County of Tallahatchie, Mississippi – There are 138 national monuments in all the United States, but for the first time in almost 100 years, they are eligible to be sold for parts.
This junteenthSome of Jeopardy’s protected lands commemorate important moments in the history of American civil rights, including some more recent monuments, such as the Emmett Till and Mamie Till Furniture National Monument.
“We are seeing this effort to erase and reverse history and historical preservation,” said historian Alan Spears, principal director of cultural resources and government affairs of the National Parks Conservation Association. “This is quickly becoming a deferred dream.”
Spears defended for years, along with several community members, to obtain federal protections for the Mississippi and Chicago areas that tell the story of Emmett Till – A Chicago boy, 14 years old which was abducted at midnight and brutally lynxy In 1955, after a white woman whistled while visiting the family at Mississippi.
“His poorly decomposed body was extracted from the water and officials in this area wanted him to be buried immediately to get rid of the tests,” Spears explained. “Her mother insisted that she would be sent again to Chicago, where they had an open coffin funeral. And images of Till’s poorly decomposed body in that open coffin really caused the modern movement of civil rights.”
Protections to preserve this story finally came in 2023, when a monument consistent Of two places in Mississippi and one in Illinois, was designated of former President Joe Biden.
A place is in Graball Landing along the Tallahatchie River near Glendora, Mississippi, where Till’s body was found. The second is in the Court of County of Tallahatchie of Sumner, Mississippi, where a jury of all white was not guilty. The third is located in the Chicago Temple Church of God of Roberts, where Till’s funeral was celebrated.
Spears says that he and his colleagues have been working to expand the monument, not eliminate or reduce it.
“Ensure -we never happen to anyone’s son,” Spears said.
But just as the President’s pen strokes preserved these areas, it could now be removed.
A legal opinion published by the Department of Justice earlier this month provides presidents with the opportunity to revoke or reduce certain national monuments for the first time since the 1930’s. Opinion comes as a Part of a movement Against diversity, equity and inclusion, some lands that must be used for mineral extractions were proposed.
They are not just the national monuments that are at risk. Spears, under the budget cuts recently proposed for the National Park service, Spears says that more than 300 places in the park would be forced to close. These budget cuts could also see the closure of the Emmett Till and Mamie Till Mobley Monument, according to Spears and the former director of the Chuck Sams National Park service.
“It’s like amputating an arm for a ship. It’s an excessive reaction,” says Spears.
Sams says the agency has lost 13% of its staff already left their office earlier this year.
Sams participated in the designation of five different national monuments signed by Biden, including the Till monument. He says that if the monument was closed, it would be “very sad and rugged”.
“People do not like to look at their past when it shows a negative light of who we are, and I can understand that no one likes to look at their personal past that can have a negative light, but we also know that to learn from our own story, we must also learn from our past mistakes,” said Sams News CBS. “And we, as North -Americans, have never been afraid to do it and I don’t think we have to be. We look at our past and know that from our past mistakes we have become stronger.”
Currently, the Chuckwalla National Monument and the Highlands National Sáctítla Monument, both located in California, are taken into account for revocation or sold in parts.
The BAAJ NWAAVJO I’Tāh Kukveni: The footprints of the ancrease of the Grand National Monument of the Grand Canyon are also considered according to their uranium supply.
Judy Cummings resorts to the national monuments of America this summer with his daughter and his granddaughter.
They led from Wisconsin to see the Emmett Till and Mamie Till Furniture Lites National Monument in the north of Mississippi.
Asked about the potential that places like this are closed, Cummings said, “It makes me want to cry and make me furious at the same time.”
When asked about the possibility of removing national monuments, White House spokeswoman Anne Kelly told CBS News in a statement: “ Under the leadership of President Trump, Secretary Burgum maintains our parks ready for the high season, ensuring that they are in pristine conditions for the visitors and restoring the truth and health in the representations of the North -American history. Executive order. The President simultaneously follows his promise to “drill, baby, drill” and restore American energy rule. ”
And in a separate statement to CBS News, the Interior Department said: “Under the leadership of President Trump, we advance the strategic reforms to maximize resources and improve the operations of the park. These efforts will make our parks more efficient, better maintained and more pleasant for North -American people, maintaining strong and effective conservation efforts. Our parks can serve future generations. “
“No more than two thirds of the National Park system cannot be completed because it makes sense from the point of view of government efficiency,” said Spears. “It’s not what we want.”
According to one Recent studyAbout half of the current national parks began for the first time as national monuments, including the iconic Gran Canyon.
According to Spears, every $ 1 invested in a place in the National Park returns $ 15 to the communities where it is located.
“It’s a huge and enormous performance of investment,” said Spears.
It is also an investment to visitors.
“I really don’t have words,” said Nicole Cummings, daughter of Judy. “I only have a little chicken and it is really powerful.”