Erma Bridgewater of Champaign, Illinois remembers how Emmett TIll's death affected her.  Emmett Louis "Bobo" Till was an African American boy from Chicago, Illinois, who was murdered at the age of 14 in Money, Mississippi, a small town in the state's Delta region, after reportedly whistling at a white woman. The murder of Emmett Till was noted as one of the leading events that motivated the American Civil Rights Movement. The main suspects were acquitted, but later admitted to the murder.

Erma Bridgewater of Champaign, Illinois recalls open racial discrimination growing up.

Ruby Hunt of Urbana, Illinois talks with Franklin Middle School students about segregation then and now.

Ruby Hunt of Urbana, Illinois remembers growing up with racial segregation in the South.

Erma Bridgewater of Champaign, Illinois was born in 1914.  She has lived through Jim Crow, participated in desegregation efforts in Champaign and helped elect the first African-American president of the United States of America.  She reflects on this historic time.