Emmett Till was a 14-year-old African American boy who was brutally murdered in Mississippi in 1955 for allegedly whistling at a white woman. Till's murder and the subsequent trial of his killers became a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement in the United States.

Till was visiting family in Mississippi from Chicago when he was abducted, beaten, and shot by two white men, Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam. They then tied a 75-pound cotton gin fan to Till's body with barbed wire and threw him into the Tallahatchie River. Till's body was discovered three days later, and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, insisted on having an open casket funeral to show the world the brutality her son had endured.

Despite overwhelming evidence of their guilt, Bryant and Milam were acquitted by an all-white jury in a trial that became a symbol of racial injustice in America. The case received widespread media attention, both nationally and internationally, and served as a rallying cry for the Civil Rights Movement.

Emmett Till's murder galvanized civil rights activists and fueled the push for racial equality and justice. The story of his lynching continues to be a powerful symbol of the deep-seated racism and violence faced by African Americans in the United States and remains a reminder of the ongoing struggle for civil rights and social justice.