Un(re)solved

FRONTLINE PBS

What prompted the FBI to reinvestigate over one hundred unsolved civil rights era murders? And what does justice look like for families whose loved ones were killed? Reporter James Edwards seeks answers to these questions, reflecting on his own family’s experiences along the way. Hear episode 1 on June 11.

2021 GBH

4hr 10min

Thumbnail for "Introducing: Un(re)solved".

What prompted the Justice Department to reinvestigate over one hundred unsolved civil rights era murders?

June 1, 20213min 17sec

As part of its Cold Case Initiative, the DOJ compiled a list of cases to look into. As of 2008, Mississippi — where Emmett Till was murdered — had the largest number of cases.

June 18, 202156min 19sec

What does the FBI have to say about the outcomes of the Till Act so far — and what does the future of work under the Cold Case Initiative look like?

July 16, 202140min 28sec

Fifty-five years before the death of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky, the killing of another Black woman, Alberta O. Jones, sent shock and grief through that city’s Black community.

July 9, 202158min 24sec

There has been just one successful prosecution since the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act was signed into law in 2008. In Alabama, a district attorney investigated and charged a state trooper in the 1965 killing of a man during a civil rights march. But whether this case was a success is complicated. James digs into that case, and follows the money to try to understand whether funds the Till Act was supposed to provide were ever granted. And would an attempt to extend the Till Act beyond its 2017 sunset date offer a chance for lawmakers and the DOJ to address criticisms?

June 25, 202144min 3sec

What prompted the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate over 150 unsolved civil rights era killings? And what does justice look like for the families of the victims?

June 11, 202147min 12sec

Episode 2: The Letters

June 18, 202156min 19sec

As part of its Cold Case Initiative, the DOJ compiled a list of cases to look into. As of 2008, Mississippi — where Emmett Till was murdered — had the largest number of cases. James meets Walter Henry, a Black FBI agent who worked in a field office there and was tasked with investigating many of these crimes. One name from the list, a Black serviceman who was killed by a white police officer in 1962 following an altercation at a bus station, offers some insight into how civil rights era killings were handled. The man’s son recollects how his family carried with them the trauma of his father’s death and how the FBI’s re-examination of the case still impacts them today.