By Robyn Bertram

The work to remember Emmett Till will continue at Florida State University thanks to new funding established by one of the nation’s leading experts on the 1955 murder that helped launch the civil rights movement.

Davis Houck, Fannie Lou Hamer Professor of Rhetorical Studies in the School of Communication at FSU, has recently established a new Emmett Till Lecture and Archives Fund.

“This gift honors Emmett Till, whose life and memory have become touchstones for U.S. civil rights history,” Houck said. “This collection will continue to evolve as the nation’s preeminent site to preserve materials related to the kidnap, murder, trial and aftermath. It will also support the collaborative work with the Emmett Till Memory Project as we continue to tell this dynamic story.