When Emmett Till's body was found in the Tallahatchie River on Aug. 31, 1955, he was so badly beaten that he could only be identified by his father's ring. A 75-pound cotton gin fan tied around his neck with barbed wire had kept him weighed down in the water in the three days since he was taken from his uncle's home. Watch "The Murder of Emmett Till" tonight at 9/8c on PBS or stream it anytime: to.pbs.org/3A2blGK | American Experience | PBS

The brutal murder of Emmett Till, a Black teenager from Chicago, and the acquittal of the two white men who killed him, was a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement. But almost as fast as Emmett’s name became known around the world, it began to fade. How did it happen? How could people forget the torture of a 14-year-old boy? ⁠ .⁠ Investigative journalist Marion Brooks details the events surrounding the case to unveil the context behind the lost story of Emmett Till - streaming now on Roku, Appl