The Guild of the Chicago History Museum invites you to a talk featuring speakers Margot McMahon, daughter of Franklin McMahon, artist-reporter who sketched the trial of Till’s murderers for Life magazine, and Northwestern University professor Christopher Benson, an esteemed writer and scholar on Till who contributed to CHM exhibition Injustice: The Trial for the Murder of Emmett Till.

In 1955, the murder of Emmett Till, a Black teenager from Chicago, and the subsequent criminal trial in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi, attracted international attention and sparked the Civil Rights Movement. Injustice: The Trial for the Murder of Emmett Till begins with photographs of a joyful Emmett in life and of his funeral attended by thousands. The trial proceedings are then shared through courtroom sketches by Franklin McMahon. These drawings give a visual account of a trial that amplified the inequities Black Americans face within the US court system, including a lack of equal protection under the law. Learn how Emmet's mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, boldly stood in the face of racial injustice, and consider how Emmett’s legacy continues in those seeking justice for Black lives today.

If you already have a ticket and wish to add more, or if you prefer to pay by phone, please contact Nell McKeown at (312) 799-2112. Checks may be sent to the below address:

ATTN: Nell McKeown
Chicago History Museum
1601 N Clark St
Chicago, IL 60614