Emmett Till was a 14-year-old African American boy who was brutally murdered in Mississippi in 1955. Till had allegedly whistled at a white woman, Carolyn Bryant, which led to him being abducted from his great-uncle's home, beaten, shot, and his body thrown into a river. Despite undeniable evidence and witnesses, Till's killers, Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam, were acquitted by an all-white jury.

The public outcry and widespread coverage of Emmett Till's murder and open casket funeral ignited the Civil Rights Movement. His mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, insisted on an open casket funeral to show the world the brutality of racism. The tragic and unjust death of Emmett Till became a symbol of the deep-seated racism and discrimination faced by African Americans in the United States.

Emmett Till's murder is considered a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement and his memory remains a powerful symbol of the ongoing fight for racial justice and equality in America.