Bloodshed Beneath the Magnolia Tree The arrest of Jacques Ratliff marks a somber milestone in the investigation into the death of Tasia Fortune, a 29 year old Black woman found hanging from a tree behind a vacant house in Jackson, Mississippi.
The state medical examiner's ruling that her death was a homicide offers some closure for Fortune's family and loved ones, but it also underscores the dark legacy of racist violence and lynchings that continues to haunt this nation.
The history of racial violence in Mississippi is well documented – from the infamous lynching of Emmett Till in 1955 to more recent incidents involving Trey Reed and Cory Zukatis.