Mississippi Barn Bought for $1.5M: History > Storage Wars

KEY POINTS

•The Emmett Till Interpretive Center purchased the barn outside Drew, Mississippi, for $1.5 million to protect its historical significance.
•The barn is where 14-year-old Emmett Till was tortured and killed in 1955, an event that helped ignite the civil rights movement.
•The Rhimes Foundation, founded by producer Shonda Rhimes, funded the acquisition, announced on Mamie Till-Mobley's 104th birthday.
•The center plans to open the barn as a permanent public memorial by 2030, providing a space for education and reflection.

In a historic flex, the Emmett Till Interpretive Center just dropped a cool $1.5 million to buy the barn where 14-year-old Emmett Till was brutally tortured and killed in 1955—because apparently, preserving a sacred site beats turning it into a glorified shed. Thanks to a donation from Shonda Rhimes’ Rhimes Foundation (yes, that Shonda), they snatched it up right outside Drew, Mississippi. The barn had been family storage for decades, not exactly honored like the Beyoncé of civil rights landmarks. Now this tragic piece of history will avoid the developer wrecking ball and open by 2030, with historians and locals debating how to turn pain into public reflection—and maybe a TikTok or two.