Emmett Till’s relatives lead protest to home of woman whose accusations led to his murder: ‘Justice was never served’

Bevan Hurley
·2 min read
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Relatives of Emmett Till were among a dozen protesters who gathered to demand justice on Saturday at the Kentucky home of a woman whose accusations led to his murder.

The group called on law enforcement to arrest Carolyn Bryant, who claimed that the 14-year-old Till had whistled at her before he was murdered by her husband and his brother in Mississippi in 1955.

A recently unearthed arrest warrant for Ms Bryant that was never served led to renewed calls for her to be held accountable for Till’s murder.

In August, a grand jury declined to indict Ms Bryant for the crime, which galvanised the civil rights movement.

The group that gathered near her last known address in Bowling Green on Saturday called itself True Healing Under God, and including members of the Black Panthers and the Lion of Judah Armed Forces along with Till’s relatives, according to the Louisville Courier Journal.

“For hiding and concealing Carolyn Bryant how do you find the state of Kentucky?” protest organiser and civil rights activist John Barnett asked, according to footage from WKBO.

“Guilty,” the crowd responded.

Emmett Till was murdered in Mississippi in 1955 (Associated Press)
Emmett Till was murdered in Mississippi in 1955 (Associated Press)

Bryant’s husband Roy Bryant and his half-brother JW Milam murdered Till after Ms Bryant had claimed that she was whistled at.

They were both found not guilty by an all-white jury and have since died.

Ms Bryant “lit a torch to that false accusation” that led to Till’s murder, Mr Barnett said.

Speaking to the Courier Journal, Mr Bryant said that old age should not spare Ms Bryant from being held criminally accountable.

“In this country don’t matter if you’re 87, 97 or a 107, you do wrong, then you need to face that elephant in the room. And that’s getting justice,” Mr Bryant told the news site.

Till’s cousin Priscilla Sterling told the Courier Journal that “justice was never served”.

“I just want you to know that it was white supremacy that freed Carolyn Bryant,” Ms Sterling said.

Earlier on Saturday, the Warren County Sheriff’s Office issued a warning on social media that the they had received a credible threat alert that the protesters might be targeted.

In response, Bowling Green cancelled its Christmas Parade that had been planned for Saturday, according to WKBO.