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

On Aug. 28, 1955, 14-year-old Emmett Till was abducted and brutally murdered. His devastated mother, Mamie, held an open-casket funeral and shared photos of her son with the press. She said, "The whole nation had to bear witness to this." Watch Emmett Till's story: https://comca.st/3KtFUdj | Voices of the Civil Rights Movement