September 18, 2025 • 28 mins
On September 10th, 2025, the conservative movement was rocked when Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, was murdered at Utah Valley University. Tyler Robinson, his killer, claimed he acted because Kirk "spreads too much hate." But Kirk's death may have triggered something far more sinister.
Just five days later, on September 15th, 21-year-old Demartravion "Trey" Reed was found hanging from an oak tree at Delta State University in Mississippi. What authorities initially called a suicide has sparked a chilling theory that's dividing the nation.
Was Trey Reed's death connected to Charlie Kirk's murder? Are we looking at a white supremacist revenge killing - where extremists, enraged by Kirk's assassination, targeted an innocent Black college student in retaliation?
In this episode, we examine the disturbing timeline, the evidence that's emerged, and the questions authorities don't want to answer. From Utah to Mississippi, from political assassination to racial violence - this is the story of two deaths that may be more connected than anyone wants to admit.
⚠️ This episode contains mature themes including discussion of racial violence, murder, and hate crimes. Listener discretion is advised.
🔍 What do you think? Coincidence or conspiracy? Let us know in the comments.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
No tears for black girls when they disappear, No tears for
black girls like they were neverhere, but we remember will speak
their names. A 21 year old student was found
hanging from a tree in Cleveland, Ms. It's at a
(00:23):
university called Delta State University in Cleveland.
They found him early in the morning about 7:00 hanging from
a tree. They're saying at this point
there's no foul play, but folks are calling for investigations
and I think they need to get to the bottom.
This guy's name is DeMar TrevionTre Reed.
(00:44):
He's from Grenada, Ms. Everyone they spoke to said he was a
great guy. He lit up a room and so why was
he hanging from a tree? What happened?
That's what we need to know, whether it's foul play or not.
Forget all the Charlie Curry situation right now.
Let's go down to Mississippi. The name Trayvon Reed needs to
the ring all over the United States right now.
(01:05):
One that is my cousin 2 This is the second incident that has
occurred within the last five years at this step campus.
Delta State University has had arun in with me and their
policemen. They tried to lock me up for no
reason and it didn't succeed in their favor.
I went on a nine month probationand that's it.
This year, just today it was reported that my cousin was
(01:28):
found hanging from a tree and they trying to rule it as a
suicide. Now I just got off the phone
with one of my cousins. She said she seen the reports
and it said that he was beating and bruised.
He both his arms are broken and he had a broken leg.
I'm gonna let child. I'm gonna let child do the math.
(01:49):
Now this school has history for being racist.
Even going all the way back to the 1980s situation that
happened with sit in. I love to refer to that
situation because that was one of the significant situations
that happened with one of the black revolts that happened at
their school. But still, I'm trying to be
(02:09):
composed in this video and I'm trying to keep it all together,
but it's a lot of shit that happens on that campus that
don't nobody do shit about. It was incidents before my
incidents. My big incident happened in that
(02:29):
I reported that nobody did nothing about.
Somebody tried to report me for a hate crime and they was the
one being homophobic, transphobic and being racist,
and they was trying to lock me up until I had multiple people
come out and speak against him. There was an incident that I
reported that it was a group of white students in a white truck
(02:52):
while I was a freshman. They yo, they, me and my friends
are called us a bunch of monkeys.
Please do a deep 5 on this. Please please please please do
your research on this. Do not let them sweep nothing
else under the rug. Enough is enough.
(03:14):
It is 2025 and bullshit after bullshit after bullshit is still
getting fed to us. Enough is enough.
We got to wrap it up. The morning mist clung to the
Delta State University campus like a shroud, thick and
suffocating in the September heat.
(03:37):
At 7 O 5:00 AM on Monday, September 15th, 2025, the
silence was shattered by a discovery that would echo
through the corridors of justicefor months to come.
A faculty member making their routine walk across the central
campus near the pickleball courts found what would become
(03:58):
one of Mississippi's most controversial deaths in decades.
Hanging from an ancient oak tree, in full view of anyone
passing through the heart of theuniversity was the lifeless body
of Demartravian Trey Reed, 21 years old, Black, a first year
student who had been on campus for barely a month.
(04:19):
His body swayed gently in the morning breeze, a grotesque
pendulum marking time in a statewhere such scenes carried the
weight of centuries of racial terror.
But this wasn't 1955. This was 2025, in an America
that claimed to have moved beyond its darkest chapters yet.
Here in Cleveland, Ms., a town whose very name seemed to mock
(04:42):
the promise of progress, anotheryoung black man was found
hanging from a tree. The symbolism was impossible to
ignore, the timing too convenient to dismiss as mere
coincidence. Just five days earlier, on
September 10th, Charlie Kirk hadbeen gunned down at Utah Valley
University. Kirk, the 31 year old founder of
(05:04):
Turning Point USA, had spent hiscareer building a conservative
youth movement that critics argued was little more than a
pipeline for white supremacist ideology dressed in patriotic
rhetoric. His assassination had sent shock
waves through the far right ecosystem he had helped create,
with his widow Erica Kirk declaring that her tears would
(05:25):
be battle cries, war terminologythat seemed to promise
retaliation. Within hours of Kirk's death,
Turning Point USA reported receiving over 13,000 new
chapter requests. The organization already boasted
9000 college chapters and 4000 high school chapters.
(05:46):
What were these people gearing up for?
The answer may have come in the form of Trey Reed's lifeless
body. The family's last conversation
with Trey painted a picture of ayoung man excited about his
future. His mother had spoken to him on
Friday, September 13th, just three days before his death.
