I recently had the opportunity to see Nikki Giovanni speak. She discussed her children’s book about Rosa Parks giving up her seat, and briefly mentioned that she deliberately put Emmett Till’s name in one of the newspapers a passenger was reading. I knew the name Emmett Till, but I never really knew the entire story. I’d heard about this documentary before, and I thought it would be worth a closer look.

Emmett was fourteen years old in 1955 when he visited his cousins in Mississippi, whistled at a white woman, and was killed three days later in what has to be one of the most brutal beatings in history. His death was arguably the biggest catalyst in the civil rights movement.

This film, made by Keith Beauchamp, is the result of eight years of research. He got the opportunity to interview several eyewitnesses, including Till’s mother, who has since passed. He weaves this footage together with old news coverage, which paints a very clear picture of the events.

The most chilling part of the film is when Till’s mother describes opening her son’s coffin and looking at his body. As she describes his injuries, the screen cuts to a picture of Till’s mangled face and doesn’t change for almost fifteen seconds. As Al Sharpton comments, “It’s hard to view a corpse and turn your head.”

The only reason I gave the film four stars instead of five is that I found it to be a little self-congratulatory. It concludes with CNN footage announcing the reopening of the case fifty years after Till’s death. Beauchamp made sure to select a clip in which the news anchor mentions the film and cites it as the reason the case was reopened. I’m not disputing that, but was it really necessary to include that, particularly at the very end?

Other than that, though, I seriously suggest everyone watch this. It’s an ugly but important part of our history. You also might want to pick up 4 Little Girls, the Spike Lee documentary about a 1963 church bombing in Birmingham.

For those who are interested in the case, PBS has an online feature, including the confessional the killers were paid $4000 for once they were found not guilty. Double jeopardy prevented them from this being used against them in court.