Found Hanging
An archived map and research record of reported cases of Black people found hanging in the United States. Active work ended October 25, 2026.
Current state Dated archive
Retired · October 25, 2026
Active work on this project ended on October 25, 2026. The published material remains available as a dated archive. Retirement does not mean that unresolved questions have been answered or requests fulfilled.
I am no longer adding cases, accepting new-case submissions, conducting further analysis, or carrying out recurring research and review. The archive retains its case-level sources, uncertainty, and original verification dates. The retirement date is not a new verification date for the cases.
The idea
A reported death can become a brief news story, a disputed explanation, and then something difficult to find again. I wanted a way to keep the people, the public record, and the unanswered questions visible over time.
Why it exists
Individual reports are scattered across places, dates, and sources. Reading them together requires a record that keeps the sources together without flattening every case into the same conclusion.
Found Hanging documents reported cases of Black people found hanging in the United States. It is an archived research record, not a count of every case. Official findings, attributed disagreements, and unresolved facts need to remain distinguishable.
What the archive contains
A public StoryMap with case mapping, source links, narrative context, and a record of material updates. You may also know the project as the Funky Fruit Map; that alternate name helps people recognize and find the work when platforms restrict its subject matter.
The map lets someone explore individual records. The surrounding research asks what becomes visible when those records can be read together.
Where it stands
The public StoryMap preserves the published record. Broader analysis, including how to interpret surveillance-infrastructure data responsibly, was unfinished when the project retired. No further work is promised.
An item’s presence on a map does not establish a cause of death, a connection between cases, or the existence of a recording. Claims need evidence at the level of the individual case.
Explore the record
Read the Found Hanging archive — The Funky Fruit Map
The StoryMap discusses death and racial violence and includes historical imagery. You can begin with the written context before exploring the cases.
For a factual correction to material already published, use “Found Hanging archive correction” in the subject and include the page or case URL, the specific correction, and a supporting source. This is a correction route for the existing archive, not new-case intake or a request for further investigation. I cannot promise a response or a response schedule.