He was enthusiastic about attending Delta State
(06:09):
University, looking forward to his classes, embracing the
college experience that so many young people dream of.
This wasn't a young man on the edge of despair.
This was someone with everythingto live for.
Yet by Monday morning, he was dead, hanging from a tree in the
most public part of campus whereevery student walking to class
(06:31):
would see him. The location was crucial, not
some remote corner where someonecontemplating suicide might seek
privacy, but the central campus near the pickleball courts, a
high traffic area where his bodywould be discovered quickly and
seen by many. Delta State University Police
(06:51):
Chief Michael Peeler was quick to announce at a press
conference that there was no evidence of foul play.
The Bolivar County Coroner's Office released a statement
claiming that a preliminary examination showed Reed did not
suffer any lacerations, contusions, compound fractures,
broken bones or injuries consistent with an assault.
(07:15):
But the family wasn't buying it.Neither were civil rights
advocates who understood the historical context of Black
bodies hanging from trees in Mississippi.
The NOLACP posted an image declaring that a man was lynched
yesterday, expressing skepticismabout the official narrative,
the organization wrote pointedly.
(07:36):
Our people have not historicallyhung themselves from trees.
The family's response spoke volumes about their suspicions.
Within 24 hours, they had retained civil rights attorney
Ben Crump, the same lawyer who had represented the families of
George Floyd, Brianna Taylor andcountless other victims of
racial violence. Crump announced that he would
(07:58):
lead a civil rights investigation into Reed's death,
working with multiple organizations to conduct a
thorough and transparent investigation.
Trey Reed was a young man full of promise and warmth, deeply
loved and respected by all who knew him, Crump's statement
read. His family and the campus
(08:18):
community deserve a full, independent investigation to
uncover the truth about what happened.
We cannot accept vague conclusions when so many
questions remain. The family also demanded an
independent autopsy, refusing toaccept the coroner's preliminary
findings. Attorney Vanessa J Jones,
(08:39):
representing the Reed family, made it clear they weren't
satisfied with the official narrative.
We will seek answers independently from Delta State
University and from the coroner's office.
Jones declared. Were there cameras?
There should have been cameras at the university that could
easily enlighten us to what happened in the early morning of
(09:00):
September 15th, 2025. The camera question was crucial
In 2025. Virtually every inch of a
college campus is under surveillance.
If Reed had walked to that tree alone and taken his own life,
there would be video evidence. If someone had forced him there,
(09:20):
that too would be captured on camera.
The family's insistence on seeing this footage suggested
they believed it would tell a different story than the one
authorities were promoting. But there were other troubling
details emerging from the investigation.
Reports surfaced that Reed had faced racial incidents on campus
before his death. Social media posts alleged that
(09:42):
Reed had been locked up at DeltaState University and had faced
racist violence, citing past incidents of racial bias against
him at the university. These allegations painted a
picture of a young man under siege, targeted because of his
race in an environment that should have been safe.
The family described Trey as quiet, light, sweet and well
(10:05):
mannered. A young man who would give you
the world if he could. They had celebrated with him at
Grenada Day in his hometown on September 3rd, just 12 days
before his death. He was there, little quiet
light, a beacon of hope and promise in a family that had
invested everything in his education and future.
(10:26):
The timing of Reed's death was particularly suspicious.
His body was discovered on the same day Delta State University
was supposed to celebrate its 100th anniversary.
Instead of Centennial festivities, the campus was
plunged into mourning and chaos.Classes were canceled.
Events were postponed. The symbolism was unmistakable,
(10:49):
a young black man's death overshadowing what should have
been a day of institutional pride.
Mississippi has always been Ground Zero for America's racial
violence. Between 1877 and 1950, the state
recorded 581 lynchings, the highest number in the nation.
These weren't random acts of violence, but calculated tools
(11:11):
of terror designed to enforce Jim Crow laws and keep Black
communities in constant fear. Lynching suppressed voting, land
ownership, economic independenceand political participation.
They were public spectacles, often attended by hundreds of
white spectators who posed for photographs with the victims
bodies as if they were at a County Fair.
(11:33):
Cleveland, Ms. sits in the heartof the Delta, a region where
cotton fields once stretched to the horizon, worked by enslaved
hands and later by sharecropperstrapped in cycles of debt and
violence. The town's history is steeped in
the kind of racial terror that made Mississippi synonymous with
American apartheid. Delta State University itself
(11:57):
was founded in 1925 as Delta State Teachers College, during
the height of the Jim Crow era, when separate and unequal was
the law of the land. The university has its own
troubled history with race. In March 1969, black students
staged protests demanding equal treatment and representation.
(12:19):
The demonstrations were met withresistance from both the
administration and local law enforcement, reflecting the
broader struggle for civil rights that was tearing the
South apart. Even today, students and faculty
report incidents of racial bias,creating an atmosphere where
young Black men like Trey Reed might feel isolated and
(12:40):
vulnerable. The connection to Charlie Kirk's
death couldn't be ignored. Kirk had spent his career
promoting ideas that many scholars identified as white
supremacist ideology wrapped in patriotic language.
He had denied the existence of systemic racism, called white
privilege a racist idea, and vilified critical race theory as
(13:01):
dangerous indoctrination. His organization, Turning Point
USA, had been flagged by the Anti Defamation League as a vast
platform for extremists and far right conspiracy theorists.
