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Episode #2021
When Crosses Burn
Voiceover: A burning cross ablaze with flames, a clear and affirmed sign of racial intimidation and hatred. Who would ever have thought a progressive, ethnically diverse metropolitan city would extinguish three of them in a night? Not the residents of Durham, North Carolina but that's exactly what happened. Tonight we'll talk with community leaders about what should happen next. That's coming up on Black Issues Forum. Stay tuned.
[INTRO MUSIC]
Voiceover: Funding for this program is made possible in part by UNC-TV members.
[THEME MUSIC]
Holt: Good evening. I'm Deborah Holt in for Mitchell Lewis and Natalie Bullock Brown. Welcome to Black Issues Forum. The state and nation were recently rocked by the report of three crosses set afire in three different locations in Durham. Now that the shock has worn down, what needs to happen in the coming weeks, months, perhaps years, not only to prevent this type of act from recurring, but to address the underlying issues signified by this act. Tonight we have members from the State and Durham City Human Relations Commission to share with us conversations and strategies that are taking place as a result of the burnings. We'll meet them in just a moment, but first let's take a look at some of the immediate reactions to the May, 2005 incident in Durham.
Voiceover: At this intersection in Durham where Holloway Street meets Dillard, there's only the sound of the peaceful outdoors, interrupted every so often by the engine noise of traffic whizzing by. But recently, on the eve of May 26th, 2005, this intersection was the site of a seven-foot symbol of hatred and terror, one of three erected in the city that night.
"My first reaction to hearing about the cross-burnings was truly just shock, and then.you know, I think myself and a lot of other community members just thought we were far beyond this,.knowing we're not far beyond racism, but far beyond this kind of.out there, senseless.terrorism."
Voiceover: On Wednesday night, May 25th, around 9:45 p.m., Durham police received a report of a seven-foot cross burning on top of this pile of dirt, located on South Roxboro Street, near the Martin Luther King , Jr. Parkway, and an apartment complex construction site. Just 30 minutes earlier, at 9:15, 911 had received a call about a similar cross-burning at the intersection of I-85 and Hillandale Rd., and at about 10:30 that night, a third cross was reported burning, near Holloway and Dillard Streets downtown. The incident shocked, saddened, and even frightened many community members, but it failed to paralyze them with fear.
"Upon hearing about the cross-burnings in town I was shaken, just like a lot of people, but also convinced that a swift community action was important just to show that Durham wasn't going to stand up for this kind of intimidation or harassment or terrorism in that form."
Voiceover: In response to the cross-burnings, Andrew Pearson worked with local churches and other groups concerned about peace and justice issues to organize candle vigils at the site of each cross-burning and also plant a symbol of healing to replace the memory of the symbol of pain.
Pearson: For us planting a tree here was really symbolic of the idea that justice needs nurturing, that we all need to come together, and, and really be very consistent and active in watering sort of, the seeds of hope, um, and acknowledging that the ground that racism grows in, you know it's rocky and it's filled with weeds, and it takes a lot of community effort to really sort of, you know, nurture the way for something better to grow there.
Female: Well with that love it can be a thing.touch the moon.
Voiceover: Even with the hope that this sapling tree represents, Andrew recognizes a bigger question looming in the minds of the Durham community:
Pearson: One of the questions that the community brought up at the vigil was, you know, it's great that we're here now and it's great that we've turned out because of a cross-burning, but you know, where are we going to be next week; how many people are going to be involved in the struggle for justice in a month's time?"
Voiceover: In an effort to see to it that incident does register and last far beyond a wake-up call, a week following the incidents, leaders from the City of Durham and the State, the Character Development Group, Duke University and North Carolina Central University partnered to organize a community response at the B.N. Duke Auditorium on the campus of NCCU.
Dr. Ammons: As Chancellor of North Carolina Central University, we are going to look at ways that we can better educate the community about tolerance, and begin to offer programs that discuss and offer solutions that will unite our city.
Voiceover: The event brought citizens together for the screening of a documentary entitled, "An Unlikely Friendship," produced by Diane Boone. The film recounts the growing relationship African-American civil rights activist Ian Atwater and C. P. Ellis, the exalted Grand Cyclops of the Durham Klu Klux Klan. In the early 70s, when Durham underwent severe racial tension, these two were appointed to co-chair a community committee, to resolve problems arising from court-ordered public school desegregation. The film served as an appropriate reminder of the city's past, and opened many citizens' eyes tit h issues of racism that still existed in the city of Durham, in North Carolina, and throughout our nation.
