Regarding the supposed "hate crime" at Guilford College, WGHP Fox 8 News in Greensboro reports on a controversial letter written by Guilford College’s Director of Multicultural Education on January 2 to students of color and/or international students. In it there is a very Duke-Gang-of-88-esque tack of blowing things way out of proportion and responding with institutional racism in response to the thought of a racist act.
Meanwhile, the Greensboro Police Department has completed its investigation and said there was no evidence that would allow them to proceed with the case. The accused say they were defending themselves that night; their families issued a press release criticizing the media and the college official for "inaccurate portrayal of these young men" and state (and boy does this sound familiar), "When all of the FACTS are revealed, we believe that those who are sensationalizing this story will be rightly embarrassed and hope the retractions will receive the same level of visibility as premature and false charges."
The families said the letter by the director, Sekinah Hamlin, "greatly inflamed emotions needlessly."
In her letter, Hamlin wrote "What happened to these three young men could have happened to any one of us," knowing full well that few students were going to get in a bar fight with a mixed-race group of football players. "This is the reality of racism and no institution, including Guilford, in this country, is free of it."
Jon Sanders,
February 1, 2007
