Content Note: racial injustice, suicide, homicide, racial violence, Mississippi
I remember reading about 16-year-old Juliana Umba Nzita, a Black teenager found hanging from a tree on May 8, 2026, in the yard of the United House of Prayer for All People on West Sugar Creek Road in north Charlotte, North Carolina. The explanation that she died by suicide felt wrong to me. I was researching another victim in another case.
I did not follow through or follow the investigation. Thankfully, people did and Charlotte officials are being forced to accountability. Forced.
Today I learned about another Black woman, this time in Mississippi. Tasia Fortune’s body was discovered in Jackson on Monday, Aug. 3. Activist RaeShanda Lias has pointed out that her body was discovered so high in the tree that people had “to be called in” to retrieve her. That’s a powerful, evocative image. Take a moment to let it sink in.
Previously in 2025, Demartravion “Trey” Reed a 21-year-old Black student discovered hanging from a tree at Delta State University in Mississippi His death was fairly quickly attributed to suicide.
In 2025, a civil rights group identified 70 “modern-day lynchings” in seven southern states from 2000 to 2025. Officials say that once a death is reported as a death by suicide, it is hard to launch a homicide investigation. So why the rush to judgment?
Below is a reel featuring RaeShanda Lias and Monte Marde both weighing in on Tasia’s killing. Monte specifically addresses white women – women like me – about our responsibility, our accountability to at the very least ensure a thorough investigation.
I reached out to my colleague blogger Alvin McEwan from Holy Bullies who told me “”Personally speaking, I think the statement that ‘Black people don’t hang themselves from trees’ is a badly generalized statement. People committing suicide tend to pick different ways and that includes Black people.”
He goes one: “The hanging motif comes from America’s history of lynching Black people, so when something like this happens, there is a lot of suspicion in the Black community regarding what happened. In that regard, I don’t blame people for being suspicious. It speaks so much about how America’s history of racism will always be with us.”
To be clear, the voices of RaeShanda and Alvin provide us the perspective we need to center and listen to. Monte’s a white ally speaking to us other self-identified white allies with an action plan informed by RaeShanda
As I was reading about each of these neighbors, I learned about a previously unreported death involving a Black woman and then another one and another one. As someone who writes an inordinate number of memorials for a disproportionate community, I’m not surprised. But I am horrified and shocked.
Monte Marde points out that we need to demand answers, loudly, repeatedly, and without relenting. She puts it succinctly: instead of let’s wait to find out, let’s say ‘what the fuck happened?’
So Mississippi State Medical Examiners office phone (601) 420-9140 and email MEInfo@mcl.ms.gov. Her name is Dr. Stacy Turner. Emphatically demand to know what happened. Bring up the larger context. Insist on an independent autopsy. Call the Sheriff’s office and again emphatically demand to know what they are doing.
They need to know that all of us allies are watching and taking action. That means you. That means two distinct set of questions – the story of the death AND the story of the investigation.
I regret deeply that I did not immediately respond to the hanging death of Juliana. Being focused on another death is not an excuse.
In April, I learned about a noose dangling from power lines in McKeesport. I confirmed and blogged, made calls, sent messages. This did not involve a dead body, but clearly is was a problem. I never got an answer, but some local folx told me it had been removed. So I’m going to revisit that since not a single damn media outlet bothered. Either someone put it there to terrorize/taunt/mock Black residents of McKeesport OR the electric company tied off wires using a slip knot without a fucking clue.
Alvin again:
“It’s really simple. White people see racism as something ugly that happens. Black people see racism as something ugly that happens to US. And we are mostly right with regards to that view.”
He’s right. I think of the noose in McKeesport as an incident that happened earlier in the year. It stays with me, but still as a memory. I’m appalled and outraged, but I’m not the target. I don’t carry it with me like I do my own personal traumas. And that’s a helpful construct for me to take some action.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. You can call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org in the United States and Canada to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. These services are free, confidential, and available 24/7
If you want to follow Tasia’s story, follow here.
Donate in MEMORY OF JULIANA NZITA
Honoring Trey Reed & Continuing the Fight for Justice
In Loving Memory of Nolan Xavier Wells
Money is not enough. We all have to take action.
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