Female: I think that, you know, it's all well and good for, you know, those of us who are like-minded, who share the same, you know, beliefs, to get together and talk about how we affirm justice and how we affirm racial tolerance. But we need to, as one gentleman said, we need to seek out people who don't feel that way and engage them because there's obviously something going on.
Male: I think it's a positive thing that, the fact that the crosses got burned is such a rare event that it made such news. If this was really a divisive community things like this would be popping up a lot more often. But at the same time are there a lot of undercurrents that we in the white community just don't know about?
Female: I think that the cross burning are very intimidating, because I was speaking with my grandmother and she was telling me about when she was growing up and how she had to deal with seeing all the racial hatred signs all over the place, and I thought that they were just stories. So when I heard about the cross-burnings on the 25th of May, I was terrified because-I was terrified because I didn't realize that it would be something that I would have to live through in my lifetime."
Holt: We're talking about the recent cross-burnings that occurred in Durham in May 2005 on Black Issues Forum tonight, and right now I'd like to welcome our guests. First, Reverend G. I. Allison, Executive Director of the North Carolina Human Relations Commission. Reverend Allison is also pastor of New Hope Missionary Baptist Church in Greensboro, and served as Executive Director of the North Carolina NAACP for three years. We also have Larry Holt, Executive Director of the Durham Human Relations Commission. Welcome to both of you. Thanks you for joining us this evening.
Guests: Thank you.
Holt: What was your reaction when you heard about the cross-burnings, Reverend Allison?
Allison: Well immediately I spoke to one of our investigators and told him that we needed to go over to Durham and work with the Human Relations Commission to investigate the site, see if there's any evidence in particular that we could find. Also, my next reaction was the fact that this is a hate crime, because when crosses are burned, historically in America, it is trying to send a hate message to someone.
Holt: And you've actually been a witness, in a way, to a cross burning in your lifetime...
Allison: Yes, in my much younger years I saw one burning many years ago. I was a teenager, and it was sitting out in a field. No one knew specifically who it was aimed at but we saw it many years ago.
Holt: And where was that?
Allison: This was in Orange County, northern Orange County, and it happened historically during the time just prior to the desegregation of school, of the public school system.
Holt: And Larry, what was your reaction?
L. Holt: Certainly I was appalled about what had happened, and from the Human Relations Commission standpoint, it was necessary to pull together an emergency meeting of the-of the commissioners to see what we could do to deal with this problem, because as part of our responsibility in dealing with racial tension issues, that was something that we had to pull together, a planning session to strategize our next move. And the result of that was the Peace, Unity. and Reconciliation Rally we had this past week.
Holt: Now what are you hearing from the public about their reactions? What's sort of the feeling in the Durham community?
L. Holt: To tell you the truth it was pretty much all over the spectrum, there was certainly the fear element, there was the expression of just people totally being appalled and surprised that something like this would happen. But at the same time, from certain elements, some elements of the community where there was this apathy from the standpoint-"Well, you know, what else is new?" That we really shouldn't be focusing on that particular issue itself but instead to, from a community standpoint, to work on identifying and addressing issues and solving problems. And so, from that point forward hence has been our strategy from the Human Relations Commission, to continue to do exactly that.
Holt: That kind of raises the issue of the question of, was this a random act or a teen prank that has been batted around.
Allison: Well it's certainly not a random act, 'cause as we viewed the construction of the crosses, the location of the crosses-that in and of itself said it was not random. Secondly, when you look at the construction of the crosses itself, it was not random; it was well planned. So it was not a teen prank, it was not something someone just decided suddenly to go do. Another reason we think it was not a random act is because this issue, this incident, happened on the same day, it was actually on the evening of the same day that the verdict was handed down on the-from the courts- on the hangman's noose in the workplace in the Department of Transportation, and that verdict whereas stated that there was-that the hangman's noose indeed is not supposed to be there, but at the same time did not hold anyone responsible for it, for the act. So whereas that sent a mixed message to the community. Then this happens right on the-right afterwards.
Holt: Now Reverend Allison, you were talking a little bit about the construction of the crosses and Larry, it sounded like, as we talked a little bit earlier, before the program, you knew a little more about the details of the construction of the cross. Can you talk a little about that?
L. Holt: Well, for one, and I agree with Mr. Allison here in that it definitely took some planning 'cause you have to pretty much order a good bit of burlap. You have to soak it and then you have to plan on how you're going to quickly, erect a seven-foot cross in a number of different locations and set it afire and then to be able to get away without necessarily being caught doing it. So it definitely took some planning and some coordination to pull this off.
