Emmett Till was a 14-year-old African American boy who was abducted, tortured and lynched in Mississippi in 1955, after being accused of offending a white woman in her family's grocery store. The brutality of his murder and the fact that his killers were acquitted drew attention to the long history of violent persecution of Black people in the United States and was one of the major events that spurred the civil rights movement in America. Last week a warrant for the arrest of the parties responsible was found in the Leflore County, Mississippi clerk's office. That 67-year-old arrest warrant needs to be served, immediately

Emmett Till, the 14-year-old boy from Chicago was visiting family in Mississippi when he had his fateful encounter with then-20-year-old Carolyn Bryant. Accounts from that day differ, but witnesses alleged Emmett whistled at the woman at the market she owned with her husband in Money, Mississippi.

In September 1955, an all-white jury found her husband, Roy Bryant, and her brother-in-law J.W. Milam not guilty of Emmett Till's murder. Protected against double jeopardy, the two men publicly admitted in a 1956 interview with Look magazine that they had tortured and murdered the boy, selling the story of how they did it for $4000. Till's murder was seen as a catalyst for the next phase of the civil rights movement.

Last week while searching for records a Leflore County clerk unearthed an unserved arrest warrant for Carolyn Bryant, the White woman who falsely accused Emmett Till of making advances toward her.  Sparking the events that led to his death nearly 67 years ago. The warrant was found in a dusty, dank box in a county courthouse in Greenwood, Mississippi. "Unbelievable. We held each other. Justice has to be served."

An image of the warrant, provided to news media by the foundation, charged J.W. Milam, Roy Bryant, and Bryant's then-wife -- identified in the document as Mrs. Roy Bryant -- with kidnapping and orders for their arrests. The warrant is dated August 29, 1955, and signed by the Leflore County Clerk. The image of the warrant shows the current Leflore County clerk certified the document as authentic on June 21, 2022

Activists and organizations around the United States have joined together in encouraging all of the Citizens of Leflore County Mississippi and throughout the Country to sign this petition to aid the Till family in getting the justice that is long overdue, which includes

The National Juneteenth Observance Foundation
Local Organizing Committee of Greenville Mississippi
New Black Panther Party a National Organization
The Black Liberation Movement of Cold Water Mississippi

Absent action from law enforcement in light of the finding, we demand that Leflore County Mississippi District Attorney W. Dewayne Richardson take full notice and serve this warrant. Immediately