TRIANGLE TRIBUNE.COM 1998 15YEARS the Tragic Media the Triangle 2013 Coverage of Tragedies
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WWW.TRIANGLE TRIBUNE.COM 1998 15YEARS The tragic media The Triangle 2013 coverage of tragedies By Thandisizwe Chimurenga with you, we’ve pulled our children THE LA WATTS TIMES tight. And you must know that whatever RIBUNE measure of comfort we can provide, we will TTHE TRIANGLE’S CHOICE FOR THE BLACK VOICE By the middle of December, most of us are provide; whatever portion of sadness that supposed to be engaged – full throttle – in we can share with you to ease this heavy load, we will gladly bear it.” VOLUME 15 NO. 1 the ritual of preparations for Christmas Day, WEE WEEKKOF OF JA JANNUARY6,2013UARY6,2013 $1.00 the week of Kwanzaa and the new year that Grief, sorrowandempathy withthose who follows. It is supposed to be a time of mer- haveexperiencedtragedyareallnatural,nor- riment and cheer. It is not supposed to be mal human emotions. Weariness and re- a time for the funerals of children. sentment are also normal human emotions ThetragedythatoccurredonDec.14,when – weariness over the constant exposure to Coach Adam Lanza walked into the Sandy Hook such tragedies and resentment over dis- ElementarySchoolinNewtown,Conn.,killing parate, sometimes racist treatment of the John Hill 20 children and six adults has dominated victims of tragedy – and the perpetrators of has Lincoln news coverage and our collective conscious- it – by the media. ness on a daily, almost nonstop basis. “There will never be an appropriate time (Pa.) in first SpeakingatavigilforthevictimsatNewtown to say that this nation only stands at atten- High School on Dec. 16, President Barack tion when the majority of victims are white place in Obama stated, “I can only hope it helps for Americans, as was the case at Sandy Hook CIAA North you to know that you’re not alone in your Elementary School in Newtown Connecticut, grief; that our world too has been torn apart; so I might as well say it today,” wrote Kirsten thatallacrossthislandofours,wehavewept See THE TRAGIC/2A Lincoln residents now able to rest easy By Taylor Shaw [email protected] DURHAM–Uncertaintyforthe residents of the Lincoln Apartmentscomplexturnedinto new hope as they celebrate the new year in their new homes. Five months ago, Morticia Williams, a part-time certified nursing assistant and single mother, moved into Lincoln apartments with her 7-year-old daughter.Hernieceandnephew later moved in after their moth- er died. Williams chose Lincoln due to its location, availability and affordability. In September, residents were given a notice to vacate by Oct. 31.Williamswasindismaywhen she discovered she would have to move from her new home. “I was devastated and stressed. I wondered why,” she said. “A lot of (the other fami- lies) that I talked to, they stayed OFFICE OF N.C.. GOV.BEV PERDUE there for years. They did not think this would take place.” North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue signs pardons for the Wilmington 10 on Dec. 31 in Raleigh. Below: A copy of the Rev. Ben Chavis’ pardon. The civil Some residents left immedi- rights activists were convicted in 1972 of bombing a grocery store in Wilmington and sentenced to nearly 300 years combined. ately, others after a few weeks. To many, their only option was to stay. By reaching out to city council members, the NAACP, Perdue pardons Wilmington 10 county commissioners and churches,theremainingtenants til proven guilty, not persecuted for stood together to find answers Governor cites racial learned about the Wilmington Ten, standing up for equal rights and jus- and solutions. the more appalled I have become bias in prosecution of tice.” Before the October deadline, about the manner in which their con- In addition to Chavis, the surviv- theLincolnHospitalFoundation victions were obtained,” Perdue said civil rights activists ing members of the Wilmington 10 agreed to work with the tenants in a news release Monday. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS are Reginald Epps, James McKoy, until the end of the year. The The three key witnesses in the case Wayne Moor, Marvin Patrick and goal was to find a meaningful later recanted their testimony. RALEIGH—OutgoingNorthCarolina Willie Earl Vereen. Those who have solutionthatwouldbenefitboth Amnesty International and other Gov. Beverly Perdue issued pardons died are Jerry Jacobs, Ann Shepard, the residents and the founda- groups took up the issue, portraying MondaytotheWilmington10,agroup ConnieTindallandJoeWright.Wright tion. the Wilmington 10 as political prison- wrongly convicted 40 years ago in a was the youngest, arrested when he The remaining tenants were ers. notoriousCivilRights-eraprosecution was 16 years old. granted an extension until the In 1978, then-Gov. Jim Hunt com- that led to accusations that the state The Wilmington 10 were convict- end of December. While they muted their sentences but withheld was holding political prisoners. ed in October 1972 on charges of wererelievedtohavemoretime apardon.Twoyearslater,the4thU.S. Perdueissuedpardonsofinnocence