Black College Student Treyy Reed Found Dead in Apparent Lynching at Delta State University.

     The body of Black Delta State Student was found hanging from tree in an apparent lynching on Monday morning. The untimely loss of Demartravion “Treyy” Reed has left communities across Mississippi in shock, mourning and outrage and what many are calling a continued pattern of racist violence in the state. However local police Chief Michael Peeler has ruled out foul play despite this pattern, causing further community outrage. Many students claim on social media to have observed broken legs and lacerations on Reed's body, a claim which the Bolivar County Coroner's Office denies.

Many are claiming that Peeler's willful ignorance of this historical reality is a sign of continued institutionalized racism that is at the heart of police forces in Mississippi, and across the United States.

     In response many Black residents and students in the area began to speak up across social media about their first hand experiences of anti-Black violence in the area and on the Delta State campus. Some have even came forward with stories of loved ones killed in strikingly similar ways. Community members liken the incident to the lynching of Emmett Till which occurred in Mississippi in 1955.

    The university responded by cancelling all classes on Monday, offering counseling services to students and issuing a statement saying that: “Our focus remains on supporting Treyy's family, friends and the Delta State community as we continue to grieve this loss together.”

     One family member came forward asking people not to spread rumors circulating Reed's death as the family's legal representation, Jones Law Firm, has ordered an independent autopsy.