A Moment for Trey Reed

September 16, 2025

Plus: backlash on a national level ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

September 16, 2025

Evening, Meteor readers,

Today, my good friend of over a decade put her first children’s book out into the world. Happy pub day to Everything Grows in Jiddo’s Garden, and three cheers to my favorite Jersey girl who never backs down.

In today’s newsletter, we try to understand a horrific incident in Mississippi. Plus, a call for retribution from the vice president and a new rookie of the year. (Yes, we know, the news is an emotional rollercoaster.)

Surviving,

Shannon Melero

WHAT’S GOING ON

On Monday morning, the body of Demartravion “Trey” Reed, a 21-year-old Black man, was retrieved by local police in Cleveland, Mississippi. And by retrieved we mean: They pulled his body down from the tree where it had been hanging on the Delta State University campus. During a press conference, the university police chief told reporters that there was “no evidence of foul play,” but that an investigation was still underway.

Naturally, people are skeptical of the findings, with many posting a single, resounding phrase across social media: “Black people don’t lynch themselves.”

This isn’t the first case of a suspected lynching in the last year. In June, Earl Smith (58) was found hanging in Albany, New York. Last September, Dennoriss Richardson (39) was found hanging in Sheffield, Alabama. And in March, twin brothers Qaadir and Naazir Lewis (19) were found in Hiawassee, Georgia, with gunshot wounds to their heads. Each of these deaths was ruled a suicide, but in Richardson’s case, there were conflicting autopsy reports. In Smith’s case, members of the community accused the local police of not conducting a thorough investigation. In the Lewis case, both the NAACP and the Lewis family rejected the findings based on where the boys’ bodies were found.

In a perfect world, we wouldn’t have to question police findings, but that world has yet to be discovered. In this world, we know that Black men are not afforded the same level of justice or care as their white counterparts. We also know that, statistically, Black people have lower suicide rates than all but two other racial groups.

It may be months or even years before we know the full truth of what happened to Demartravion Reed and those who have died in a similar fashion. So all we can do is work with the truth that is currently available to us, which is that Black bodies are under threat. Historically. Recently. Daily. This very minute.

When these deaths happen and go widely unnoticed and underinvestigated, we as a society perpetuate that threat, allowing for greater loss and greater silence. So until we have all the answers, do not let Trey Reed’s name go unspoken.

AND:

Since Charlie Kirk’s assassination last week, right-wing politicians and pundits have done little to heed Utah Governor Spencer Cox’s exhortation that we all “log off, touch grass, hug a family member, [and] go out and do good.” Instead, MAGA media and its representatives have issued widespread calls for retribution.

Vice President JD Vance backed a massive doxing effort to “find and harass” Kirk’s critics, per the Guardian. White House fixture Stephen Miller let loose, blaming “terrorist networks” for Kirk’s death despite the fact that law enforcement has said the suspected shooter acted alone, and stoking rage on social media. It has become an indiscriminate campaign—and a chillingly effective one. People have lost their jobs. Their home addresses have been circulated online. At the Washington Post, columnist Karen Attiah said she was fired for her posts in the aftermath of Kirk’s killing. Elizabeth Spiers has described the threats she has received since she wrote about Kirk for The Nation. Several prominent progressive pundits have pointed out that across the ideological spectrum, Democrats have responded to Kirk’s killing with unqualified dismay and horror, so we don’t need to make that point. You know murder is bad. We do too. We’ll just point out that those who have been tarred for their comments are exercising the same exact right to freedom of speech that Kirk himself championed.
A new report from the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel found that Israeli forces “committed four of the five genocidal acts defined by the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.” The Commission of Inquiry also noted that in terms of the starvation of Palestinians, “genocidal intent was the only reasonable inference that could be concluded from the nature of [Israel’s] operations.”
Last night, Donald Trump filed a $15 billion (with a B!) lawsuit against the New York Times, accusing the news outlet of defamation. In a wildly petty move, the suit also alleges that the Times “wrongly gave producer Mark Burnett credit for the success of the NBC reality contest show The Apprentice, rather than to Trump.” 🙄
The very talented, very handsome actor and environmentalist Robert Redford died today at the age of 89. Among his many contributions to the art of filmmaking, Redford was also the founder of The Redford Center, an environmental non-profit dedicated to sharing the stories that will save our planet.

BEAUTIFUL INSIDE AND OUT. (VIA GETTY IMAGES)

A program in Flint, Michigan, called Rx Kids has been giving money to women throughout their first year of motherhood since 2024. The results are astounding: “lowered rates of maternal postpartum depression, stabilized families’ housing, and improved infant outcomes – saving millions of dollars in NICU spending.”
Dallas Wings star Paige Bueckers was announced as this year’s WNBA Rookie of the Year, securing a nearly unanimous vote for the honor. Bueckers is the seventh former UConn player to win this award, so now you know where to send the basketball star in your life to college.
Need something to make you feel a little bit more alive? Enjoy this thrilling moment from Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.