Shame Revisited - The Dunbar Village Rape

Several months ago, plezWorld joined Blogging for Justice to cast light on two horrific cases of sexual abuse directed at Black woman. It appears that the media cannot sate itself when telling the story of a blonde-haired blue-eyed victim, but seems to rarely illuminate cases that involve our Black women. We still get updates on that crazy Peterson dude whose wife went missing around Christmas, we still hear about the circus surrounding the disappearance of the high school girl who disappeared without a trace in Aruba (I think), but we hear precious little about poor Megan Williams in West Virginia or have heard even less about the Black mother and son who were sexually abused by crazed teenagers in West Palm Beach, Florida.

It was recently brought to my attention that the Dunbar Village incident (in Florida) did receive some media attention, but it was for all the wrong reasons. To recap the story from the August 22, 2007 Sun Times article:

The victim returned home from her job delivering phone books about 9 p.m. the night of the attack, according to her statement to police. While fixing her son something to eat, a young male with braids knocked on her door to tell her the tires on her truck were flat. Once outside, she said, she saw a male with a large gun and two others armed with guns. They wore black clothing over their faces, she said, and ordered her back into the apartment, where they demanded money.

After being told there was no money, the attackers tore off the woman's clothes and raped her until five others arrived, according to the documents. The new arrivals took turns having sex with her and then sodomized her. The mother was then ordered into a tub filled with vinegar and water where they used hydrogen peroxide, alcohol, nail polish remover and ammonia on her. At gunpoint, the assailants forced the mother and son to have sex.

Throughout the attack, the victims suffered beatings, including having a bowl and light bulbs smashed over their heads. The encounter was recorded on a cell phone camera, according to the mother.

Before leaving, the males looked for a lighter to set the two on fire but couldn't find one, she told police. They ordered the pair to stay in the tub and took off. About 30 minutes later one of the males returned to sexually assault the mother one last time. Before leaving, he scribbled a man's name and 6-CO, the name of a local gang, on a piece of paper and told the woman he hangs out on Sixth Street and that's where he could be found. He grabbed a Sony PlayStation 2 before fleeing the scene.

Police believe at up to ten teens/men were involved, but only four were ever charged.

Read the entire Sun Times article here.

The blog, The Point, has taken the initiative along with the blog, What About Our Daughters, in shedding light on this travesty. And this is where the story takes an ugly turn. The NAACP was contacted by the author of the blog, What About Our Daughters; an NAACP spokesperson responded that they would not be getting involved in the case because “it was outside their mission”! Al Sharpton's National Action Network never responded to any calls from the author of the blog... and then the other shoe dropped. Sharpton helped organize a town hall meeting for the Dunbar Village victim that was scheduled for February 10, 2008... and then he backed out ONE DAY before the event without explanation. On Tuesday, March 11, 2008 - only four weeks after the planned demonstration in support of the victim - Al Sharpton and the West Palm Beach NAACP held a press conference accusing the prosecutor of treating those arrested in this case unfairly. They demanded that the prosecutor offer bail to the youths arrested in this case and not try them as adults, because this was being done by the prosecutor in another gang rape case involving white perpetrators in a different Florida jurisdiction. The NAACP has apparently event sent attorneys to aid those arrested in their defense, this in spite of the heinous nature of the crime, air tight DNA evidence and confessions.

Nothing has been done by the NAACP or Al Sharpton's group to aid the victim and her son!

It makes one wonder what is going on in our society when so little value is placed on the lives of our Black women. If the victims had been white, there is no doubt that this story would've been at the top of Nancy Grace's show for weeks on end, the gang rape and violation of a Black woman gets nary a mention!

If you can find it in your heart to feel a shred of compassion for this family's misery, you are encouraged to make a $5, $10, $50, or $100 contribution to the victim fund to help the Dunbar Village victim and her son rebuild their shattered lives. Checks can be made payable to the Dunbar Village Victim Assistance Fund-St. Ann. You can drop your contribution off at any Wachovia Bank branch or mail them to: St. Ann Catholic Church, 310 N. Olive Ave., West Palm Beach, FL 33401. The church’s phone number is (561) 832-3757.

The NAACP and Al Sharpton must be brought to task for continuing the victimization of this victim while trying to aid and abet the worst elements of our society. We must let them know that they will no longer be welcome to speak on behalf of Black people if they cannot represent the best interests of Black people... and defending a group of degenerate thugs is not in the best interest of anyone!

Cancel your membership with the NAACP.

Contact your local NAACP Chapter and express your outrage at the behavior of the West Palm Beach Chapter.

Contact the National NAACP to express your outrage (Julian Bond–Chairman, NAACP National Headquarters, 4805 Mt. Hope Drive, Baltimore MD 21215 Phone: 410-580-5777)

Contact the West Palm Beach NAACP to express your outrage.

