John,

A Delta State University student, Trey Reed, was found hanging from a tree on campus on Monday.

Trey was 21 years old. Trey was sweet, well-mannered, and would give you the world if he could.

Trey did not deserve this.

This nation carries the weight of generations of lynchings and acts of racial terror meant to silence, intimidate, and destroy Black life. In the year 2025, we cannot accept silence or half-truths.

The full details of Trey’s death have not yet been released, but history compels us to take this with the utmost seriousness.

"We want answers, and we're going to launch our own independent investigation to get those answers" —Vanessa J. Jones, an attorney representing Reed's family, yesterday

We’re joining that call by demanding transparency, accountability, and an investigation into what happened to Trey.

Join us by contacting Delta State University, reminding them how important it is they cooperate with Trey’s family and do a thorough, independent, accountable, and transparent investigation and an independent autopsy.

Our hearts are with Trey’s family, his friends, and all who loved him. We honor his life, his kindness, his gentleness, his light, and we pray that the world remembers him for the joy and love he gave.

In power,

Black Lives Matter

Black Lives Matter imagines a world where Black people across the diaspora thrive, experience joy, and are not defined by their struggles. In pursuing liberation, we envision a future fully divested from police, prisons, and all punishment paradigms and which invests in justice, joy, and culture. Email is the most important way we keep in touch with our supporters. But we know there's a lot going on. If you’d like to receive fewer emails, you can do so by clicking here.

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