Since Charlie Kirk’s death, tension has been rising throughout the country. Unfortunately, most of those who supported Kirk started threatening Black people with death. This led several Black colleges into emergency lockdown, according to The Guardian. Now, a horrible event took place at Delta State University in Mississippi and people believe that the death threats became a reality. A 21-year-old Black student named Trey Reed was found hanging from a tree on Monday morning on campus. An investigation has started but the Black community isn’t satisfied with what is being said and done. They believe that this was the result of a hate crime and that foul play was involved. However, police are saying otherwise.
According to Newsweek, Chief of Police Michael Peeler at Delta State University in Mississippi said “there was no evidence of foul play at this time.” Several people came forward and claimed that Reed had bruises on his body, his arms were broken, and one of his legs was also broken. This hasn’t been confirmed yet, but despite this lack of confirmation Black people believe that the victim was lynched. They may have a point because why would police try to make it look like suicide when the autopsy isn’t done yet? In addition to this, many people from the Black community made it clear that they would never commit suicide by hanging from a tree due to the dark historical context that this method is so closely connected to.
There have also been reports that the place where Reed was found had no cameras. This raised doubts in people’s minds because why would Reed try to find a blind spot to carry out his alleged plan? It is also weird that a college doesn’t have cameras everywhere and near fields, especially due to gun violence in the country. If there were cameras then the Mississippi university should release the footage to prove whether their claims are correct or not. So far, no one from the Black community believes that this is a suicide. Instead, they are demanding justice for Reed.
People Reacting to the Death of the Mississippi Black Student
People have been sharing a lot of videos recounting what happened in Mississippi to make sure that Reed would receive justice. A lot of the comments under these videos were filled with outrage at what happened. It’s not only Black people who believe that Reed was lynched, some White people believe the same. “As a white Mississippian, living in the county last known for a public lynching. They lynched him. I’m so sorry. I’m so sick over this. This is awful. I’m so sorry. He needs justice,” one woman wrote. One person also agreed that the state is filled with racists as they said, “Mississippi racism will never change.” Others made it clear that they would donate to any GoFundMe Reed’s family might start, especially if they would use it to get a private autopsy done. This is why another person wrote:
“They lynched him. Encourage your family to get a private autopsy. If y’all don’t have the money, start a crowdfunding account. We don’t lynch ourselves on no damn tree, and from what your cousin is saying, he was murdered. Stay on their necks!”
Others were frustrated that most news outlets aren’t covering what happened. This made one woman write under one TikTok video, “Why the f**k am I only hearing this because of tiktok yet again! I hate this damn country!” Some people also talked about how Kirk’s supporters kept saying that no one deserves to die and that they should say the same about what happened to Reed. “Where’s the ‘nobody deserves to dIe’ crowd?” one person asked. A Black woman also became emotional by the news as she said, “What’s this the 1960’s???? This young man was lynched!!!!! American history repeating itself in Mississippi.” People have a right to doubt the suicide theory, especially since many things point against it. If Reed was lynched, then whoever did this should be held accountable. Let’s hope that his family will be able to heal, no matter what the cause of his death is.
