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30 de Marzo, 2008
Protest the NAACP
Categorized under Acción , Carmen D. , Resistencia | Tags:
[Carmen D.'s sweet chocolate shell and militant gooey center reflect the convoluted landscape of race in America. When she's not on the ground working to help kids who need a hand, you'll usually find her walking the digital frontier of American race relations over at her blog All About Race. She fantasizes that one day there'll be a great big honest, brave, discordant conversation about race in which everybody participates. One where we listen to each other and argue over ideas we haven't heard a thousand times before..]
That old adage about speaking truth to power means doing so even when that power is an ally. For more than a week black bloggers have circulated a digital letter that calls for action against the NAACP and Al Sharpton’s National Action Network for the alarming and wrong choice they’ve made to support the gang rapists and sexual torturers involved in the Dunbar Village case. An excerpt lays out the issues:
Stop Al Sharpton and the NAACP from endangering Black Women! Right-thinking black people everywhere are stunned by the recent betrayal of Al Sharpton and the NAACP in a situation that is just too outrageous to ignore.This is a painful story to tell, but it’s important for the moral, law-abiding majority of black Americans to understand exactly why Al Sharpton and the NAACP must be immediately stopped.On June 18, 2007, a black woman was gang raped by 10 youths and forced at gunpoint to have sex with her own 12 year old son in a housing complex called Dunbar Village in West Palm Beach, Florida.The young men not only viciously punched, kicked and sliced this sister and her son with glass objects, but they also blinded her boy by pouring nail polish remover into his eyes.The young men forced this sister and son to lay naked in a bathtub together, and attempted to set them on fire (they could not find matches).
The youths boldly took cell phone pictures so that they could enjoy their violent, immoral and sadistic acts at a later time. The violence continued for more than three hours, and although this sister’s neighbors heard her screams, no one called the police or came to her aid.
This sister and her son had to walk a mile to the hospital, because the assailants stole her car, and threatened to kill her and her family if she told the authorities.
Only four of the young men have been apprehended, while the remaining six are on the loose, doing Lord knows what in our communities. There is no manhunt for the remaining suspects.
As devastating as this story is, what the NAACP and Al Sharpton have done about it will simply take your breath away: Not only did the NAACP ignore hundreds of requests to assist this woman because it was 'outside the scope of their mission', but they joined forces with Al Sharpton, and sent their lawyers to speak out IN SUPPORT OF THE RAPISTS.
You heard me right.
Even though there is conclusive DNA evidence and signed confessions, the NAACP and Al Sharpton are saying that it is 'unfair' to not offer bail to these four alleged rapists. They even had a press release about it.
IT IS TIME FOR SENSIBLE BLACK PEOPLE TO STOP THIS KIND OF NONSENSE ONCE AND FOR ALL. source
I am focusing on the actions of the NAACP in this confrontation mostly because once Sharpton realized that his support of the Dunbar Village rapists would be roundly criticized he backpedaled faster than a cartoon character, changed course and stated that no bail should be allowed for these defendants. The NAACP however will not back down from its position or respond to ever louder questions about their lack of support for the brutalized mother and son. The NAACP’s position is wrong.
I have canceled my NAACP membership.
Through the fires of the Civil Rights Movement, the NAACP routinely stood as the thin black line between victims of racial injustice and death. If the NAACP wants to maintain even the semblance of relevance, it will have to plow through bureaucratic paralysis and conventional attitudes to embrace the fortitude of its founders. Slinking away from the sad realities of black on black crime and the plight of the victimized is a stance unworthy of this venerable institution.
crossposted at All About Race
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Comentarios (16)
nezua
dijo:
oh my god. this was painful just to read through. thank you for posting this.
Palabras por nezua
spat forth on el 30 de Marzo, 2008 at 08:33 AM
Carmen D. dijo:
You are so welcome. Thank you for the opportunity to spread the word.
Palabras por Carmen D. spat forth on el 30 de Marzo, 2008 at 08:54 AM
M
dijo:
great write-up, carmen. i've been really torn about this situation because i think both sides are right -- with complications and qualifications:
1) the naacp and al sharpton should have been on the dunbar village case from the start, to make sure law enforcement was doing its job in investigating what happened to that mother and child, getting them rape counseling, helping them establish themselves far from that place if necessary for their protection, and raising a whole lot of hell. that was impossibly ignorant of them to claim that it was out of their scope. i can't get over that.
but (there's always a but)
2) i don't see anything horrible about the naacp/national action network helping with the boys' defense. in a system where black defendants often get poor representation and shabbily conducted trials with rare incident, i can understand why they jumped in to the defense. because that is "within their scope." their sexist and nearsighted scope.
but that's the ignorance of these social justice organizations not knowing there are ways to do BOTH -- support victims of horrendous crimes AND ensure the adversarial justice system does right by both parties. diplomatically/public relations-wise, doing both will look like a nightmare, though. when you're in an organization that works with and responds to the people, your actions for the most part are keyed to follow the will of public outrage and momentum. sharpton's had a horrible track record in this case; at this point and after this gaffe, i don't even know why people still care about him. from what i remember (i could be wrong) the naacp did do work corresponding with helping the victims and the community, and then they intervened in the boys' defense now.
