The murder of Emmett Till is one of the most harrowing events in American history,

serving as a catalyst for the civil rights movement.

Emmett Till was a 14 year old boy from Chicago,

who in August 1955 traveled to Mississippi to visit relatives.

His brutal killing would expose the deep-seated racism and violence faced by

black Americans, especially in the Jim Crow South.

The events leading to Till's murder began when a white woman, Carolyn Bryant, accused him

of making an inappropriate advance toward her, an alleged brief interaction, considered a grievous offense in the racially

segregated south of the 1950s.

Days later, Bryant's husband, Roy Bryant, and his half-brother, J.W. Mylem, abducted Till, brutally tortured and murdered him.

They were later tried and acquitted by an all-white jury.

Now best-selling author Wright Thompson travels back to his native Mississippi for a fresh

and unflinching account of the conspiring forces behind Till's murder, focusing on the place where it happened.

It's called The Barn, the secret history of a murder in Mississippi.

I spoke with him yesterday.

Right, Thompson, thanks so much for being with us.

Man, thank you so much.

Your family farm is about 20 miles from the site of the barn where Emmett Till was beaten

and killed, yet you had to leave the state to go to college before you learned anything about it.

How did this history reveal itself to you?

You know, it was shocking to me all the things that personally I didn't know and then as I started

researching the barn where Emmett Till was killed I realize that most of America actually doesn't know a lot about this.

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