Durham, N.C.
Last spring, at the height of the frenzy over accusations that three Duke University men’s lacrosse players had gang raped a Black exotic dancer during a party, faculty from
Duke’s African and African American studies department chose to take a stand.
With emotions running high, the faculty decided to take out a full-page advertisement in student newspaper, the Duke Chronicle, quoting the fears that minority students had expressed in a recent campus forum.
“I wonder now about everything … if something like this happens to me, what would be used against me? My clothing?” one student had asked.
“This is not a different experience for us here at Duke University,” another student said. “We go to class with racist classmates, we go to the gym with people who are racists … It’s part of the experience.”
While almost no criminal evidence had been made public at that early stage as to whether a rape had actually occurred, professors felt that the Black students’ broader complaints over racism and sexism on campus should be aired.
“Black students were being told, ‘There isn’t any racism or sexism, and if you talk about that, you’re attacking the lacrosse players,’” recalls Dr. Wahneema Lubiano, an associate professor of literature in the AAAS department. “Every time we raised it, people told us to shut up.”
The ad received endorsements from a total of 88 professors representing 13 departments, mostly in the humanities.
The Chronicle ran the ad on April 6th, 2006, to little fanfare.
However, a year later, it has taken center stage in a blogger-fueled campaign against the professors, saying they falsely accused the lacrosse players. The issue has turned personal, and three professors have received death threats.
The rape charges have now been dismissed, the alleged victim has been largely discredited and District Attorney Mike Nifong is under investigation for ethics violations. With the case unraveling, the Group of 88, as they have been referred to, is now facing fierce criticism that their own biases fueled a “lynch-mob mentality” on campus that has destroyed the reputations of three young men, whose families are saddled with more than $3 million in legal fees. One lacrosse player has filed a lawsuit against visiting political science professor Kim Curtis, saying he was failed because he was a member of the team.
