Sunday, April 22, 2007

NCCU's "Campus Echo" Responds to Exoneration of Hoax Victims With Call to Arms

In a frighteningly militant response to the end of the Hoax, North Carolina Central University student columnist, Solomon Burnette calls for black men, women, and children to wage the war against white people in the current issue of the Campus Echo. With a "reminder" that the time to fight is now, Burnette suggests that "fear of physical retribution" is the only deterrent to "legally, socially and economically validated" murder, beatings, and rape by whites against blacks. Despite the comprehensive investigation conducted by the special prosecutors of Attorney General Roy Cooper and regardless of the resultant unequivocal exoneration, Burnette attempts to summon hate to match his own with his call to arms.

Ignoring independent witness Jason Bissey's recent debunking of the n-word myth, Burnette turns the Campus Echo into the equal but opposite number of the Vanguard News Network as he unleashes hateful rhetoric unmatched by even the unconscionable words of fellow student Chan Hall, the student government who told Newsweekthat the players should be prosecuted "whether it happened or not. It would be justice for things that happened in the past." Burnette's hate speech reminds one of New Black Panther Party Chief of Staff Min. Hashim A. Nzinga who assailed the innocent Reade Seligmann with a venomous, "Justice Will Be Done Rapist" as he attempted to enter the Durham County Courthouse and the words of a yet unidentified New Black Panther Party member who threatened Mr. Selgimann with, "Dead Man Walking" on the way out of the courtroom.

Burnette's spew:
Death to all rapists

On March 13, 2006, some forty affluent white men solicited the presence of two black women on (former) plantation property for the explicit purposes of racially denigrating, disrespecting, and exploiting them.

“Tell your Granddaddy thanks for making my cotton shirt,” they were reported to have said.

The women were, according to all accounts, called “nigger” and told to penetrate themselves with broomsticks (see Abner Louima). One of these women said that she was raped by three of these inebriated white men. People in power and those without disbelieved her. This is sickening.

I am not surprised at the outcome of the case. As a son of Africa, I know that American law is not worth the paper it is written upon. We all saw L.A. Gestapo beat Rodney King only to be acquitted. We were dismayed when the assassins of Amadou Diallo, who laced his area with a forty-one shot spectrum, were also acquitted. These injustices reflect the current disequilibrium in the American justice system.

We black people (while we may be able to bribe judges like white people) cannot expect justice from the American legal system, period.

Why are black people so apt to view this situation through a legal system created to perpetuate our repression?

The ‘facts’ of the case should not matter to us because even if we are unsure of sexual assault, these supremacists have admitted to sexually, racially and politically denigrating these women. Strippers or not, this must be addressed.

History has shown us that the (in)justice system cannot and will not address these issues because it is built upon them. So upon whose shoulders should the responsibility of retributive correction fall?

White people still murder us with impunity. White people still beat us with impunity. White people still rape us and get away with it.

The only deterrent to these legally, socially and economically validated supremacist actions is the fear of physical retribution.

Black men, stand up. Black women, stand up. Black children, stand up. We have been at war here with these same white people for 500 years.

The time to fight, whether intellectually, artistically or physically, has always been now.

The decision of the Campus Echo to publish Burnette's violent message of hatred and top it with a headline calling for death undermines the efforts of NCCU Chancellor James Ammons' call for closure and healing while praising the University communities patience and calm.
Outgoing North Carolina Central University Chancellor James Ammons said, “The Attorney General’s Office made an assessment today that brings closure to the Duke Lacrosse case.”

“Now that the investigation has concluded, let the healing begin and the growth continue.” Wilmington Journal

"There is a lot we can learn from this, and I am just really proud of the NCCU family and [that] the larger community remained calm, even though there was a temptation to do otherwise," Ammons said in an interview with the Campus Echo, the student newspaper.

"The chancellor praised members of the university family for their patience in the days when many were jumping to conclusions about the guilt or innocence of the lacrosse players, who were accused of rape." Black America Web

Throughout the Hoax, Chancellor Ammons has been the antithesis to Duke University President Brodhead. While Ammons offered a much needed voice of calm and demonstrated great love for his students in a sincere, if unpolished, manner, his counterpart Brodhead sold out his students with a mellifluous voice and articulate words. Substance over style has defined the difference. Sadly, the Echo's decision to publish Burnette's hate filled diatribe works against Ammons' continued efforts while seemingly validating the worst that has been said of the local racial landscape. Demonstrating poor judgment, at best, the Echo's willingness to confirm the exaggerated impressions created by Chan Hall and the rabid participants of the April 10, 2006 "Pep Rally for Indictments" can only serve to further diminish the world's view of Durham and NCCU.

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

Can you imagine the outrage if a campus paper published a piece calling for a war against black people because "fear of physical retribution" is the only deterrent to "legally, socially and economically validated" murder, beatings, and rape by BLACKS against WHITES.
What is wrong with these people??!! UGGGHHHHH.....

Anonymous said...

This sad piece of work is part of why racism will always be alive and well. And if people like Burnette can't see that, well, they have my sympathy. Hate doesn't heal hate. Why is that so hard to understand?

Anonymous said...

I don't blame Collin and Reade for deciding against returning to Duke. It is in Durham after all.

Anonymous said...

Reade and Collin would not be safe in Durham. If someone from NCCU were not trying to impose "justice" on them, then I can imagine what the Durham police thugs and the DA's office would do.

No, Durham has shown its true colors in this past year. While there are many brave and decent people there, like Beth Brewer and Jon Ham, it also is full of people like Michael B. Nifong, and they hold all the power.

TruthHurts001 said...

Pure, unadulterated black racism.

Rest assured the mainstream media will ignore this.

Anonymous said...