Kirk's movement had also courtedfigures openly tied to the far
right. Political Research Associates
documented cases where TPUSA chapters hosted or aligned with
(13:26):
Nick Fuentes and his white nationalist followers.
The repeated associations revealed how far Kirk was
willing to go in pursuit of influence, creating a network of
radicalized young people across American College campuses.
Now Kirk was dead, killed by a 22 year old gunman named Tyler
Robinson at a Turning Point USA event.
(13:49):
The motive remained unclear, butthe impact was immediate.
Far right figures and elected officials called for vengeance.
The rhetoric was inflammatory, designed to stoke anger and
resentment among Kirk's followers.
And then, just five days later, Trey Reed was found hanging from
a tree in Mississippi. The investigation that followed
(14:11):
was marked by the same patterns that had characterized lynching
cases for over a century. Authorities were quick to
dismiss the possibility of foul play.
The coroner's preliminary examination was rushed and
superficial. Key evidence, like surveillance
footage, was not immediately released to the family or the
public. The victim was subtly blamed for
(14:33):
his own death, portrayed as someone who had chosen to end
his life rather than someone whomay have been murdered.
But the Reed family refused to accept this narrative.
They hired Ben Crump, one of themost prominent civil rights
attorneys in America. They demanded an independent
autopsy. They called for transparency and
accountability. They insisted that their son's
(14:57):
death be investigated as thoroughly as any other
suspicious death, not dismissed because of his race or the
uncomfortable historical parallels it evoked.
The family's response was crucial because it broke the
cycle of silence and acceptance that had allowed lynching to
flourish for so long. In the past, Black families
(15:18):
often had no recourse when theirloved ones were killed.
They couldn't hire attorneys, couldn't demand investigations,
couldn't challenge official narratives.
They were forced to accept whatever explanation authorities
provided, no matter how implausible or incomplete.
But in 2025, things were different.
The Reed family had resources, connections and a platform to
(15:41):
demand justice. They had allies in the civil
rights community who understood the historical significance of
their son's death. They had media attention that
made it impossible for authorities to simply sweep the
case under the rug. The broader context made the
situation even more ominous. Mississippi in 2025 was still
(16:02):
Mississippi, a state where Confederate monuments dotted the
landscape, where voter suppression tactics continued to
disenfranchise Black communities, where economic
inequality fell largely along racial lines.
The Delta region, in particular,remained one of the poorest
areas in America, with Black residents bearing the brunt of
(16:23):
decades of discriminatory policies and practices.
Delta State University, despite its claims of progress and
inclusion, existed within this broader context of racial
tension and inequality. The university's student body
was predominantly white, it's faculty and administration even
more so. Black students often reported
(16:45):
feeling isolated and unwelcome, struggling to find their place
in an institution that had been built to exclude them.
Into this environment came Trey Reed, a young black man from
Grenada, Mississippi, excited about his college experience and
his future. Within a month, he was dead,
hanging from a tree in the center of campus.
(17:08):
The official explanation, Suicide, seemed to ignore
everything we know about the historical and contemporary
realities of racial violence in Mississippi.
Yet the challenges remained enormous.
Mississippi's criminal justice system had a long history of
failing to prosecute racial violence.
(17:30):
Even when cases went to trial, all white juries often refused
to convict white defendants accused of killing black
victims. The culture of impunity that had
protected lynchers for generations was still alive and
well in many parts of the state.Moreover, the connection to
Charlie Kirk's death added another layer of complexity to
(17:51):
the case. If Reed's death was indeed
retaliation for Kirk's assassination, it represented a
new form of racial terrorism, one that used contemporary
political grievances to justify age-old patterns of violence.
The far right ecosystem that Kirk had helped create was vast
(18:11):
and decentralized, making it difficult to trace specific
connections between his death and subsequent acts of violence.
But the timing was too convenient to ignore.
Kirk's assassination had sent shock waves through the white
supremacist movement he had helped mainstream.
His followers were angry, looking for someone to blame,
(18:33):
someone to punish. The rhetoric from far right
leaders in the days following Kirk's death had been explicitly
violent, calling for vengeance and retribution against their
perceived enemies. In this context, a young black
college student like Trey Reed would have been seen as a
perfect target, vulnerable, isolated, and symbolically
(18:55):
significant. His death would send a message
to other Black students, other civil rights advocates, other
people who might challenge whitesupremacist ideology.
It would show that the movement Kirk had built was still
dangerous, still capable of deadly violence even after its
leader's death. The investigation into Reed's
(19:15):
death would ultimately determinewhether this theory held water.
But the early signs were troubling.
Authorities seemed more interested in closing the case
quickly than in conducting A thorough investigation.
The coroner's preliminary findings were released within
hours before a proper autopsy could be conducted.
(19:35):
The university's response was focused on damage control rather
than truth seeking. These patterns were all too
familiar to anyone who had studied the history of lynching
in America. The rush to judgement, the
dismissal of family concerns. The refusal to consider racial
motives. The protection of institutional
(19:56):
reputations over individual justice.
It was as if nothing had changedsince the 1950s, despite all the
progress that had supposedly been made.
But perhaps that was the point. Perhaps Reed's death was meant
to remind Black Americans that their safety and security were
still conditional, still dependent on white approval and
(20:17):
tolerance. Perhaps it was meant to show
that the gains of the civil rights movement could be
reversed, that the promise of equality was still just that, a
promise, not a reality. If so, the message was being
received loud and clear. Black students across the
country were expressing fear andanxiety about their safety on
(20:38):
predominantly white campuses. Parents were questioning whether
to send their children to schools in states with histories
of racial violence. Civil rights organizations were
mobilizing to demand better protection for black students
and more thorough investigationsof suspicious deaths.