Contact Al Sharpton's Group to express your outrage (National Action Network, Rev. Al Sharpton, 106 W. 145th Street, Harlem, New York 10039 Phone: 212-690-3070 )

I thank Aaron over at A Political Season for bringing this issue to my attention.

[Hat Tip: The Point]
[Hat Tip: What About Our Daughters]
[Hat Tip: Black Women Vote!]
[Hat Tip: A Political Season]



plez sez: al sharpton is a blight on the Black community! he is that cancer that only destroys good cells. the sooner he is repudiated and discredited and muzzled... the better!

naacp is a mere shadow of its former self. the national association for the advancement of colored people is advancing the cause of thugs and masked goons... give me a break! the sooner that this group is disbanded... the better! i wish i could name ONE GOOD THING that the naacp has done in the past five years! the past ten years! i don't have a membership to cancel, i joined my college chapter when i was a freshman... i saw no need to renew it as a sophomore.

these groups (like al sharpton and the naacp) have a tendency to seek out the lowest and most base... and then call it justice. those four bastards should rot in jail for the misery they brought on this innocent family. the physical pain notwithstanding, consider for a moment the psychological scars that this mother and her son must carry for the remainder of their lives. when that pain is placed in the balance, it makes the actions of al sharpton and the naacp all the more egregious.

Don Imus to Visit With Al Sharpton

The Associated Press reports that Don Imus will appear on Al Sharpton's radio show today to discuss the racially insensitive "thing" that he uttered last week on his show after the Rutgers-Tennessee Women's National Championship Game. To those who haven't heard, Don Imus referred to the basketball team players as some "rough girls with tattoos" and then referred to them as "some nappy-headed ho's!"

Excerpts from the AP article follows:

Calling himself a good person who said a bad thing, radio host Don Imus said Monday he would check his acid tongue after being lambasted for making racially charged comments about the Rutgers University women's basketball team.

"Here's what I've learned: that you can't make fun of everybody, because some people don't deserve it," he said on his nationally syndicated radio show Monday morning. "And because the climate on this program has been what it's been for 30 years doesn't mean it's going to be what it's been for the next five years or whatever."

Imus said he was "embarrassed" by the remarks, in which he referred to the mostly black team as "nappy-headed hos." He said he had made the comments in the course of "trying to be funny," but he was not trying to excuse them.

Imus said he hoped to meet the Rutgers players and their parents and coaches, and he said he was grateful that he was scheduled to appear later Monday on a radio show hosted by the Rev. Al Sharpton, who has called for Imus to be fired over the remarks.

"Somewhere we must draw the line in what is tolerable in mainstream media," Sharpton said Sunday. "We cannot keep going through offending us and then apologizing and then acting like it never happened. Somewhere we've got to stop this."

Meanwhile, the Rev. Jesse Jackson planned a protest in Chicago. James E. Harris, president of the New Jersey chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, demanded Sunday that Imus "resign or be terminated immediately."

plez sez: here we go again... can you say, "Michael Richards"? i thought you could!

my sister is a graduate of Rutgers and played basketball in high school. i take offense for all of those hard working and beautiful Black young women who grace the Rutgers Scarlet Knights basketball team. they are student athletes who were playing for a national championship (for Christ's sake), i am offended that a blubbering idiot like Don Imus would take advantage of his position to disgrace their integrity and their heritage with impunity!

first, i deplore what Don Imus said because it was aimed at college students and not professionals, and the fact that he had to stoop so damn low to try to grab a laugh in what i would consider a fading career in broadcasting. he's not funny, he's not relevant, and he's not going to have much of a television show after this week.

second, what the HELL is going on with Rev. Sharpton and Rev. Jackson?!? looks like they are falling over each other trying to "interview" every clown who makes a racist/insensitive remark. i didn't know either of them had a radio show and now it begs the question, what the HELL do they talk about when there's no Don Imus or Richard Michaels to skewer? like Imus, these "Black leaders" are left with a questionable careers, lack of relevance, and certainly very little of a radio show after this week! i guess it's not enough for an irrelevant NAACP chapter in NJ to demand that Imus be fired, these two preachers have to try to elbow each other out of the way to garner some ratings for their non-existent shows.

Don Imus (and his producer Bernard McGuirk) needs to go to Rutgers University, sit down with the team and their parents, and issue his apology to them, face-to-face. he doesn't need blowhard povertypimp pastors to get it for them.

if you are so inclined, you can check out the Don Imus Apology here ... look at that dried up carcass, not only is his career fading, so is he!

and for truly bold, you can listen to Rev. Al Sharpton on the radio here ... and i'm still trying to figure out what the HELL he's going to talk about tomorrow?

lastly, although, i'm still pissed with Don Imus, we have to realize that this ain't going to be the last insensitive comment that we'll hear... it's time to grow up! everyone doesn't like you, everyone doesn't respect you, you'll have to get over it.