Haunting memories of days when Black men hanging from trees were commonplace in the South returned with the death of a Mississippi teenager found hung in his parents� front yard.

Raynard Johnson�s family says the bright, athletic 17-year-old didn�t commit suicide as ruled by local officials and have asked the Rev. Jesse Jackson to push for a federal probe of the youth�s June 16 death.

Rev. Jackson, of the PUSH/Rainbow Coalition, during a July 2 prayer vigil at the pecan tree in rural Kokomo, Missi., where the victim�s father discovered the body, again pushed federal and state officials to closely examine the death.

The civil rights leader said the FBI is looking into the death, which has "the smell of Emmitt Till all around it." Mr. Till, a Black teenager, was killed in Mississippi in 1955 for supposedly whistling at a white woman.

The family suspects Raynard may have been lynched by a group of white men. The men constantly harassed the teenager and his older brother, when the two were found in the company of white female friends, the family said.

"We do not believe it was suicide and do not believe that he hung himself with someone else�s belt. We do know there�s tension around the interracial dating issue and that�s why we want a full and thorough investigation," Rev. Jackson said. The belt found looped around the victim�s neck was not his nor anyone in the household, family members maintain.

The family says it also became suspicious after the local coroner�s report was revealed and Marion County officials quickly ruled the death a suicide.

According to the Jackson, Miss.-based state office of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), law enforcement completed their investigation within a few hours after Mr. Johnson�s body was found. Word soon began spreading that the young man had committed suicide, they add.

The family has requested a second autopsy, but the results have not yet been disclosed.

Still, they assert, Raynard was looking forward to his senior year in high school, purchased a new computer the day he died and was planning to pursue an electrical engineering degree at Mississippi State University. He did not commit suicide, they insist.

According to Rev. Jackson, the family has now stopped talking publicly about the incident due to fear for their lives.

"Johnson�s hanging may have been racially motivated because it takes on all the appearances of a lynching. We need a thorough federal investigation to get clear answers," said Rev. Jackson.

"We can�t just accept the coroner�s word without an investigation," said Rev. Jackson, who was asked for help by the Johnson family and attended funeral services.

Rev. Jackson said allegations have surfaced that the town�s reserve deputy sheriff expressed resentment and anger about friendship between Raynard, his brother Roger and two young white girls seen with them two days before the body was found.

According to Gary Flowers, a private investigator hired by the PUSH/Rainbow Coalition, Jennifer Davis, 17 and Brittany Palmer, 17, were brought to the Johnson home on June 14, by Corey Grant, a reserve deputy sheriff, who is also Ms. Davis� uncle.

Mr. Flowers said nights after the girls� visit, Johnson family dogs barked uncontrollably and the victim�s brother took a hunting rifle outside and fired into the air to scare away possible trespassers or animals.

Raynard was found dead at approximately 9:30 p.m. He had returned home about 90 minutes earlier the night of June 16, the private investigator said.

Investigators believe the victim may have been lured outside because he was not fond of the dark.

"This is the most cruelest form of inhumanity and is the ultimate form of intimidation in racism," said Stephanie Parker-Weaver, of SCLC.

Civil rights activists also say less than six months ago, "Kill All N-----s" was scrawled along a bridge some three miles away from the victim�s home. That incident was hushed up by the city a week after Mr. Johnson�s death, they charge. Kokomo has approximately 1,000 citizens, 70 percent of whom are white and 30 percent Black. More than 900 people attended the Johnson funeral.

The 1992 death of Andre Jones, 18, in a Mississippi jail brought national attention. His mother, Ester Jones Quinn, NAACP president for Jackson, Missi. and stepfather, Nation of Islam Min. Charles X Quinn, said their son was hanged. Jail officials said the death was a suicide. The Quinns found high numbers of Black male "suicides" in local jails, sparking a federal probe.

Photo: Raynard Johnson, left and his cousin rick James, pose in this undated June, 2000 family snapshot taken in Kokomo, Miss.