The Reed case had become a test of America's commitment to
(20:58):
racial justice in the 21st century.
Would authorities conduct a thorough, transparent
investigation? Would they consider all possible
motives, including racial ones? Would they hold accountable
anyone who might have been responsible for Reed's death?
Or would they follow the historical pattern of dismissing
(21:18):
black deaths as unimportant, of protecting white institutions
and individuals from scrutiny, of allowing racial violence to
continue with impunity? The answers to these questions
would determine not just the fate of Trey Reed's case, but
the broader trajectory of race relations in America.
If his death was indeed connected to Charlie Kirk's
(21:39):
assassination, it would represent a new chapter in the
long history of American racial terrorism, one that used
contemporary political movementsto justify ancient hatreds.
But if the investigation was conducted properly, if the truth
was uncovered and justice was served, it might also represent
a turning point, a moment when America finally broke free from
(22:03):
the cycles of violence and impunity that had defined its
racial history for so long. The tree where Trey Reed died
still stands in the center of Delta State University's campus.
Students walk past it every day,some pausing to leave flowers or
say a prayer. It has become an unofficial
memorial, a reminder of a young life cut short and questions
(22:27):
that remain unanswered. But it is also something more, a
symbol of America's unfinished business with race, a testament
to the work that still needs to be done to create a truly just
and equal society. Trey Reed's death may have been
intended to spread fear and division, but it has also
(22:47):
sparked a movement for truth andaccountability that refuses to
be silenced. His family's fight for justice
has become more than just a search for answers about their
son's death. It has become a battle for the
soul of America itself, a test of whether this country can
finally confront its history of racial violence and move beyond
(23:08):
it. Their courage in demanding
answers, in refusing to accept easy explanations, in insisting
that Black lives matter as much as any others, represents the
best of what America can be. The investigation continues, the
questions remain. And somewhere in the shadows of
American politics, the forces that may have killed Trey Reed
(23:29):
are still at work, still spreading their poison through
college campuses and online forums, still recruiting young
people to their cause of hate. But they face something they
haven't encountered before, A family that won't be silenced, a
community that won't be intimidated, and a nation that
is finally beginning to understand that the price of
(23:51):
freedom is eternal vigilance against those who would use
violence to maintain their power.
Trey Reed's story is not over. His death may have silenced his
voice, but it has amplified the voices of those who demand
justice, who refused to accept that young black men should die
simply for existing, for pursuing their dreams, for
(24:12):
believing in the promise of America.
In that sense, his legacy may bemore powerful than his life, a
catalyst for change, a call to action, a reminder that the
fight for racial justice is far from finished.
The tree where he died stands asa monument not just to his
death, but to the ongoing struggle for equality and
(24:35):
justice in America. The investigation continues, the
truth awaits, and America watches to see whether it will
finally live up to its highest ideals or continue to be haunted
by the ghosts of its darkest chapters.
Thank you for listening to this episode of No Tears for Black
Girls. If you enjoyed today's story,
(24:59):
please show your support by hitting that like button,
leaving a comment, or giving us a five star rating and review.
It really helps us reach more listeners who need to hear these
important stories. Coming up next, we have an
exclusive track from our upcoming No Tears for Black
Girls music compilation, Conspiracy by Fly Money.
(25:21):
This song connects directly to the themes we've been exploring
today. Until next time, remember to
stay loved, stay blessed, and stay safe.
We'll see you in the next episode.
This is Samantha Paul. Yeah, they say black excellence
(25:48):
always come at a cost. Moments in the spotlight just
before they get lost. Heard it in the whisper, seen it
in the news. Fame ain't protection, it's a
target. Win or lose.
Before you judge a story better study who's narrating.
People that hit their hands and the traps they create in history
repeats. Legends falls, some never rise.
Open up your eyes, see the truthbehind the lies.
(26:10):
Lights, camera action but was really on the screen.
They sold the streams then twisted up the scene.
Diddy in the news, rumors start to swirl.
Cows in the cell now is justice or is it just the world names in
the headlines? But who's pulling strings?
Who profits from the stories when the cage burst sings pop
gone Biggie gone Nipsey in the streets ledge is dropping.
(26:30):
All we get is hashtags and tweets.
Another king falls and they chalk into the game.
But if you dig a little deeper, only black come and get the
blame. Success is a crime.
Eddie Griffin wasn't lying. If you make it out the mud,
they'll drag you back trying. It's a conspiracy.
They want us in chains. Build you up.
Then they tear down your name. Crime.
Smother blood. Pick your stain.
(26:52):
Famous in black. They running that game.
Hollywood lights put the shadows.
The truth try to leave clean. But they after your roots.
They don't want to see a king reign free.
It's a conspiracy. Yeah, it's a conspiracy.
Yeah, yeah. Look, power in the pen, but it's
(27:14):
poison in the deal. See your brother make a million
now. They coming for his will.
They question every move, every friend that you choose.
Plan a scandal in the news. Now watch the world get
confused. From Malcolm to Cosby, from
Cosby to Gay, from Michael to Chris, they all fade the same
way. Is it just mistakes or a
pattern? In the fall, every time a Black
Star rise, they want to see him crawl from Oscar to Celt Block.