Palabras por M
spat forth on el 30 de Marzo, 2008 at 09:35 AM
Carmen D.
dijo:
Hey M. I would have no problem with NAACP providing lawyers for the defendants. But I do have a problem with the NAACP holding a press conference championing bail for these alleged rapists/torturers. I wanted to include a flyer from the press conference but my technical skill failed me. Here's a link : http://bp1.blogger.com/_2FADJp4C2HM/R-2FWAvycqI/AAAAAAAAAfo/ZRydW0L3qjc/s1600-h/dvflier1.jpg
And to my knowledge the NAACP refused to respond to any of the hundreds of calls made asking them to speak out in support of the Dunbar Village victims when the crime occurred.
It is quite possible that I missed positive contributions the NAACP made to this sad mess of a case. If you know of something please let me know. I won't reinstate my membership, but I would feel a smidgen better about the whole thing.
Palabras por Carmen D.
spat forth on el 30 de Marzo, 2008 at 10:33 AM
M
dijo:
I take that back. I looked up the place where I thought they said they were involved; but it was an appeal to get them involved in the Dunbar Village case. And they were unresponsive.
Sometimes I hate people.
Palabras por M
spat forth on el 30 de Marzo, 2008 at 11:02 AM
latinitasoyme dijo:
wow! there is nothing more that can be really said, except that power may have pulled this "institution" away from its original intent upon its establishment now causing more harm than good.
Palabras por latinitasoyme spat forth on el 30 de Marzo, 2008 at 12:35 PM
La Molina dijo:
Sickening.
So many years after the Tawana Brawley fuck-up.
Palabras por La Molina spat forth on el 30 de Marzo, 2008 at 01:25 PM
Carmen D.
dijo:
Hey latinitasoyme. I feel like the NAACP is stuck in the 70's. Digital activists are setting the agenda and sparking change while the war heroes tilt at some crumbling windmills. The legal defense fund still does important work, make no mistake, but they need to retreat from this particular public advocacy campaign.
Palabras por Carmen D.
spat forth on el 30 de Marzo, 2008 at 02:16 PM
Carmen D.
dijo:
Yes it is sickening la molina. And although it's off topic I must disagree that the Tawana Brawley mess was a total eff up. I believed her too and make no apologies for that. The problem as I see it is that Sharpton and his team refused to accept that Brawley lied once the evidence against her was irrefutable. That was a shame because it tainted the fact that like those of true rape victims, claims of violation should be taken seriously.
Palabras por Carmen D.
spat forth on el 30 de Marzo, 2008 at 02:22 PM
Katie dijo:
By the way, Carmen, I still prefer to believe that Ms. Brawley got it wrong but didn't deliberately lie.
How can you get your own story wrong without deliberately lying?
By being very, very shaken/stressed.
Palabras por Katie spat forth on el 30 de Marzo, 2008 at 03:46 PM
M
dijo:
That's the Duke Lacrosse case with Crystal Mangum. The Tawana Brawley case is different.
Palabras por M
spat forth on el 30 de Marzo, 2008 at 05:30 PM
La Molina
dijo:
carmen d.
Your right. I was referring to Sharpton's poor handling of the case. Not whether Tawana Brawley is a liar. I'm with Katie, her story maybe inconsistent due to trauma. We'll never know.
Palabras por La Molina
spat forth on el 30 de Marzo, 2008 at 06:59 PM
Carmen D.
dijo:
Hey Katie. That is absolutely true!
M, on Fox the phrase "Tawana Brawley" is used as a punchline.
Absolutely la molina. I agree.
Palabras por Carmen D.
spat forth on el 30 de Marzo, 2008 at 07:31 PM
Katie dijo:
Whoops, sorry about the name mix-up. *blush*
Palabras por Katie spat forth on el 3 de Abril, 2008 at 06:19 PM
Katie dijo:
Oh my gosh...that's so horrible.
*childlike voice* I want her to be all better...
Palabras por Katie spat forth on el 3 de Abril, 2008 at 06:22 PM
Katie dijo:
*third post*--whoops--just went back up above.
So wait a second...that story linked to wasn't the case?
errrrrrgh.
Palabras por Katie spat forth on el 3 de Abril, 2008 at 06:24 PM