It's the origin story of a life lost far too soon due to a brutal and racist attack: the murder of Emmett Till in 1955. What began with a young boy who desired to connect with family and learn where his mother came from in Mississippi, ended in horror for the Chicago 14-year-old boy. Though no one will ever know exactly what happened in the grocery store co-owned by Carolyn Bryant leading up to the murder, history will show that what began with a lie from Bryant, resulted in the death of Emmett Till at the hands of Roy Bryant and JW Milam. Three days later, when his body was finally found, it was mutilated and nearly unrecognizable.

After viewing and personally identifying his body, his mother, Mamie, did something completely unexpected: She chose to have an open casket at his funeral. Photographs of his body circulated around the country, appearing in magazines and newspapers. With all of the media attention, what did the all-male, all-white jury find in the verdict after 67 minutes of deliberation, and why? How can someone later admit to murder, yet believe they did nothing wrong? And what happened to Caroline Bryant and the unserved warrant after all this time? We hope you will join us to find out.