Holt: Well speaking of random incidents and the nature of random incidents as well as the frequency of them, the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama, who deals with hate crimes on a regular basis, says that rarely is cross-burning to be interpreted a random incident. According to the Center some twenty to thirty cross-burnings are reported across the nation every year, a number of them in North Carolina. Now this, on this graphic you are about to see, is just a listing of recent incidents that were actually reported and on record in out state. They've taken place in Cumberland County, Lexington, Lincolnton, Sparta, Gastonia, Dunn, Burke County, and now in Durham. Is it a surprise, a total surprise, that something like this would happen in Durham, given the current and brewing social climate in Durham?
L. Holt: Well, from the standpoint that it wasn't really expected or anticipated, right? And so you, basically open the paper the next day and say, "Cross-burning!" Not only you had a cross burning, you had three of them within a short period of time. And it also happened during a week of, quite frankly, a lot celebration for a lot of families because of high school graduations. And so it kind of put a damper on that. But it was definitely a surprise when you open up the paper the next day and it pretty much hits you in the face.
Holt: Given the social climate, once again, Rev. Allison, the kinds of thing that the City of Durham has undergone in the-in recent years, in terms of the changing demographic, the growing economic environment and also reports of gang violence, is it totally surprising to you that something like this would have happened?
Allison: Well, it's surprising in the way that, in the sense that it happened at this particular time, in that one would not anticipate what I would consider to be a throwback mentality of the 50s and 60s that happened in 2005. And from that perspective yes, it is a surprise. On the other hand, when you look at the social climate and look at the dramatic problems that exist not only in Durham but in the state as well as in our nation, no, in that sense it is not a surprise because during times of economic distress people behave in strange and unusual ways. And they will act out their anger and their frustration in ways that may be intimidating to others.
Holt: Now some members of the Hispanic community have reportedly stated that they didn't even realize that this was a racial threat, although they knew that this was not a good thing that was happening. What would you say, and the answer may be obvious, is the significance in meaning of a burning cross? And who is it, who is the message directed to? Reverend Allsion?
Allison: Okay, it's not surprising that the Hispanic and Latino community may not be as surprised, or may not see it as a hate crime, because they have not lived through the history of racial intimidation, racial segregation, racial hatred, period in his country, as African-Americans have, that's one thing. Second thing is, African-Americans did not come here on their own free will, they came against their will, but in the process of it built the economic structure of this entire country, whereas, the Hispanic and Latino come here because they're seeking the opportunity to be a part of this economic situation that is much better than where they hail from. So as a result of that, their history is different from ours. So we're not surprised that they do not see it as a hate crime. But they may know it as not something good, but at the same time it does not have the same impact on their lives as it has on ours, those people who have lived through it in days past and gone. .
Holt: Now Larry, I imagine there are folks who would argue with that summation. And probably on your work at the Commission you're hearing from a variety of different groups that would be threatened by this kind of an act.
L. Holt: Well, on the Commission we do have a-we have a couple of Hispanic persons, and from them, they would like to know, "What does it really mean?" I mean, and what information can we get on it to try to understand it? So even for members on our own Commission, in this particular instance, we would look to provide them some information, some background, so they can basically take this information and go share it with their own members in the community because we do need to expand the-once they're here, it'll be, it'll behoove of them to learn a little bit more about the history of a lot of the people here, probably just as much as we would probably need to learn a little bit about their history. So we've got some education to do.
Holt: And that's all a part of the, I guess reaction and follow up. And these events have certainly galvanized a number of different groups. Who's involved, who's kind of come together through what you've been witnessing?
L. Holt: Well, from what has been happening, and by the time we had put on the Peace, Unity, and Reconciliation Rally on Sunday we had over some fifty organizations willing to participate and join with us-I mean we've had a number of churches, in the community, we've had black organizations like the NAACP and the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People, we've had a number of various volunteer organizations just willing to just step up to the plate and just ask to do what they can do. But it was very great to see the coming together. And by the time we had that event it was about 12 days of unity that we basically had in this community. And my message to them was, "Can we get 12 more days and then 12 more days after that?" How we get-keep this string of-and unification going on? And one of the charges that I delivered in that session was, "Okay, we're here now, but probably the reason we got here is because maybe there are some problems out there that we as a community are not really effectively trying to address and solve. So when we leave here, that's the thing that we're going to have to do going forward, is to really identify those issues, to address those issues, really have some serious, honest discussion so that we can understand various points of view, and see what we can do to continue to remain together as a community."
