President Biden Compares Tyre Nichols To Emmett Till at White House Film Screening

President Joe Biden compared Tyre Nichols with Emmett Till during an impassioned introduction at a White House screening of the acclaimed film Till.

The president hosted the screening this week, and gave remarks during which he compared the conversations parents still have to have with their kids to the one Mamie Till-Mobley had with her son before he left home to visit Mississippi — and invoked the killing of Tyre Nichols to illustrate the need for those conversations:

You know, before 14-year-old Emmett Till left on his trip to visit his family in Mississippi, Ms. Till, a teacher who knew the history, reminded him: “Be very careful how you speak. Say ‘yes, sir,’ ‘no, ma’am.’ Don’t hesitate to humble yourself if you have to get down on your knees.”

That conversation is not in the distant past. Same talk today. So many Black and brown family — parents have to have that similar conversation with their children, worrying about whether they’ll come home from a walk down the street or playing in the park or just driving their car — like we saw Tyre Nichols, just last month — and becoming a victim to too many acts of hate and violence unleashed on those known and unknown.

Folks, I thought — I got involved in the civil rights movement as a public defender, as my colleagues know, when I was a kid getting out of law school. And I thought you could defeat hate, we — because we passed the Civil Rights Act and so many other things.

But I learned a lesson: Hate never goes away. It just hides under the rocks until it’s given a little oxygen by lousy people.

And what stops it? Only one thing that stops it is all of us. Silence is complicity. It really is. Silence is complicity. (Applause.)

And, folks, we can’t remain silent. Denialism is worse, and it’s unacceptable.

To the Till family, the civil rights leaders, faith leaders, and so many others gathered here today, as I told many of you at the bill signing last year: Thank you, thank you, thank you for never ever, ever giving up and always — as my mother would say — keeping the faith.

To everyone involved in this film, to paraphrase Maya Angelou: People will never forget how you make them feel. People will never forget how you make them feel.

You know, you have that artist’s gifts of making us feel our common humanity.

And there is one more hero in this story they have to acknowledge, and it’s — a lot of people forget this: the Black press at the time.

At the time — (applause) — at the time, Jet Magazine, the Chicago Defender, and other Black newspapers were unflinching and brave in sharing the story of Emmett Till and searing it into the nation’s consciousness.

Fearless trailblazers like Ida B. Wells, a brilliant, gifted writer, exposed the barbaric — (applause) — the barbaric nature of lynching as a tool to intimidate and subjugate Black Americans.

She once said, quote, “The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon the wrongs.” “Turn the light of truth upon the wrongs.” That’s our charge today; it still exists.

Just imagine Emmett Till standing with us today. Just imagine if he was standing with us today. Maybe he’d be a grandpop, passing down wisdom of the struggle and hope to all the young people here today.

At the start of this new year, I signed the — posthumously awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to Emmett Till and Mrs. Till.

Imagine — (applause) — no, imagine if we could’ve done that in person, celebrating their contributions to the American life as a reflection of the dreams that they made possible.

Imagine. And let’s continue the work ahead after we imagine that to inspire people of this great nation to reach higher, search for the stars, dig deeper in our souls, to fill the true — the true and sacred promise of America for all Americans.

And now, from the White House, during Black History Month, it’s my honor — and it is a genuine honor — maybe the greatest honor I’ve had since I’ve become President — my honor to introduce the film, “Till.” God love him. (Applause.)

Watch above via The White House.