Black Voices

Issue date: 11/16/07 Section: Opinion

Megan Williams after being freed.

Megan Williams, 20, a resident of Charleston, West Virginia, was abducted and held captive for at least a week by six white individuals, three males and three females, all between ages 20 and 49.

While in captivity she was forced to eat feces, drink from a toilet, stabbed, choked, sexually assaulted by her male and female captors, and forced to lick blood amongst other things.

The six suspects are being charged with sexual assault, punishable by 15 to 35 years in prison, kidnapping, punishable by a life sentence, malicious wounding and battery, but not the federal charge of a hate crime; even though while torturing the victim the assailants said, "This is what we do to niggers around here."

On Thursday, October 18 the women of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. held a letter writing campaign in support of Megan Williams. The purpose was to encourage the district attorney to increase the charges against her offenders by considering it a hate crime.

The sorority's event began with students sharing their initial reactions to what seemed like a horror story or an urban legend. Some were in disbelief of the atrocities this young woman endured.

Others were saddened by the fact that even after the Jena 6 incident they were not in the least bit surprised something like this could happen.

Bethlehem Mengesha, a senior majoring in health promotion and disease prevention and chapter secretary, led the discussion by asking students why it would be important for the six individuals to face hate crime charges in addition to the aforementioned charges they currently face.

One student responded by saying it is important to affix the label of hate crime to such instances where the crime is so blatantly racist because Americans tend to overlook racism as if it does not exist.

When Brianne Sanford, a senior majoring in public policy and international relations and financial secretary for the sorority, encouraged the group to share where they heard about Megan Williams' case as well as the Jena 6 the discussion took a slight turn.

Almost everyone in the room said that they heard about the two instances or read more information on the cases once they saw the groups on Facebook.

If Paris Hilton breaks a fingernail we hear about it on every national news station, magazine and website but how long did it take for the Jena 6 story to be publicized, especially considering it happened last fall?

Continued...

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