Universal Mother

Acrylic on Canvas

30 x 30 inches

2019

Universal Mother is a portrait of the iconic Mamie Till. Her 14-year-old son Emmett Till was abducted, brutally tortured and murdered after being accused of flirting with a white woman. Mamie Till made the strong and courageous decision to have an open casket of her son’s body which was a significant factor that helped fuel the Civil Rights Movement.

“It was almost as if people were looking at their own child there rather than a stranger they didn’t know. It was at that time that I knew Emmett was not just mine, he was a universal child.”

- Mamie Till