In Mississippi, a barn where the tragic events leading to 14-year-old Emmett Till’s lynching transpired is set to be transformed into a public memorial by 2030. This poignant announcement came from the site’s new owner, who wishes to honor Till’s memory in a meaningful way.

The Emmett Till Interpretive Center revealed on Sunday that it had successfully acquired the barn, situated in a remote part of Drew, Mississippi. The purchase was made possible thanks to a generous $1.5 million contribution from acclaimed television producer and writer Shonda Rhimes.

Patrick Weems, the Executive Director of the Emmett Till Interpretive Center, expressed a profound belief in the potential for healing at sites marked by historical injustice. “We think that where the worst harms have happened, the most healing is possible,” he stated, underscoring the center’s mission.

The barn is slated to open as a memorial in time for the 75th anniversary of Emmett Till’s lynching, an event that took place in 1955. This transformation aims not only to remember Till but also to educate and inspire future generations.

In the wake of Till’s brutal murder, two white men admitted to the crime after being acquitted by an all-white jury in Mississippi. Yet, a 2021 report by the Justice Department suggests that at least one more unnamed individual was involved in the teenager’s abduction. Scholars familiar with the case estimate that the number of participants could range from six to over fourteen, highlighting the complexity and depth of this dark chapter in American history.

Till was abducted from his great-uncle’s home on Aug. 28, 1955, after the Chicago teenager was accused of whistling at a white woman in a rural Mississippi grocery store. According to accounts, the men took Till to the barn, where they tortured and killed him. His body was later found in the Tallahatchie River.

At Till’s funeral, his mother insisted on an open casket so the public could see the state of her son’s battered body. It was a pivotal moment in the emerging Civil Rights movement.

Weems said he hopes opening the barn to the public will encourage people to ask questions about a dark chapter in American history.

“Have we done enough? Is there justice yet? Has our society moved in the direction of human rights so that this sort of thing never happens?” Weems said.

The center will have the barn under 24-hour surveillance, and the property will be equipped with floodlights and security cameras, Weems said, calling those measures precautionary.

A historical marker, erected where Till’s body was discovered, has been replaced three times after being vandalized. The first marker was stolen and thrown into the river in 2008. The second was shot more than 100 times by 2014. It was replaced in 2018, and shot another 35 times. Now the marker is the only bulletproof historical marker in the country, according to Weems.

Weems noted that Sunday, the day the barn was purchased, was the birthday of Till’s mother, Mamie Till-Mobley. Till’s mother was a civil rights activist in the aftermath of her son’s death and died in 2003.