The death of Demartravion “Trey” Reed has left Black students cautioned, outraged and wary of his death becoming another example of history repeating itself.
“I’m deeply disturbed and pissed off,” said Jayson Andrews, an activist and founder of EKLEKTIC Studios LLC, where he uses his artistic production company to tell impactful stories that uplift marginalized communities. “What bothers me is it being in Mississippi because that’s where Emmet Till was brutally murdered and that was in 1955, its 2025, not much has changed.”
Reed, 21, was found hanging from a tree Monday Sept. 15 on the campus of Delta State University in Cleveland, Miss. Since then, medical officials have dismissed any foul play associated with his death and has ruled it a suicide. According to USA Today and the New York Post, former NFL player Colin Kaepernick has paid for Reed’s family to have a private autopsy done to give Reed’s family more answers.
Reports suggest Reed’s death was self-inflicted. Black students aren’t convinced. Skylar Jackson, a 22-year-old graduate student at Fordham University, is skeptical about Reed’s death being labeled a suicide.
“I definitely believe it was a lynching,” Jackson said. “Especially at a predominantly white institution (PWI) down south, I wholeheartedly believe it was premeditated for Trey to be hung from a tree. I don’t think Trey hung himself from a tree in the middle of Mississippi. I just don’t.”
Jackson is not suprised that Reed’s death is being labeled a suicide. She completed her undergrad at Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans. She’s familiar with Mississippi’s laws and racial environment. Jackson is saddened by what feels like a dismissal of Reed’s life. While commuting to Fordham University, she’s “on higher alert now to be cautious” on campus.
Other students have expressed frustration with the way the media has covered Reed’s death. Terrence Hughes, a 16-year-old high school senior at Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School, believes Reed’s death is not receiving the same uproar as other matters.
“We are living in a time where the media seems to be a bit biased, due to the current executive administration,” Hughes said. “Charlie Kirk’s story was blasted on all platforms. Then again, he was definitely a more prominent figure than Reed. Politics aside, I do think that the same care given to Kirk, should be given to every victim.”
Some believe that events like Kirk’s death have received more national coverage and attention, even making headway in the White House — which has caused Black students to question the current political climate that seems to water down the seriousness of Reed’s death.
Talking about Reed’s death has been especially hard for educators of Black youth. Anthony Bruno, a 26-year-old eighth-grade math teacher at Excellence Boys Charter School, a predominantly Black and Brown all-boys school in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, has a tough responsibility of telling his students the reality of being Black in America.
“In 2025 Black people are still getting lynched,” Bruno said. “That’s absurd, and I think this is the DNA of this country too, overt racism, this country was founded on that therefore it will always be one of its core values. The president is entering a dangerous space where he is teetering the line between democracy and dictatorship.”
With educators worried for their students’ safety and future along with the current state of the country, mental health professionals believe that events like Reed’s death only further the psychological damage Black students may face while inhabiting white schooling environments.
Tanesha Wright-Lindo, a licensed clinical social worker at Poly Prep middle school in Brooklyn, has extensive experience supporting students. She joined Poly Prep in 2022 and previously spent time supporting college students on their mental health journeys at Cornell University and Rutgers University.
After seeing the events of Reed, Wright-Lindo is disheartened.
“The coverage of Trey’s death is abysmal and offensively limited, especially in light of other recent deaths that have made it to national news,” Wright-Lindo said. My social media network amplifies this more than the national news and media outlets. And as a mental health professional, being seen, heard, loved, and knowing that you matter are key elements to one’s life. The coverage tells me that our nation doesn’t care or value, Black and Brown bodies, or lives.”
Wright-Lindo is morose for the future for black youth: “For black children going to PWI the future of America Society looks bleak with the dismantling of DEI initiatives and deaths with historical symbols of racism and hate. How is a black child supposed to enter a predominantly white educational space and let their guard down enough to learn and grow into their best cells without a basic reality of safety and security?”
Mental health professionals report increased counseling requests from Black students following widely publicized cases of racial violence or discrimination. These psychological impacts can persist for months, affecting academic performance, social engagement, and overall campus climate for minority students.
Tammy King, a mental health counselor with a Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from St. Johns University believes this issue has only furthered the negative self-image of Black students.
“Law enforcement and people in power have historically pardoned many who have abused the system to enforce racial biases and discriminatory practices and acts of violence against people of color,” King said. “It can also cause Black students to not feel safe attending school as his passing causes a rise in racial tensions, behaviors and hateful rhetoric. It reinforces the belief that to be black in America is to be hated, mistreated and condemned.”
While details on Reed’s autopsy are still forthcoming, Black students are in disarray as little hope remains on whether the U.S. will actually change.
