Till: Cousin fights for justice over black teenager lynched in 50s

The cousin of a black teenager murdered by a lynch mob in 1950s Mississippi is taking legal action to force a historic arrest warrant to be served.

Emmett Till was kidnapped and lynched after being accused of making improper advances at a white woman in a grocery store in Money, Mississippi, in 1955.

A cousin of Till who was there said the 14-year-old whistled at the woman, Carolyn Bryant. She is accused of falsely telling her husband and his half-brother that Till had assaulted her.

© Gene Herrick/AP/Shutterstock

Till’s murder became a catalyst for the civil rights movement after his mother insisted on an open-casket funeral and Jet magazine published photos of his mutilated body.

The story is told in the new film, Till, starring Danielle Deadwyler as Emmett’s mother, in a performance acclaimed by critics. However, the film has become the focus of an Oscars racism row after it failed to be nominated in any category.

Last June an unserved 1955 arrest warrant was discovered for Bryant.

© Granger/Shutterstock

Till’s cousin, Patricia Sterling, filed a federal lawsuit on Tuesday against current Leflore County sheriff Ricky Banks, to compel him to serve the warrant on Bryant.

After Till’s body was found in a river, Roy Bryant and his half-brother, JW Milam, were tried for murder and acquitted by an all-white jury. Months later, they confessed in an interview with Look magazine.

Now in her late-80s, Bryant has not commented publicly on calls for her prosecution.

The US Justice Department announced in December 2021 it had ended its latest investigation into the lynching of Till, without bringing charges against anyone.