I was disturbed when I heard about the recent possible hate crime at my alma mater University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP). The incident involved an apparent noose hanging near the Nyumburu Cultural Center, which is the building that houses the Black faculty association and the Black campus newspaper the Black Explosion. (What ever happened to the Eclipse newspaper?) I was a little disappointed in the Washington Post article, “U-Md. Responds to Possible Hate Crime”—how do you do an article about this and not mention the Jena 6? Anyway, it was good to see that the UMCP President C. D. Mote Jr. responded with seriousness and concern, considering it a potential hate crime. If the culprits are ever found, I couldn’t imagine that incident would be dismissed as a prank…sound familiar Louisiana?
Related Links:
- Video: University of Maryland Students ‘Speak-Out’ About Noose (ABC 7 News WJLA, 09/11/2007)
- Hate Crime Witnesses Sought (Diamondback, 09/10/2007