Black people don't hang themselves from trees
Lynchings in America didn't end, they evolved.
Content Warning: This article contains graphic content that some may find disturbing. Please read at your own discretion.
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In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, white Americans committed violent public acts with the aim of terrorizing Black Americans into submission. This was especially prominent in the Southern states that formed the Confederacy. These violent acts, known as lynching, involved extreme brutality by white citizens towards Black citizens - with acts such as torture, mutilation, burning, and decapitation. Usually, victims were hung from trees after their murders: pieces of their flesh or bone taken as souvenirs. These lynchings were public executions carried out by lawless mobs against innocent people, without any sort of court involvement. They were public spectacles, attended by countless white supremacists as a celebration of whiteness.
According to records by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), at least 4,743 lynchings occurred across the United States between 1882 and 1968. Most were in Mississippi, followed by Georgia and Texas. They were justified by dubious criminal accusations made by white mobs: accusations that were fabricated and never proven. A quarter of Black men murdered by lynching were accused of sexual assault against white women: an allegation used to enforce the stereotype of "violent, hypersexual Black men."
Of the approximately 4,743 lynchings that occurred, three quarters of the victims were Black. However, it wasn't uncommon for lynchings to occur against white people who stood up for Black rights, or who stood opposed to the idea of racial violence. Most participants in these inhuman acts were never punished: due both to the involvement of law enforcement in mob actions, and to the large number of participants. According to the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), only about one percent of lynchings resulted in any type of criminal punishment.
"Southern trees bear a strange fruit, blood on the leaves and blood at the root. Black bodies swinging in the Southern breeze, strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees."
"Strange Fruit", written by Abel Meeropol and performed by Billie Holiday
As Black Americans fled the South to avoid the atrocities of lynching, many Black citizens became involved in grassroots organizations dedicated to fighting racial violence. Between 1910 and 1970, several civil rights organizations formed in the United States: including the NAACP, who led many campaigns against lynching and helped introduce anti-lynching legislation. In 1918, the first anti-lynching bill was introduced by Missouri representative Leonidas Dyer, who was greatly opposed to the racial violence occurring across the Southern United States.
In the 1930s, national lynching rates declined from previous years. In 1952, no lynchings were recorded. However, racial violence in the United States was far from over. In 1955, the civil rights movement was catalyzed by the lynching of Emmett Till: a fourteen year old Black boy in Mississippi, beaten and shot by the husband of a grocery store employee Emmett had interacted with. An image taken at Emmett's open casket funeral created outrage for both Black and white Americans, adding fuel to the civil rights movement.
Lynchings of Black Americans should not be a part of society. Although this barbaric act has declined since the civil rights movement began, modern-day lynchings continue: an under-reported atrocity, most labeled by law enforcement as suicide without investigation. Since the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, at least seventeen Black Americans have been found hanging from trees in eleven states. Of these seventeen lynchings, eleven occurred in former Confederate states.
Black people don't hang themselves from trees. May they all rest in eternal peace.
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Malcolm Harsch, 38, California
May 31, 2020
Malcolm was found in a homeless encampment in Victorville. His death was labelled a suicide.
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Dominique Alexander, 27, New York City
June 9, 2020
Dominique was found in Manhattan. His death was labelled a suicide.
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Robert Fuller, 24, California
June 10, 2020
Robert was found in Palmdale. His death was labelled a suicide.
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Amani Kildea, 20, New Jersey
June 28, 2020
Amani was found in Morristown. His death was labelled a suicide.
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Nevan Baker, 22, Florida
October 5, 2020
Nevan was found in Orlando. Despite having several missing teeth and a badly bruised face, his death was labelled a suicide.
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Omari Bryant, 18, Georgia
December 5, 2020
Omari was found in Homerville. Despite both feet touching the ground, his death was labelled a suicide.
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Mikayla Miller, 16, Massachusetts
April 18, 2021
Mikayla was found in Hopkinton. She was an LGBTQ+ teenager in a white Boston suburb. Her death was labelled a suicide.
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Yolna Lubrin, 30, Florida
September 18, 2023
Yolna was found in Orlando, in the backyard of a stranger. Her chest was exposed, and her car doors and windshields were smashed. Her death was labelled a suicide.
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Trevonte Jamal Shubert-Helton, 29, Georgia
February 21, 2024
Trevonte was found in the Swallow Creek Wildlife Management Area of northern Georgia, thirty five minutes from where he lived. His death was labelled a suicide.
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Javion Magee, 21, North Carolina
September 11, 2024
Javion was found in Vance County, in a seated position beneath a tree. His death was labelled a suicide.
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Dennoriss Richardson, 39, Alabama
September 18, 2024
Dennoriss was found in a carport of a house he had no connection to. He was in the process of suing Sheffield police officers for acts of brutality. His death was labelled a suicide.
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Demartravion (Trey) Reed, 21, Mississippi
September 15, 2025
Trey was found on the campus of Delta State University, where he was a student. His death was labelled a suicide.
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Torrance (Tory) Medley, 39, Wisconsin
November 13, 2025
Tory was found at Brookfield Hills Golf Course, twelve miles from his home in Milwaukee. He didn't have a vehicle. His death was labelled a suicide.
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Kyle Bassinga, 21, Georgia
February 18, 2026
Kyle was found in Cobb County Park in Marietta, Georgia, after having been missing a week. This was thirty miles from his school. His death was labelled a suicide.
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Juliana Umba Nzita, 16, North Carolina
May 8, 2026
Juliana was found on her church property in Charlotte. Despite both her feet still touching the ground, her death was labelled a suicide.
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Tonea Miller, 27, Michigan
June 18, 2026
Tonea was found in Gwen Cherry Park in Miami, where she was living at the time. Her death was labelled a suicide.
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Tasia Fortune, 29, Mississippi
August 3, 2026
Tasia was found in Jackson. Her death was labelled a suicide.
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Sources & Further Reading
https://newsone.com/4183622/mississippi-lynchings-report/
https://newsone.com/3971201/amani-kildea-black-man-found-hanging-suspected-lynching/
https://www.bet.com/article/2z4tkm/three-black-men-found-hanging-spark-calls-for-lynching-probe
https://www.wesh.com/article/orlando-yolna-lubrin-death/45447374
https://newsone.com/5554627/javion-magee-update/
https://blacknews.com/news/juliana-nzita-black-teen-found-dead-hanging-tree-church-grounds-missing-week/
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/17/us/mississippi-hanging-delta-state-university-black-student-hnk
https://www.distractify.com/p/what-happened-to-tonea-miller-miami
https://www.abhmuseum.org/demand-for-transparency-grows-in-tory-medleys-death-investigation/
https://newsone.com/playlist/black-people-lynched-recent-years/item/2
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/apr/26/lynchings-memorial-us-south-montgomery-alabama
https://www.themarshallproject.org/2025/11/04/delta-state-university-mississippi-hanging
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/08/08/modern-day-mississippi-lynchings/
https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/kyle-bassinga-found-dead-georgia-park-1780698
https://lynchinginamerica.eji.org/listen
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/apr/26/lynchings-memorial-us-south-montgomery-alabama
https://hopnews.com/the-aftermath-of-mikayla-millers-tragic-death/
https://naacp.org/find-resources/history-explained/history-lynching-america
About the Creator
choreomanias
I'm an autist with an interest in world history and geography. I also write about mental health, politics, parenting, my experiences as a neurodivergent person, and queer issues.
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