Holt: What have been some specific recommendations, proposals that you're hearing from the community, from the public, about next steps, realistic next steps? Because so often we have these discussions.
L. Holt: Right.
Holt: .and these forums, and everyone comes together, and they're excited and after that they go home and that's the end of it.
L. Holt: Well in our case we actually have had people to actually sign up for various committees, for discussion items. For instance, there's the one with the school system, the school board, a number of those things. Well, if you've got some concerns with that particular issue or you want to understand a lot more why certain people are having certain issues in schools, then, please participate on that committee. There's one for gangs, to see what we can do for the youth in our community. There's one on homelessness, if you want to work on that issue. There was one on-quite frankly, just from--the Human Relations Commission itself, was just to spark people's interest, because we could use the additional help, and from those various aspects. So what we were looking to do right now is to pull together the logistics for these various committees. We're in the process of contacting these folks and probably doing it as we speak, so that we can get these folks together and so that we don't lose momentum and we continue to go forward. And so on a monthly, every other month basis, we can provide information to the community to keep the community plugged in. So that's we're looking to do.
Holt: Reverend Allison, is this kind of activity going on statewide? And if so, how can people find out what's happening in there own community?
Allison: We're constantly doing it on a statewide basis because we work with police departments, we work with other agencies, we work with housing agencies to educate them on the issues of hate crime and what we can do to help people understand first of all, there are differences; we all come from different backgrounds but we can all learn to be tolerant of each other and we can celebrate our differences rather than be angry and try to destroy one another because of our differences. So that's the work that we do in an ongoing way across the state.
Holt: Is there any particular group or issue that's particularly challenging, that folks need to unify over and really kind of target? Does there seem to be any specific area that's a hotbed for brewing dissention?
Allison: Any particular group in the state?
Holt: In the state an issue, because what you said earlier, in terms of the cross-burning which you witnessed when you were a youngster, it was centered around public school integration and seems to even in the civil rights movement have been the hot seat of topics when it comes to folks. Why that particular issue, do you think, Larry?
L. Holt: Well I think that's pretty interesting because when I attended the event at North Carolina Central, where there was the viewing of the unlikely friendship that the two individuals there actually came about, came together as a result of school issues.Ian Atwater and C. P. Ellis, and this was back in the 70s. So when you fast forward that situation to the present, you're kind of seeing some semblances of that, again with school board kind of situations, where there's this divisiveness that's coming together and so now, from a repeat of what had happened multiple times we're seeing it coming around again, and it looks like education seems to be right in the center of it.
Holt: And is the State Board of Education's, and the "No Child Left Behind Events," and the achievement gap, those kinds of things, do you suppose those might be influencing the detention?
Allison: Let's not leave out the end-of-grade testing and that type thing. All those things also fuel tension because parents don't want to see their children fail. And when there are struggles within the school system or struggles within the school board, let's say, and the county board of commissioners, or struggles within the school board itself or between school board and administration, again, people act out their anger and frustrations in ways that that are not really good for the continuance of tolerance, for the continuance of working together, for the continuance of unity, and peace in the community. So again, it goes back to parents, really, loving their children. And that's a good thing. But at the same time we have to realize that all parents love their children, it doesn't matter what type of background those parents come from or what type of home those children come from, all parents love their children. And as a result of that we need to develop a system that meets the need for all children.
L. Holt: And I'd like to add that there is some-that can galvanize some common ground, because, particularly when you have situations with suspensions for instance. And there is this miscommunication, lack of communication between the administration and the parents. And they can't seem to get an understanding as to what's going on, why it's going on and where they can help. It creates a lot of frustration and anger. So that can drive a lot of this. And so from a solution standpoint we need to get in front of that kind of problem, to work on it, because just like Mr. Allison said, it's across the board, it's a uniform thing, so that gives us something to find some common ground with.
Holt: Absolutely! And there's a lot more that we would like to talk about and discuss, but believe or not, we have to close out. I'd like to thank our guests for coming out to talk about these critical issues with us this evening. If you'd like a transcript of tonight's show please visit us at www.unctv.org/bif. And when you visit please give us your comments and your suggestions. You can also call us on the BIF-line at (919) 549-7167. Join us each and every Friday night at 9:30 for more stimulating discussion. For Black Issues Forum I'm Deborah Holt. Thank you for joining us. Have a good night.
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