(27:36):
Grant me the grave. It's a cycle.
It's a trap. Are you not entertained?
Check the playbook. Who wrote these lines?
The bigger the spotlight, the deeper it finds.
It's a conspiracy. They want us to change.
Build you up. Then they tear down your name.
Crime. Smart of blood.
Pick your stain. Famous in black.
Dave running that game. Hollywood lights for the shadows
(27:59):
of truth try to leave clean, butthey after your roots.
They don't want to see a king reign free.
It's a conspiracy. Yeah, it's a conspiracy.
No tears for black girls when they disappear, No tears for
black girls like they were neverhere, but we remember will speak
their names. A 21 year old student was found
hanging from a tree in Cleveland, Ms. It's at a
(00:23):
university called Delta State University in Cleveland.
They found him early in the morning about 7:00 hanging from
a tree. They're saying at this point
there's no foul play, but folks are calling for investigations
and I think they need to get to the bottom.
This guy's name is DeMar TrevionTre Reed.
(00:44):
He's from Grenada, Ms. Everyone they spoke to said he was a
great guy. He lit up a room and so why was
he hanging from a tree? What happened?
That's what we need to know, whether it's foul play or not.
Forget all the Charlie Curry situation right now.
Let's go down to Mississippi. The name Trayvon Reed needs to
the ring all over the United States right now.
(01:05):
One that is my cousin 2 This is the second incident that has
occurred within the last five years at this step campus.
Delta State University has had arun in with me and their
policemen. They tried to lock me up for no
reason and it didn't succeed in their favor.
I went on a nine month probationand that's it.
This year, just today it was reported that my cousin was
(01:28):
found hanging from a tree and they trying to rule it as a
suicide. Now I just got off the phone
with one of my cousins. She said she seen the reports
and it said that he was beating and bruised.
He both his arms are broken and he had a broken leg.
I'm gonna let child. I'm gonna let child do the math.
(01:49):
Now this school has history for being racist.
Even going all the way back to the 1980s situation that
happened with sit in. I love to refer to that
situation because that was one of the significant situations
that happened with one of the black revolts that happened at
their school. But still, I'm trying to be
(02:09):
composed in this video and I'm trying to keep it all together,
but it's a lot of shit that happens on that campus that
don't nobody do shit about. It was incidents before my
incidents. My big incident happened in that
(02:29):
I reported that nobody did nothing about.
Somebody tried to report me for a hate crime and they was the
one being homophobic, transphobic and being racist,
and they was trying to lock me up until I had multiple people
come out and speak against him. There was an incident that I
reported that it was a group of white students in a white truck
(02:52):
while I was a freshman. They yo, they, me and my friends
are called us a bunch of monkeys.
Please do a deep 5 on this. Please please please please do
your research on this. Do not let them sweep nothing
else under the rug. Enough is enough.
(03:14):
It is 2025 and bullshit after bullshit after bullshit is still
getting fed to us. Enough is enough.
We got to wrap it up. The morning mist clung to the
Delta State University campus like a shroud, thick and
suffocating in the September heat.
(03:37):
At 7 O 5:00 AM on Monday, September 15th, 2025, the
silence was shattered by a discovery that would echo
through the corridors of justicefor months to come.
A faculty member making their routine walk across the central
campus near the pickleball courts found what would become
(03:58):
one of Mississippi's most controversial deaths in decades.
Hanging from an ancient oak tree, in full view of anyone
passing through the heart of theuniversity was the lifeless body
of Demartravian Trey Reed, 21 years old, Black, a first year
student who had been on campus for barely a month.
(04:19):
His body swayed gently in the morning breeze, a grotesque
pendulum marking time in a statewhere such scenes carried the
weight of centuries of racial terror.
But this wasn't 1955. This was 2025, in an America
that claimed to have moved beyond its darkest chapters yet.
Here in Cleveland, Ms., a town whose very name seemed to mock
(04:42):
the promise of progress, anotheryoung black man was found
hanging from a tree. The symbolism was impossible to
ignore, the timing too convenient to dismiss as mere
coincidence. Just five days earlier, on
September 10th, Charlie Kirk hadbeen gunned down at Utah Valley
University. Kirk, the 31 year old founder of
(05:04):
Turning Point USA, had spent hiscareer building a conservative
youth movement that critics argued was little more than a
pipeline for white supremacist ideology dressed in patriotic
rhetoric. His assassination had sent shock
waves through the far right ecosystem he had helped create,
with his widow Erica Kirk declaring that her tears would
(05:25):
be battle cries, war terminologythat seemed to promise
retaliation. Within hours of Kirk's death,
Turning Point USA reported receiving over 13,000 new
chapter requests. The organization already boasted
9000 college chapters and 4000 high school chapters.
(05:46):
What were these people gearing up for?
The answer may have come in the form of Trey Reed's lifeless
body. The family's last conversation
with Trey painted a picture of ayoung man excited about his
future. His mother had spoken to him on
Friday, September 13th, just three days before his death.
He was enthusiastic about attending Delta State
(06:09):
University, looking forward to his classes, embracing the
college experience that so many young people dream of.
This wasn't a young man on the edge of despair.
This was someone with everythingto live for.
Yet by Monday morning, he was dead, hanging from a tree in the
most public part of campus whereevery student walking to class
(06:31):
would see him. The location was crucial, not
some remote corner where someonecontemplating suicide might seek
privacy, but the central campus near the pickleball courts, a
high traffic area where his bodywould be discovered quickly and
seen by many. Delta State University Police
(06:51):
Chief Michael Peeler was quick to announce at a press
conference that there was no evidence of foul play.
