Tasia Fortune is a 29-year-old Black woman. She lives in Mississippi.
29歲的黑人女性塔西亞·福瓊(Tasia Fortune)住在密西西比州。
On August 3, someone found her hanging from a tree. The tree was behind an empty house in Jackson, the state capital.
8月3日,有人發現她吊死在州首府傑克遜一處廢棄房屋後的樹上。
Jarques Ratliff is a 51-year-old Black man. On Monday, he said he did not commit the murder.
51歲的黑人賈克斯·拉特利夫(Jarques Ratliff)週一對謀殺指控表示不認罪。
The police and lawyers have not said why this may have happened.
警方和檢察官還沒有給出可能的動機。
They said they expect more people will be arrested.
他們說,預計還會有更多人被捕。
For many Black people, ropes and nooses remind them of a painful history in America.
對許多黑人來說,繩索和絞索會讓人想起美國傷害黑人的歷史。
This history brings deep pain.
這段歷史帶來很深的痛苦。
Jackson activist Brad Franklin says Black people in the South feel in 2026 what they felt in 1956 and 1966.
傑克遜活動人士布拉德·富蘭克林(Brad Franklin)說,2026年的南方黑人正在感受1956年和1966年的東西。
He says this should not happen.
他說,這不應該發生。
But he also says their skin has grown tough because of Mississippi's racist history.
但他也說,因為密西西比州種族主義的歷史,他們的皮膚已被磨得堅韌。
Fortune's mother, Christy Spivey, is white.
福瓊的母親克里斯蒂·斯派維(Christy Spivey)是白人。
She says Fortune's father is black.
她說福瓊的父親是黑人。
She says she does not believe race is connected to her daughter's death.
她說,她不相信種族和女兒的死有關。
She thinks it is a very private matter. It involves people they know.
她認為這是涉及相識者的非常私人的事情。
She firmly believes her daughter did not kill herself.
她堅信女兒不會自殺。
In the past two years, about six Black women and men were found dead. They were hanged in the South.
過去兩年中,約有半打黑人女性和男性在南方各地被發現吊死。
Police quickly said some of these cases were suicide.
其中一些案件被警方迅速判定為自殺。
Sean Joe is a professor at Washington University in St. Louis. He said you must show evidence to decide it is suicide.
聖路易斯華盛頓大學教授肖恩·喬(Sean Joe)說,若要作出自殺的結論,就必須展示證據。
Police in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina are looking into the death of Demetrius Eugene Fleming. He was 38 and died on August 21.
北卡羅來納州羅阿諾克拉皮茲警方正在調查38歲的德米特里厄斯·尤金·弗萊明(Demetrius Eugene Fleming)8月21日的死亡。
Police in Cobb County, Georgia found the body of Kyle Bassinga in February. He was 21.
喬治亞州科布縣警方則在二月發現21歲的凱爾·巴辛加(Kyle Bassinga)的屍體。
Investigators said there were no signs of murder.
調查人員說,沒有他殺的跡象。
In September 2025, Trey Reed died at Delta State University in Mississippi. He was 21 years old and Black. His death was ruled a suicide.
2025年9月,21歲黑人學生特雷·里德(Trey Reed)在密西西比州三角洲州立大學去世,被裁定為自殺。
In September 2024, Dennoriss Richardson died in Colbert County, Alabama. He was 39 years old. His death was also ruled a suicide.
2024年9月,39歲的丹諾里斯·理查森(Dennoriss Richardson)在阿拉巴馬州科爾伯特縣去世,同樣被裁定為自殺。
Richardson's wife Leigh said she does not believe her husband killed himself.
理查森的妻子利(Leigh)表示不相信丈夫自殺。
She had a private autopsy done.
她進行了私人屍檢。
According to the Equal Justice Initiative, there were over 4,400 lynchings in the US. This was from the Reconstruction era to World War II.
根據平等司法倡議組織,從重建時期到第二次世界大戰期間,美國發生了超過4,400起私刑。
In 1955, a teenager named Emmett Till was lynched in Mississippi.
1955年,密西西比州青少年埃米特·蒂爾(Emmett Till)遭私刑處死。
This helped the civil rights movement grow.
這幫助推動了民權運動。
University of Oklahoma professor Karlos Hill said these lynchings were public. They were meant to spread terror.
俄克拉荷馬大學教授卡洛斯·希爾(Karlos Hill)說,這些私刑是公開的,目的是傳達恐怖。
In September, almost 60 members of Congress signed a letter.
九月,近60名國會議員簽署信件。
They asked the Justice Department to look into the hanging deaths of Black people. They also asked it to carry out the 2022 Emmett Till Antilynching Act.
他們要求司法部調查黑人被吊死案件,並執行2022年的《埃米特·蒂爾反私刑法》。
Representative Ayanna Pressley said in a statement that racism and white supremacy are open now. She said we cannot just stand by.
眾議員阿亞娜·普雷斯利(Ayanna Pressley)在聲明中說,在這個反黑人和白人至上主義囂張的時刻,不能袖手旁觀。
According to Pressley's office, the Justice Department confirmed it got the letter. But it has not responded yet.
據普雷斯利辦公室稱,司法部確認已收到該信,但尚未作出回應。