The lynching of Emmett Till in 1955 became a pivotal point for race relations in the United States. Instead of sitting by silently, his mother, Mamie Till Mobley, opted to utilize the media in a way it had not been used before.

She decided to hold an open casket viewing, welcoming as many people as she could to view her son’s body, including Jet Magazine. With the gruesome images making their way around, She used her grief to not only tell the story of her son, but to push the Civil Rights Movement into a new era. Her selflessness led to the mass media becoming an important device for the Civil Rights Movement.

In this episode of Black History in Two Minutes or So hosted by Henry Louis Gates Jr. — with additional commentary from Peniel Joseph of the University of Texas, Austin, Farah Griffin of Columbia University and Chris Benson, the author of The Death of Innocence — we honor Mamie Till Mobley and the legacy of her bravery.

Black History in Two Minutes (or so) is a 4x Webby Award winning series.

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Archival Materials Courtesy of:

• ASSOCIATED PRESS

• Getty Images

• Library of Congress

Additional Archival by:

• Chicago Defender

• Clarion Ledger

• Florida State University Digital Library

• Jet Magazine

• TIME

• Twitter

Executive Producers:

• Robert F. Smith

• Henry Louis Gates Jr.

• Dyllan McGee

• Deon Taylor

Senior Producer:

• William Ventura

Series Producers:

• Chinisha Scott

• William Ventura

Executive in Charge of Production:

• Robert L. Yacyshyn

Post Production Supervisor:

• Veronica Leib

Post Production Coordinator:

• Katherine Swiatek

Written By:

• Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Additional Writing:

• Kevin Burke

• Kelsi Lindus

• Chinisha Scott

• William Ventura

Editors:

• Margaret Metzger

• Anne Yao

Producer:

• Kevin Burke

Archival Producer:

• Megan Graham

Research:

• Zoë Smith

Assistant Editors:

• Patrice Bowman

• Nicholas Mastrangelo

Director of Photography:

• Nikki Bramley

• Nausheen Dadabhoy

• Stephen McCarthy

Graphic Design:

• Anthony Kraus

Special Thanks:

• Daina Ramey Berry

• Sam Hartley

• Elyssa Hess

• Stacey Holman

• Hasan Jeffries

• Peniel Joseph

• Imani Perry

Music By:

• Oovra Music

Be Woke presents is brought to you by Robert F. Smith and Deon Taylor.

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