The death of Tsiya Fortun, a 29-year-old Black woman from Mississippi who was found hanging from a tree on August 3, reminds us of the dark history of lynching in the southern United States.
Case Details
Fortun's body was discovered behind an abandoned house in Jackson, the state capital. Jarkus Ratliff, 51, who is also Black, did not confess to murder in court on Monday. Police and prosecutors have not yet determined a motive for the killing and have stated that further arrests are possible.
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Many Black individuals are reminded of the legacy of lynching and extrajudicial violence against Black people in the United States when they see the image of the rope and noose, bringing deeper pain and trauma.
Family and Community Reaction
Fortun's mother, Kristi Spivey, has stated that she does not believe race played a role in her daughter's death. She, who is white, added that Fortun's father is Black.
Spivey said, “This is a very personal matter” and believes that someone who knew Fortun was involved in this case.
In the past two years, about half a dozen Black men and women have been found hanging across the southern United States. In some of these cases, police have quickly ruled the deaths as suicides, which has faced historical skepticism in some instances.
Jane Jo, a social work professor at the University of Washington, said, “If you are going to go to the definition or conclusion of suicide, you need to provide evidence for that.”
Recent deaths of Black individuals and suspicious lynchings in various states have raised further concerns in the Black community. More than 4,400 lynchings occurred in the United States between the Reconstruction era and World War II. The lynching of teenager Emmett Till in 1955 in Mississippi over allegations of flirting with a white woman sparked the civil rights movement.
Nearly 60 members of Congress signed a letter in September asking the Department of Justice to investigate the suspicious deaths of Black individuals and to enforce the 2022 Emmett Till Act, which designates lynching as a federal hate crime.
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Source: abcnews.com
