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This week, Kristin starts us off with a case that’s as awful as it is important. Emmett Till was just fourteen years old in 1955, when he traveled from his home in Chicago to visit relatives in rural Mississippi. Before he left, his mother warned Emmett that Chicago and Mississippi were two different worlds. The culture was different -- the racism more intense. He’d have to be careful. But no warning could prepare Emmett for what lay ahead of him in Mississippi.  

Then Brandi tells us the infuriating, but ultimately positive story of Cyntoia Brown. From the moment she was born, Cyntoia faced incredible obstacles. By the time she was a teenager, Cyntoia had been sex trafficked by an older man. When she was 16, a 43-year-old real estate broker named Johnny Michael Allen approached her in a Sonic, looking for sex. The two went back to his house, where Cyntoia felt increasingly afraid. 

And now for a note about our process. For each episode, Kristin reads a bunch of articles, then spits them back out in her very limited vocabulary. Brandi copies and pastes from the best sources on the web. And sometimes Wikipedia. (No shade, Wikipedia. We love you.) We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases.

“Emmett Till Murder Trial” by Douglas O. Linder for famous-trials.com

“Emmett Till” entry on wikipedia

“What happened to the key figures in the Emmett Till case?” by Devery S. Anderson for the Mississippi Clarion Ledger

“A timeline of the Cyntoia Brown case, conviction and successful bid for clemency” by Jon Garcia, The Tennessean

“Who was Cyntoia Brown convicted of killing? A look at Johnny Allen.” by Jon Garcia, The Tennessean

“Read Cyntoia Brown-Long's note to her 16-year-old self facing life in prison” by Juan Buitrago, The Tennessean

“Cyntoia Brown wasn’t a victim, stole money after killing Johnny Allen: Prosecutors” by Christal Hayes, Newsweek

“Cyntoia Brown, a trafficking victim jailed for killing a man using her for sex, was granted clemency following a social-media campaign. Here's everything you need to know.” by Benjamin Goggin, Insider

“How The Justice System Failed Cyntoia Brown” by Leah Carroll, Refinery29

“Attorneys seek new trial for teenage killer” Associated Press, The Oklahoman

“Cyntoia Denise Brown v.  State of Tennessee” tncourts.gov

“Cyntoia Brown Is Getting Back The Childhood She & So Many Young Black Girls Never Had” by Clarissa Brooks, Bustle

“Cyntoia Brown” wikipedia.org

“Cyntoia Brown” episode ExpediTIously Podcast