JACKSON, Miss.—Priscilla Till is running for governor in the 2027 election, she announced at the end of a Justice Conference at Jackson State University on Oct. 2. The educator and civil rights activist is a cousin of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old from Chicago who was kidnapped and killed by white men while visiting Mississippi in 1955. 

 Here are some photos of the event. 

A man in a suit takes a photo of a group at a press conference inside
Priscilla Till takes photos with her family at a campaign event in the Mississippi E-center at Jackson State University in Jackson, Miss., on Oct. 2, 2026. MFP Photo by Grace Marion
Three women stand at a podium while a man stands behind them.
Priscilla Till (right) was joined by Kohen Wiley’s mother (center) and grandmother (left) while announcing her 2027 campaign for governor in Jackson, Miss., on Oct. 2, 2026. MFP Photo by Grace Marion 
A teenage boy and a man carry a large stage sign
Two people carry in Priscilla Till’s campaign display before she announced her candidacy for Mississippi’s 2027 gubernatorial election in the Mississippi E-center at Jackson State University in Jackson, Miss., on Oct. 2, 2026. MFP Photo by Grace Marion
Priscilla Till hugs a woman in a crowd as others clap
Priscilla Till greets supporters at an Oct. 2, 2026, campaign event in the Mississippi E-center at Jackson State University in Jackson, Miss. MFP Photo by Grace Marion
A man in a suit speaks to a crowd at a press conference
Malik Z. Shabazz, who represented the victims in the Rankin County Goon Squad case, announced Priscilla Till’s candidacy for governor in 2027 at an Oct. 2, 2026, campaign event in the Mississippi E-center at Jackson State University in Jackson, Miss.. MFP Photo by Grace Marion
A woman at a press conference reads from a sheet of paper at the podium. Three women in matching campaign tshirts flank her on stage.
Priscilla Till reads a list of Mississippi hate groups aloud at an Oct. 2, 2026, campaign event in the Mississippi E-center at Jackson State University in Jackson Miss.. MFP Photo by Grace Marion 

Follow the Mississippi Free Press’ coverage of 2027 elections and read past stories here. 

See our 2026 Trusted Elections project here. 

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Capital Bureau Reporter Grace E. Marion is covering the capital city, Jackson, as well as surrounding rural, urban and suburban areas in Hinds County, Madison County and Rankin County. She is a reporter and photojournalist with a passion for narrative writing and investigative reporting. Her work as a journalist has earned her coverage in publications like the Columbia Journalism Review, the Hechinger Report, and the Student Press Law Center. Grace is a member of the Investigative Reporters & Editors (IRE) and the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ).

Grace graduated from the University of Mississippi School of Journalism and New Media in 2022 with a degree in print and broadcast journalism, and from the University of California at Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism in 2024.