizabeth Kanost, the Spencer Museum’s director of external affairs, by email.

This event and “Let the World See” are co-sponsored by KU’s Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging; Office of the Provost; Office of Research; Hall Center for the Humanities; departments of African & African-American Studies and Communication Studies; Langston Hughes Center and Student Senate as well as the National Endowment for the Humanities and Humanities Kansas, which connects Kansans with stories, ideas and each other to strengthen communities. Additional funding comes from the Friends of the Art Museum, the Linda Inman Bailey Exhibitions Fund and Duane Morris LLP.