Open Casket (Photograph)

"Open Casket" is a famous photograph taken by activist and artist Dawoud Bey of Emmett Till's open casket funeral in 1955. The image powerfully captures Till’s disfigured face after murder, emphasizing the brutality of racial violence. It aimed to provoke awareness and spark conversations about injustice and racial inequality in America. The photograph’s raw, unflinching depiction challenged viewers’ comfort and drew attention to the urgent need for civil rights reform, becoming a symbolic image in the fight against racial violence and a reminder of the importance of bearing witness to truth.