What Happened The Night Emmett Till Died

Emmett Louis Till was an African-American teen who was murdered in Mississippi at the age of 14 after reportedly whistling at a white woman. Till was visiting his relatives in Money, Mississippi when he whistled at 21-year-old Carolyn Bryant. Several nights later, Bryant's husband Roy and his half-brother J. W. Milam arrived at Till's great-uncle's house where they took Till, transported him to a barn, beat him and gouged out one of his eyes, before shooting him through the head and disposing of his body in the Black Bayou, Till's body was returned to Chicago where his mother insisted on a public funeral service with an open casket to show the world the brutality of the killing. 

The trial attracted a vast amount of press attention. Bryant and Milam were acquitted of Till's murder, but only months later, in a magazine interview, protected against double jeopardy, they admitted to killing him. Till's murder is noted as a pivotal event motivating the African-American Civil Rights Movement.

Johnny Thomas, mayor of Glendora, MS will tell us how his father was one of five Black men who assisted in the abduction, torture, and murder of Emmett Till. They also assisted in dumping Till's body into the