Final answer:
Emmett Till was the 14-year-old who was lynched in Mississippi for allegedly whistling at a white woman, an event that helped galvanize the civil rights movement.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the summer of 1955, 14-year-old Emmett Till from Chicago visited relatives in Mississippi. He entered a grocery store owned by a white couple, and it was alleged that he whistled at the woman behind the counter. This act led to Till's abduction and brutal murder by the woman's husband and his half-brother.
Despite clear evidence and Till's mother's efforts to showcase her son's disfigured body to the world, the perpetrators were acquitted by an all-white jury. This event became a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement, highlighting the severe racial tensions and injustices in the Deep South during the Jim Crow era. The public outrage over Till's murder and the failure of the justice system contributed to the mobilization for civil rights and justice for African Americans.