Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African American boy from Chicago, was visiting relatives in Money, Mississippi, during the summer of 1955. He allegedly whistled at Carolyn Bryant, a white woman working at a local grocery store, a perceived affront in the deeply segregated South. Shortly after the incident, Till was reported missing. His body was later discovered in the Tallahatchie River, floating and badly mutilated, with signs of severe beating and gunshot wounds. Till's great-uncle, Mose Wright, identified the body, which was found with barbed wire around his neck, indicative of the horrific nature of the crime committed against him.

In a powerful move, Mamie Till, Emmett's mother, chose to hold an open-casket funeral to reveal the extent of her son’s injuries to the world. Images of Till’s mutilated body were published in newspapers and circulated widely, igniting outrage and mobilizing activists in the Civil Rights Movement. His murderers, Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam, faced trial but were acquitted by an all-white jury, revealing the deep-seated racial biases of the legal system. The case became a catalyst for change, helping to galvanize the emerging civil rights movement that sought justice and equality for African Americans across the United States.