I am sure we will find tomorrow that this sad excuse of a fellow will be hounded down by Sharpton and Jackson and asked to resign following a very public apology in line with a similar radio host ?

Why is it that blacks feel they are never racist?

Anonymous said...

These are the kind of comments that will only drive many folk back into the arms of the KKK.

So sad and so unnecessary!

I hope you are well pleased with yourself and the sorry mess you have stirred up Mr Nifong, you evil person?

TruthHurts001 said...

These are the kind of comments that will only drive many folk back into the arms of the KKK.

I disagree. In my experience, white folks despise the KKK, and will NOT respond to hate by embracing hate.

However...

I do hope that folks OF ALL COLORS will STOP giving a pass to black racists, and loudly condemn such hate speech.

Anonymous said...

Is this the same newspaper that last spring had a student reporter find some things that hurt CGM's story and then opted to not publish them. Now this spring they opt to publish this call to violence? This will not help Durham image nor will it help to encourage visitors to come and spend their money in town. I think recruiters for other Division 1 teams (not Duke) will use this article to help in their efforts to woo potentiol students. What was the Campus Echo thinking? If violence erupts against Duke Lacrosse players, can the Campus Echo be held responsible for printing this?

Anonymous said...

Why is this student's hate message not being considered worthy of further investigation to see if he is a threat to people. This rings of KKK talk with just the color of a person's skin being changed. Again, the double standard is present with a lack of outrage being absent. Where are the ethics of the student newspaper?

Anonymous said...

Why didn't Burnette identify the original source, Chris Rock, a black man, for the "cotton shirt" comment?

Oh, I forgot. It's considerd hip when black entertainers use words like n****r, ho, and otherwise disparage other black people.

If Burnette, as a "son of Africa, thinks he is getting such a shitty deal here in the US, please, he should take a hike. We'll trade him for someone from Africa who would like to come to the US and make something of himself rather than spew Burnette's type of hateful garbage. He is a disgrace.

Anonymous said...

I think the things mainstream black leaders (Jackson, Sharpton, NAACP) say and do are just as offensive and vile as what Mr. Burnette has written. If not, perhaps his words will be condemned, as they should be, by the black community. Just as the vast majority of whites do not condone much less hateful, non-violent remarks from whites.

Anonymous said...

The Campus Echo only takes comments from the NCCU community and by their rules, they will edit for, among other things, vulgarity. It's unfortunate they don't know vulgar when they write it.

Anonymous said...

Carolyn says:

Oh, my god, this is sick! This is not the 'wisdom of Solomon', this is the hate of Julius Streicher in Nazi Germany. Only this time, it's not the uniforms that are black.

Anonymous said...

Comments like this, from someone in "an historically black university' [What exactly is that by the way?] matched with the attitude of the black community throughout this case, added to the jury nullification in the Simpson case, have pretty well convinced me that 'integration' may not be a very good idea after all. I don't want to live around people who hate so and who judge every issue under the Sun only on how it relates to blacks. No to reparations. No to affirmative action. No to race-hate mongers like Jackson and Al nee' Thurmond Sharpton.

Anonymous said...

This is scary stuff - good reason to get out of Durham if you can,
11:06 They are to busy investigating Nurse Tara and Dr Manly for their signature mess up, on the DiVinci sheet. This shows what is really important.

Mandelbrot's Chaos said...

I agree with Truthhurts. My late grandfather, God rest his soul, knew the KKK was a bunch of bad actors when he was younger than I am, and they haven't gotten any better since then. He was no liberal, but he taught my mother to judge people based on who they are, not the color of their skin. No, if anything, this lunatic's words will cause another generation to be divided by race, and unlike what how it was in the past with the Jim Crow laws, this time it will be at the behest of the leaders of the African-American community. Hate knows no race, gender, religion or the lack thereof, etc., and advocating violence and threatening speech, isn't that what that Virginia Tech lunatic did before he offed 32 innocent people? This ********* should be wearing a sheet and a hood.

Anonymous said...

Lest he who has not punched his own mother in the face, cast the first stone. Interesting info on this clown's criminal record on the LS discussion board...
~ground n pound~

Anonymous said...

Would someone please supply a citation to the Chris Rock quote (see Scott said... above). Although the grandfather--cotton shirt "slur" has been attributed to Rock numerous times, I have yet to see a citation to where he actually said it.

Anonymous said...

To NCCU's credit, they removed the piece from their website today

Anonymous said...

To NCCU's credit? Hate speech like that never should have been on the website in the first place.

Anonymous said...

This guy is seriously disturbed. It was irresponsible to publish his intentionally inflammatory remarks. Giving him a platform to spew his hatred and encourage physical violence is as bad as NBC airing the VT killer's video. Where has responsible journalism gone?

Anonymous said...

Sponken like the felon Burnette is.

Anonymous said...

I am a NCCU student and I absolutely do not agree with Mr. Burnette's article. I feel his frustrations are misplaced and are not expressed constructively. There is and has been a frustration with the unfairness in America's justice system of not just Americans of African descent but other minorities, poor Americans of European descent, and decent people period. This is a fact. A fact that has been true long before the "Duke 3". This frustration was further exacerbated by the overwhelming outrage by a very vocal and well funded segment of America. A segment that has never raised a voiced concerning the many injustices many Americans have been dealing with for years. And since the case has been dropped this same segment has not uttered a peep about the unfairness others in America are continuing to face. Mr. Burnette's call to "get whitey" was wrong and destructive. I feel that Mr. Burnette should have rather gave voice to the afore mentioned frustrations many Americans feel. In doing so I believe that the good people who were outraged over the Duke case will be even more outraged to find out that such cases have and still occur to many American not only in Durham but all over America everyday. Such good people will not only seek justice for three Americans but for all Americans.