Surviving family members of Rasheem Carter, who believe he was lynched in Mississippi after being found dead with his head severed last year, planned a third protest on April 29, sparked after authorities found a third set of his remains.
Hundreds of people gathered for a third protest, including Israel United In Christ, a Black Israelite organization, outside the same woods where Rasheem Carter was found dead.
The protest, which CCTV reported was denied a permit by authorities, saw hundreds of men marching in uniforms that resembled something an Omega Psi Phi would wear with its purple and gold color scheme.
The Carter family has called for a federal investigation by the Department of Justice, and they are planning more protests, which are already in the works.
”I can imagine how much turmoil that went through her mind, the pressure for her not to reveal the evils that happened,” Bishop Yawsap of Israel United in Christ told NBC Jackson, Miss. about Carter’s mother. “I imagine that she gained courage from Mamie Till, which was the mother of Emmit Till, who got murdered in 1955. So, it was good to be able to support those kinds of efforts. It’s too often that we know what she should do, but we feel pressure not to do it.”
The 25-year-old went missing in October 2022, according to his mother, who said her son called her after being harassed by a group of white men in trucks.
Last year, Carter had a job in Laurel, which is about a half hour from where he had been under contract in Taylorsville.
As previously reported, Carter, who is from Fayette, asked the Taylorsville Police Department for help on October 1 and 2 while his mother was on the phone, even asking officers to escort him to Motel 8, his temporary residence.
In November, police found his remains in a wooded area near Taylorsville, his head and body severed and some body parts missing.
Officials said at the time that they believed “no foul play was involved,” but that the incident was still under investigation.
National civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the family, said the probable cause of Carter’s death was a “modern-day lynching,” and the family and Crump also called out law enforcement because it was reported by Insider in March that there was no indication that Carter was killed and dismembered by animals.
His spinal cord was found in a different location from his head, the lawyer told ABC News.
“Still, they haven’t been told any other information, been offered a meeting with officials, or received his remains. They continue to be stonewalled at every turn. This family just wants to find out what happened to Rasheem and say their goodbyes,” Crump released a statement on the family’s behave.
