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Till was a 14-year-old black youngster who was murdered in Mississippi for whistling at a white woman. His death was a spark that ignited the civil rights movement in America. Two white men were put on trial for killing him, but in spite of strong evidence against them, an all-white jury acquitted them in about an hour.
On Aug. 31, 1955, three days after he had been abducted, Till's mangled body was found by a boy fishing in the Tallahatchie River, not far from Money. A 75-pound fan from a cotton gin was attached to his neck by barbed wire. He had been badly tortured: an eye was detached, an ear cut off, and he appeared to have been shot in the head.
Justice, Delayed But Not Denied - CBS News
Here to Emmett. A boy viciously beaten to death and tortured. Over 60 years has past and although some progress has been made, many black Americans walk in fear still today just for being black.