The Bolivar County Coroner's Office released a statement
claiming that a preliminary examination showed Reed did not
suffer any lacerations, contusions, compound fractures,
broken bones or injuries consistent with an assault.
(07:15):
But the family wasn't buying it.Neither were civil rights
advocates who understood the historical context of Black
bodies hanging from trees in Mississippi.
The NOLACP posted an image declaring that a man was lynched
yesterday, expressing skepticismabout the official narrative,
the organization wrote pointedly.
(07:36):
Our people have not historicallyhung themselves from trees.
The family's response spoke volumes about their suspicions.
Within 24 hours, they had retained civil rights attorney
Ben Crump, the same lawyer who had represented the families of
George Floyd, Brianna Taylor andcountless other victims of
racial violence. Crump announced that he would
(07:58):
lead a civil rights investigation into Reed's death,
working with multiple organizations to conduct a
thorough and transparent investigation.
Trey Reed was a young man full of promise and warmth, deeply
loved and respected by all who knew him, Crump's statement
read. His family and the campus
(08:18):
community deserve a full, independent investigation to
uncover the truth about what happened.
We cannot accept vague conclusions when so many
questions remain. The family also demanded an
independent autopsy, refusing toaccept the coroner's preliminary
findings. Attorney Vanessa J Jones,
(08:39):
representing the Reed family, made it clear they weren't
satisfied with the official narrative.
We will seek answers independently from Delta State
University and from the coroner's office.
Jones declared. Were there cameras?
There should have been cameras at the university that could
easily enlighten us to what happened in the early morning of
(09:00):
September 15th, 2025. The camera question was crucial
In 2025. Virtually every inch of a
college campus is under surveillance.
If Reed had walked to that tree alone and taken his own life,
there would be video evidence. If someone had forced him there,
(09:20):
that too would be captured on camera.
The family's insistence on seeing this footage suggested
they believed it would tell a different story than the one
authorities were promoting. But there were other troubling
details emerging from the investigation.
Reports surfaced that Reed had faced racial incidents on campus
before his death. Social media posts alleged that
(09:42):
Reed had been locked up at DeltaState University and had faced
racist violence, citing past incidents of racial bias against
him at the university. These allegations painted a
picture of a young man under siege, targeted because of his
race in an environment that should have been safe.
The family described Trey as quiet, light, sweet and well
(10:05):
mannered. A young man who would give you
the world if he could. They had celebrated with him at
Grenada Day in his hometown on September 3rd, just 12 days
before his death. He was there, little quiet
light, a beacon of hope and promise in a family that had
invested everything in his education and future.
(10:26):
The timing of Reed's death was particularly suspicious.
His body was discovered on the same day Delta State University
was supposed to celebrate its 100th anniversary.
Instead of Centennial festivities, the campus was
plunged into mourning and chaos.Classes were canceled.
Events were postponed. The symbolism was unmistakable,
(10:49):
a young black man's death overshadowing what should have
been a day of institutional pride.
Mississippi has always been Ground Zero for America's racial
violence. Between 1877 and 1950, the state
recorded 581 lynchings, the highest number in the nation.
These weren't random acts of violence, but calculated tools
(11:11):
of terror designed to enforce Jim Crow laws and keep Black
communities in constant fear. Lynching suppressed voting, land
ownership, economic independenceand political participation.
They were public spectacles, often attended by hundreds of
white spectators who posed for photographs with the victims
bodies as if they were at a County Fair.
(11:33):
Cleveland, Ms. sits in the heartof the Delta, a region where
cotton fields once stretched to the horizon, worked by enslaved
hands and later by sharecropperstrapped in cycles of debt and
violence. The town's history is steeped in
the kind of racial terror that made Mississippi synonymous with
American apartheid. Delta State University itself
(11:57):
was founded in 1925 as Delta State Teachers College, during
the height of the Jim Crow era, when separate and unequal was
the law of the land. The university has its own
troubled history with race. In March 1969, black students
staged protests demanding equal treatment and representation.
(12:19):
The demonstrations were met withresistance from both the
administration and local law enforcement, reflecting the
broader struggle for civil rights that was tearing the
South apart. Even today, students and faculty
report incidents of racial bias,creating an atmosphere where
young Black men like Trey Reed might feel isolated and
(12:40):
vulnerable. The connection to Charlie Kirk's
death couldn't be ignored. Kirk had spent his career
promoting ideas that many scholars identified as white
supremacist ideology wrapped in patriotic language.
He had denied the existence of systemic racism, called white
privilege a racist idea, and vilified critical race theory as
(13:01):
dangerous indoctrination. His organization, Turning Point
USA, had been flagged by the Anti Defamation League as a vast
platform for extremists and far right conspiracy theorists.
Kirk's movement had also courtedfigures openly tied to the far
right. Political Research Associates
documented cases where TPUSA chapters hosted or aligned with
(13:26):
Nick Fuentes and his white nationalist followers.
The repeated associations revealed how far Kirk was
willing to go in pursuit of influence, creating a network of
radicalized young people across American College campuses.
Now Kirk was dead, killed by a 22 year old gunman named Tyler
Robinson at a Turning Point USA event.
(13:49):
The motive remained unclear, butthe impact was immediate.
Far right figures and elected officials called for vengeance.
