Emmett Till Murdered (1955): Emmett Till, a 14-year-old boy from Chicago, was visiting his relatives in Mississippi when he was snatched from his great-uncle's home on the night of August 28. He was then beaten, shot in the head, and then thrown into Tallahatchie River. His body was found three days later. Ostensibly, the murderers killed Till because he whistled at a white woman.

When Emmett Till's body was found, his mom, Mamie Till-Mobley, insisted on having Emmett's mutilated body returned to Chicago, where she had an open-casket funeral for him.

A picture of Emmett's mutilated, bloated face was shown around the country and was one of the sparks of the Civil Rights Movement.

The murderers were known because Till's great-uncle had seen them take Emmett from his home. However, a trial of their white peers found the two men, Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam, not guilty. Just a few months after the trial, Bryant and Milam confessed to the murder in an interview published in Look Magazine.