Burr Oak Cemetery — final resting place of Emmett Till — may gain national recognition

ALSIP, Ill. - The final resting place of Emmett Till could become a nationally registered historic place.

What we know:

The Burr Oak Cemetery Historic District, which is known as the final resting place of Mamie and Emmett Till, along with singer Dinah Washington, and rapper King Von, has been recommended for the National Register of Historic Places by the Illinois Historic Sites Advisory Council.

The Alsip cemetery was established in 1927 on a 40-acre piece of land at the corner of 127th Street and Kostner Avenue. Currently, the property is 150 acres with an estimated 33,000 marked graves, including Emmett Till's flat bronze headstone in the Maple Wood section. 

Till was a 14-year-old Black teen whose lynching in Mississippi in 1955 is believed to have been a catalyst event for the Civil Rights movement. His mother, Mamie Till Mobley, became a leader in the movement and is also buried in Burr Oak Cemetery.

According to documents, the cemetery opened in the face of White opposition, as it was one of the few cemeteries in the area that catered to Black residents – and it was the only Black-owned and managed location.

What's next:

Once the state recommends a location for listing on the register, the spot usually gets automatically added. But due to the current government shutdown, the process has been delayed.

Other National Register-listed cemeteries including Bohemian National, Rosehill, and Graceland. Other well-known Illinois spots on the list include Abraham Lincoln's birthplace and tomb in Springfield, the Adler Planetarium, and the Carson Pirie Scott & Company store.