The rhetoric was inflammatory, designed to stoke anger and
resentment among Kirk's followers.
And then, just five days later, Trey Reed was found hanging from
a tree in Mississippi. The investigation that followed
(14:11):
was marked by the same patterns that had characterized lynching
cases for over a century. Authorities were quick to
dismiss the possibility of foul play.
The coroner's preliminary examination was rushed and
superficial. Key evidence, like surveillance
footage, was not immediately released to the family or the
public. The victim was subtly blamed for
(14:33):
his own death, portrayed as someone who had chosen to end
his life rather than someone whomay have been murdered.
But the Reed family refused to accept this narrative.
They hired Ben Crump, one of themost prominent civil rights
attorneys in America. They demanded an independent
autopsy. They called for transparency and
accountability. They insisted that their son's
(14:57):
death be investigated as thoroughly as any other
suspicious death, not dismissed because of his race or the
uncomfortable historical parallels it evoked.
The family's response was crucial because it broke the
cycle of silence and acceptance that had allowed lynching to
flourish for so long. In the past, Black families
(15:18):
often had no recourse when theirloved ones were killed.
They couldn't hire attorneys, couldn't demand investigations,
couldn't challenge official narratives.
They were forced to accept whatever explanation authorities
provided, no matter how implausible or incomplete.
But in 2025, things were different.
The Reed family had resources, connections and a platform to
(15:41):
demand justice. They had allies in the civil
rights community who understood the historical significance of
their son's death. They had media attention that
made it impossible for authorities to simply sweep the
case under the rug. The broader context made the
situation even more ominous. Mississippi in 2025 was still
(16:02):
Mississippi, a state where Confederate monuments dotted the
landscape, where voter suppression tactics continued to
disenfranchise Black communities, where economic
inequality fell largely along racial lines.
The Delta region, in particular,remained one of the poorest
areas in America, with Black residents bearing the brunt of
(16:23):
decades of discriminatory policies and practices.
Delta State University, despite its claims of progress and
inclusion, existed within this broader context of racial
tension and inequality. The university's student body
was predominantly white, it's faculty and administration even
more so. Black students often reported
(16:45):
feeling isolated and unwelcome, struggling to find their place
in an institution that had been built to exclude them.
Into this environment came Trey Reed, a young black man from
Grenada, Mississippi, excited about his college experience and
his future. Within a month, he was dead,
hanging from a tree in the center of campus.
(17:08):
The official explanation, Suicide, seemed to ignore
everything we know about the historical and contemporary
realities of racial violence in Mississippi.
Yet the challenges remained enormous.
Mississippi's criminal justice system had a long history of
failing to prosecute racial violence.
(17:30):
Even when cases went to trial, all white juries often refused
to convict white defendants accused of killing black
victims. The culture of impunity that had
protected lynchers for generations was still alive and
well in many parts of the state.Moreover, the connection to
Charlie Kirk's death added another layer of complexity to
(17:51):
the case. If Reed's death was indeed
retaliation for Kirk's assassination, it represented a
new form of racial terrorism, one that used contemporary
political grievances to justify age-old patterns of violence.
The far right ecosystem that Kirk had helped create was vast
(18:11):
and decentralized, making it difficult to trace specific
connections between his death and subsequent acts of violence.
But the timing was too convenient to ignore.
Kirk's assassination had sent shock waves through the white
supremacist movement he had helped mainstream.
His followers were angry, looking for someone to blame,
(18:33):
someone to punish. The rhetoric from far right
leaders in the days following Kirk's death had been explicitly
violent, calling for vengeance and retribution against their
perceived enemies. In this context, a young black
college student like Trey Reed would have been seen as a
perfect target, vulnerable, isolated, and symbolically
(18:55):
significant. His death would send a message
to other Black students, other civil rights advocates, other
people who might challenge whitesupremacist ideology.
It would show that the movement Kirk had built was still
dangerous, still capable of deadly violence even after its
leader's death. The investigation into Reed's
(19:15):
death would ultimately determinewhether this theory held water.
But the early signs were troubling.
Authorities seemed more interested in closing the case
quickly than in conducting A thorough investigation.
The coroner's preliminary findings were released within
hours before a proper autopsy could be conducted.
(19:35):
The university's response was focused on damage control rather
than truth seeking. These patterns were all too
familiar to anyone who had studied the history of lynching
in America. The rush to judgement, the
dismissal of family concerns. The refusal to consider racial
motives. The protection of institutional
(19:56):
reputations over individual justice.
It was as if nothing had changedsince the 1950s, despite all the
progress that had supposedly been made.
But perhaps that was the point. Perhaps Reed's death was meant
to remind Black Americans that their safety and security were
still conditional, still dependent on white approval and
(20:17):
tolerance. Perhaps it was meant to show
that the gains of the civil rights movement could be
reversed, that the promise of equality was still just that, a
promise, not a reality. If so, the message was being
received loud and clear. Black students across the
country were expressing fear andanxiety about their safety on
(20:38):
predominantly white campuses. Parents were questioning whether
to send their children to schools in states with histories
of racial violence. Civil rights organizations were
mobilizing to demand better protection for black students
and more thorough investigationsof suspicious deaths.
The Reed case had become a test of America's commitment to
(20:58):
racial justice in the 21st century.
Would authorities conduct a thorough, transparent
investigation? Would they consider all possible
motives, including racial ones? Would they hold accountable
anyone who might have been responsible for Reed's death?
