6A
NEWS/(B^e Charlotte $o«t
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Duke rape case wearing
thin for Durham blacks
By Sommer Brokaw
THE TTUANGLE TRIBUNE
DUREIAM — Hie case of a
North Carolina Central
University student who
alleges she was raped by
three members of the Duke
University lacrosse team has
saturated the news market
before a trial has even start
ed,
African-American residents
have mixed reactions to aU
the media attention.
“There are more important
things going on in our com-
mimity that don’t get that
type of coverage,” said
Juanita Allen, an information
and case assistant specialist
for the Coordinating Coimcdl
for Senior Citizens. “Good
things are going on in our
community that doesn’t get
that kind of cover^e.”
Wth a new report just
released that said Durham
Police didn’t take the investi
gation s^ously, and many in
the community believing the
case took too long to begin
with, some doiibt the truth
will ever come out.
“I don’t think we’ll ever
know,” Allen said. “I think
there is her side, their side,
and what reall}’’ happened.
Tbo much time has passed to
say this is the truth.”
Resident Don Williams
agrees that all the att^tion
on the case is taking away
from the focus on other com
munity issues-
Williams said there should
be more of an emphasis on
the schools, especially with
Judge Howard Manning’s let
ter stating that Hillside and
Southern high schools are in
jeopardy
“The focus has been taken
off that for student achieve
ment,” he said. ‘T beheve that
people in our neighborhoods
should get involved, and
churches and people of faith
should jump on the bandwag
on instead of just jumping on
the bandwagon in the
lacrosse case.”
TWo lacrosse players, Reade
Sehgmann, 20, of Essex Fells,
N.J., and Collin Finnerty 19
of Garden City Long Island,
have been indicted on rape
chaiges.
District Attorney Mike
Nifong issued a statement
that investigation into the
identity of a third assailant
would continue.
“If those gu}^ are guilty, it’s
wrong what they did,”
Williams said. ‘Tm not saying
to overlook that, but there
should be more of a fixus on
Durham
Schools
sued
Continued from page 2A
representing R.A. Sipple and
Joseph Costa, the two
deputies named in the law
suit, declined to comment on
the case because it’s pending
litigation. Defense attorneys
for the school board couldn’t
be reached at press time.
Parents in the lawsuit say
it’s a serious issue.
‘Discrimination is happen
ing and people in Durham
need to wake up and see it
because it’s for real,” said
Wilmer Johnson.
Johnson’s son, Desmond,
was suspended for the year
after getting in a fi^t at
Jordan High, but his father
said that was rmfair.
“They’re going to fight,
they’re going to disagree; as
long as it doesn’t continue to
be a constant disruption, as
long as the kids are not a
threat to the staff or the stu
dent body they shouldn’t
have to be penalized as
severely” he said.
Cassandra Jenkins, whose
18-year-old daughter,
Jazmyn Jenkins also attends
Jordan, said; “On her first
occurrence, my daughter got
10 days; other white children
get three or four days,” she
said.
academic achievement and
tryir^ to build better schools
here in Durham.”
Williams also raised the
issue of whether all the
media publicity would affect
the trial.
“As long as they keep it in
the public’s eyes, the more
people become more aware of
the case which is really going
to cause problems for the
prosecution,” he said. ‘T don’t
think they are going to find
an impartial jury”
But others say the more
'coverage the better.
‘T want to know every
thing,” said Solomon
Burnette, a junior history
major at NCCU. “If I’m
informed three to four weeks
after an occurrence within
the case, I would like to know
why the public wasn’t
informed immediately and
whose decision it was that I
wasn’t informed immediately
Regardless of whether the
woman was assaulted or not,
her being accused and
ridiculed represents hyper-
raciahzed patriai*chal teiTor-
ization of a relatively defense
less woman.”
Julius Tbussaint, owner of
The Artistry Academy also
supports continued coverage.
“Number one, it needs to stay
in the media imtil the truth
or the facts come out,” he
said. ‘Number two, the rea
son people are sick of this is
because we are Americans,
and we live in a fast-food soci
ety world; we want every
thing quick and over with. It’s
not necessarily sad, it’s just a
reflection of how our society.
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