The Murder of Emmett Till (TV Documentary)
Encyclopedia
The Murder of Emmett Till (TV Documentary) is a Firelight Media
production for PBS
American Experience
, aired in 2003.
The film chronicles the story of Emmett Till
, a 14-year old black boy visiting relatives in Mississippi
in 1955. He was brutally murdered by two white men for whistling at a white woman, unaware he had broken an un-written law of the Jim Crow South. His mother decided to place her son’s body on display at a Church in Chicago for 4 days so that the world could see what had been done to her son. Photos flooded newspapers, putting the case on the map both nationally and internationally. The two men accused of his murder we acquitted after a short five-day trial with an all white male jury where the possibility of justice was made a mockery of. Shortly afterward, the defendants sold their story to journalists detailing how they carried out the murder. The Emmett Till case was a significant motivator of the civil rights
movement, and the Montgomery bus boycott
began three months after his body was discovered in the Tallahatchie River
2003 Emmy Award
– Best Non-fiction Director Stanley Nelson
2003 Emmy Nomination – Best Screenplay Marcia Smith
2003 International Documentary Association
Awards – Distinguished Documentary Achievement
2003 Sundance Film Festival
Special Jury Award
The Murder of Emmett Till aired on PBS’s American Experience in January 2003
Firelight Media
Firelight Media is a non-profit filmmaking company founded by filmmaker Stanley Nelson and Marcia Smith, located in New York City. Firelight Media began in 1998 as an independent non-profit documentary production company that produced stories on topics that are typically underrepresented in the...
production for PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
American Experience
American Experience
American Experience is a television program airing on the Public Broadcasting Service Public television stations in the United States. The program airs documentaries, many of which have won awards, about important or interesting events and people in American history...
, aired in 2003.
The film chronicles the story of Emmett Till
Emmett Till
Emmett Louis "Bobo" Till was an African-American boy who was murdered in Mississippi at the age of 14 after reportedly flirting with a white woman. Till was from Chicago, Illinois visiting his relatives in the Mississippi Delta region when he spoke to 21-year-old Carolyn Bryant, the married...
, a 14-year old black boy visiting relatives in Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
in 1955. He was brutally murdered by two white men for whistling at a white woman, unaware he had broken an un-written law of the Jim Crow South. His mother decided to place her son’s body on display at a Church in Chicago for 4 days so that the world could see what had been done to her son. Photos flooded newspapers, putting the case on the map both nationally and internationally. The two men accused of his murder we acquitted after a short five-day trial with an all white male jury where the possibility of justice was made a mockery of. Shortly afterward, the defendants sold their story to journalists detailing how they carried out the murder. The Emmett Till case was a significant motivator of the civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
movement, and the Montgomery bus boycott
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a political and social protest campaign that started in 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, USA, intended to oppose the city's policy of racial segregation on its public transit system. Many important figures in the civil rights movement were involved in the boycott,...
began three months after his body was discovered in the Tallahatchie River
Tallahatchie River
The Tallahatchie River flows from Tippah County, Mississippi to Leflore County, Mississippi, where it joins the Yalobusha River to form the Yazoo River.-History:Tallahatchie is a Choctaw name meaning "rock of waters"....
Awards
2004 Henry Hampton Award for Excellence in Film and Digital Media2003 Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
– Best Non-fiction Director Stanley Nelson
2003 Emmy Nomination – Best Screenplay Marcia Smith
2003 International Documentary Association
International Documentary Association
International Documentary Association , founded in 1982, is a non-profit organization promoting documentary film, video and new media, to support the efforts of documentary filmmaking and video production makers around the world and to increase public appreciation and demand for the art of the...
Awards – Distinguished Documentary Achievement
2003 Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
Special Jury Award
The Murder of Emmett Till aired on PBS’s American Experience in January 2003