Or would they follow the historical pattern of dismissing
(21:18):
black deaths as unimportant, of protecting white institutions
and individuals from scrutiny, of allowing racial violence to
continue with impunity? The answers to these questions
would determine not just the fate of Trey Reed's case, but
the broader trajectory of race relations in America.
If his death was indeed connected to Charlie Kirk's
(21:39):
assassination, it would represent a new chapter in the
long history of American racial terrorism, one that used
contemporary political movementsto justify ancient hatreds.
But if the investigation was conducted properly, if the truth
was uncovered and justice was served, it might also represent
a turning point, a moment when America finally broke free from
(22:03):
the cycles of violence and impunity that had defined its
racial history for so long. The tree where Trey Reed died
still stands in the center of Delta State University's campus.
Students walk past it every day,some pausing to leave flowers or
say a prayer. It has become an unofficial
memorial, a reminder of a young life cut short and questions
(22:27):
that remain unanswered. But it is also something more, a
symbol of America's unfinished business with race, a testament
to the work that still needs to be done to create a truly just
and equal society. Trey Reed's death may have been
intended to spread fear and division, but it has also
(22:47):
sparked a movement for truth andaccountability that refuses to
be silenced. His family's fight for justice
has become more than just a search for answers about their
son's death. It has become a battle for the
soul of America itself, a test of whether this country can
finally confront its history of racial violence and move beyond
(23:08):
it. Their courage in demanding
answers, in refusing to accept easy explanations, in insisting
that Black lives matter as much as any others, represents the
best of what America can be. The investigation continues, the
questions remain. And somewhere in the shadows of
American politics, the forces that may have killed Trey Reed
(23:29):
are still at work, still spreading their poison through
college campuses and online forums, still recruiting young
people to their cause of hate. But they face something they
haven't encountered before, A family that won't be silenced, a
community that won't be intimidated, and a nation that
is finally beginning to understand that the price of
(23:51):
freedom is eternal vigilance against those who would use
violence to maintain their power.
Trey Reed's story is not over. His death may have silenced his
voice, but it has amplified the voices of those who demand
justice, who refused to accept that young black men should die
simply for existing, for pursuing their dreams, for
(24:12):
believing in the promise of America.
In that sense, his legacy may bemore powerful than his life, a
catalyst for change, a call to action, a reminder that the
fight for racial justice is far from finished.
The tree where he died stands asa monument not just to his
death, but to the ongoing struggle for equality and
(24:35):
justice in America. The investigation continues, the
truth awaits, and America watches to see whether it will
finally live up to its highest ideals or continue to be haunted
by the ghosts of its darkest chapters.
Thank you for listening to this episode of No Tears for Black
Girls. If you enjoyed today's story,
(24:59):
please show your support by hitting that like button,
leaving a comment, or giving us a five star rating and review.
It really helps us reach more listeners who need to hear these
important stories. Coming up next, we have an
exclusive track from our upcoming No Tears for Black
Girls music compilation, Conspiracy by Fly Money.
(25:21):
This song connects directly to the themes we've been exploring
today. Until next time, remember to
stay loved, stay blessed, and stay safe.
We'll see you in the next episode.
This is Samantha Paul. Yeah, they say black excellence
(25:48):
always come at a cost. Moments in the spotlight just
before they get lost. Heard it in the whisper, seen it
in the news. Fame ain't protection, it's a
target. Win or lose.
Before you judge a story better study who's narrating.
People that hit their hands and the traps they create in history
repeats. Legends falls, some never rise.
Open up your eyes, see the truthbehind the lies.
(26:10):
Lights, camera action but was really on the screen.
They sold the streams then twisted up the scene.
Diddy in the news, rumors start to swirl.
Cows in the cell now is justice or is it just the world names in
the headlines? But who's pulling strings?
Who profits from the stories when the cage burst sings pop
gone Biggie gone Nipsey in the streets ledge is dropping.
(26:30):
All we get is hashtags and tweets.
Another king falls and they chalk into the game.
But if you dig a little deeper, only black come and get the
blame. Success is a crime.
Eddie Griffin wasn't lying. If you make it out the mud,
they'll drag you back trying. It's a conspiracy.
They want us in chains. Build you up.
Then they tear down your name. Crime.
Smother blood. Pick your stain.
(26:52):
Famous in black. They running that game.
Hollywood lights put the shadows.
The truth try to leave clean. But they after your roots.
They don't want to see a king reign free.
It's a conspiracy. Yeah, it's a conspiracy.
Yeah, yeah. Look, power in the pen, but it's
(27:14):
poison in the deal. See your brother make a million
now. They coming for his will.
They question every move, every friend that you choose.
Plan a scandal in the news. Now watch the world get
confused. From Malcolm to Cosby, from
Cosby to Gay, from Michael to Chris, they all fade the same
way. Is it just mistakes or a
pattern? In the fall, every time a Black
Star rise, they want to see him crawl from Oscar to Celt Block.
(27:36):
Grant me the grave. It's a cycle.
It's a trap. Are you not entertained?
Check the playbook. Who wrote these lines?
The bigger the spotlight, the deeper it finds.
It's a conspiracy. They want us to change.
Build you up. Then they tear down your name.
Crime. Smart of blood.
Pick your stain. Famous in black.
Dave running that game. Hollywood lights for the shadows
(27:59):
of truth try to leave clean, butthey after your roots.
They don't want to see a king reign free.
It's a conspiracy. Yeah, it's a conspiracy.
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