conspiracy to firebomb Mike’s to find a new home, they were CircuitCourtofAppealsinRichmond, Monday for the nine black men and Grocery and conspiracy to assault unprepared to move. Va., threw out the convictions, saying one white woman who were given emergency personnel who respond- “It costs to move, then you perjuryandprosecutorialmisconduct prison sentences totaling nearly 300 ed to the fire in February 1971. have to find somewhere to go,” were factors in the verdicts. years for the 1971 firebombing of a The trial was held in Burgaw in Williams said. She did not have “We are tremendously grateful to Wilmington grocery store after police Gov. Perdue for her courage,” said PenderCountyafterajudgedeclared shot a black teenager. See LINCOLN/3A Benjamin Chavis, the former nation- a mistrial the first time. A jury of 10 The pardon means the state no al NAACP executive director who was blacksandtwowhiteshadbeenseat- longer thinks the 10 — four of whom in jail and prison for about five years ed in the first trial when prosecutor havesincedied—committedacrime. before his release. “This is a historic Jay Stroud said he was sick, and the “I have decided to grant these par- dayforNorthCarolinaandtheUnited dons because the more facts I have States. People should be innocent un- See PARDONS/2A Chicago wrecked by Destin:Astory of hope By Carol Longoria violence, mass murder THE DURHAM VOICE By Sharon Cohen single Chicago street are not exception- DURHAM – Life was not always easy in the Johnson household. Destin THE ASSOCIATED PRESS al.It’sbeenabloodyyearinthenation’s third-largest city. Johnson, the youngest of four chil- It was February, the middle of lunch A spike in murders and shootings - dren, started life in relative stability hour on a busy South Side street. The much of it gang-related - shocked forthefirsteightto10years. Thenhis gunman approached his victim in a Chicagoans, spurred new crime-fight- family was hit hard with a series of White Castle parking lot, shot him in ing strategies and left indelible images: events — job loss, substance addic- the head, then fled down an alley. Mayor Rahm Emanuel voicing outrage tion, parents’ separation, and people Thenextmonth,oneblockaway,also aboutgangcrossfirethatkilleda7-year- moving in and out of the home. on West 79th Street: Two men in hood- old named Heaven selling candy in her The odds were stacked against edsweatshirtsopenedfireattheBishop front yard. Destin, making it hard for his sister, Golden convenience store. They killed Panicked mourners scrambling as Azmen, to return to school at one young man and wounded five oth- shots ring out on the church steps at a UNC–Charlotte. Azmen said that be- ers, including a nephew of basketball funeral for a reputed gang leader. Girls cause their parents were “off and on,” superstar Dwyane Wade. The shooters wearing red high school basketball uni- it added to her reluctance to return to got away in a silver SUV. forms, filing by the casket of a 16-year- school. In July, a Saturday night, two men old teammate shot on her porch. Azmen spent the summer of 2007 were walking on 79th, when they were A handful of neighborhoods were es- as a camp counselor at Urban Hope, a approached by a man who killed one pecially hard hit, among them Auburn- local nonprofit which hosts Urban and injured the other. This shooting Gresham; the police district’s 43 homi- Hope Summer Missions Experience, resulted in a quick arrest; police had a cides (as of Dec. 21) ranked highest in serving around 40 students from witness, and a security camera caught the city and represent an increase of grades 5-10. the shooting. about 20 percent over 2011. Morticia Williams is all smiles These three violent snapshots of a Destin Johnson walks through N.C. on moving day. Central University’s campus. See DESTIN/3A Duke grad Index To subscribe: 919-688-9408 or Follow The William C. Turner online http://tcppc.com/Subscribe Tribune on Editorial 4A Sports 1B will keynote its E-mail: [email protected] Please MLK address. Focus 6A Classifieds 4B © 2013 The Triangle Tribune Arts & Life 5B Religion 6B recycle 2A NEWS/The TrTriangleTribuneiangleTribune Sunday, January 6, 2013 The tragic media coverage of tragedies acrossAmerica Continued from 1A in news editors choosing cover- ing” of black and brown perpe- investigate and promote all the Letter to the Media about the sentences etc., thank you in ad- West Savali in the online maga- agethatmayresonatemostwith trators as nothing more than positive qualities they had prior Sandy Hook School Shooting vance for bringing on experts to zine Clutch on Dec. 17. a predominantly white audience good old-fashioned white su- to the shooting to explain why Coverage,”onDec.18onhispop- discuss the mindset of young A mental health professional which will, hopefully, “translate premacy. we never expected it. If he was ular blog “Davey D’s Hip Hop folks at risk and what steps we and commentator, Savali noted into higher ratings, which trans- Son of Baldwin, a New York nonwhite, the word ‘genius’ Corner.” Writing sarcastically to can take to turn them around.