The Murder of Emmett Till

What happened

In August 1955, fourteen-year-old Emmett Till, visiting relatives in Mississippi, was kidnapped, tortured, and lynched by two white men after being accused of offending a white woman. His mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, insisted on an open casket so the world could see what had been done; the two men were acquitted by an all-white jury in about an hour.

Why it matters

The horror of Till's murder and the injustice of the trial galvanized a generation, and are often seen as a spark of the modern civil rights movement.

Sources

• National Park Service. Emmett Till · Reputable source