GBH Openvault

American Experience; The Murder of Emmett Till; Interview with William Pearson, Mississippi resident

Part of The Murder of Emmett Till Interviews.

2003

William Pearson Interview about Emmett Till, an African-American teenager who was lynched in Mississippi at the age of 14 after reportedly flirting with a white woman.

Series

American Experience

Program

The Murder of Emmett Till

Program Number

1506

Title

Interview with William Pearson, Mississippi resident

Series Description

As television's longest-running, most-watched history series, American Experience brings to life the incredible characters and epic stories that helped form this nation. Now in its eighteenth season, the series has produced over 180 programs and garnered every major broadcast award.

Program Description

In August 1955, a 14-year-old black boy from Chicago whistled at a white woman in a grocery store in Money, Mississippi. Emmett Till didn't understand that he had broken the unwritten laws of the Jim Crow South. Three days later, two white men dragged him from his bed in the dead of night, beat him brutally and shot him. Although his killers were arrested and charged with murder, they were both quickly acquitted by an all-white, all-male jury. Soon after, the defendants sold their story, including a detailed account of how they murdered Till, to a journalist. The murder and the trial horrified the nation and the world. Till's death was a spark that helped mobilize the civil rights movement. Three months after his body was pulled from the Tallahatchie River, the Montgomery Bus Boycott began.

Duration

0:16:30

Asset Type

Raw video

Media Type

Video

Topics

History

Creators

Nelson, Stanley (Producer)

Contributors

Pearson, William (Interviewee)

Publication Information

WGBH Educational Foundation

Rights Summary

Rights Holder: WGBH Educational Foundation

Citation

Chicago: “American Experience; The Murder of Emmett Till; Interview with William Pearson, Mississippi resident,” 2003, GBH Archives, accessed December 22, 2024, http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_686C4E81E844404A9AC4A1F5563EC6BD.

MLA: “American Experience; The Murder of Emmett Till; Interview with William Pearson, Mississippi resident.” 2003. GBH Archives. Web. December 22, 2024. <http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_686C4E81E844404A9AC4A1F5563EC6BD>.

APA: American Experience; The Murder of Emmett Till; Interview with William Pearson, Mississippi resident. Boston, MA: GBH Archives. Retrieved from http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_686C4E81E844404A9AC4A1F5563EC6BD