a tree near a building that houses several African American campus organizations at the University of Maryland.University of Maryland administrators moved quickly over the weekend to assure students and other members of the community that they were taking the possibility of a campus hate crime with the utmost seriousness.
University President C. D. Mote Jr. wrote in an open letter.
Police said they have opened a criminal investigation and are treating the case as a hate crime.
"The University of Maryland will not tolerate discrimination, harassment or acts of hate. The possibility that this act appears intended to bring to mind the horrific crime of lynching, which is such a terrible and tragic part of our nation's past, is particularly abhorrent."The University of Maryland graduates more African American students than any other public research university among the nation's top 25. In 2006, African American students made up 12.9 percent of the university's 25,154 undergraduate students.
Yet, with all those Black folks on campus ... and with humongous wealth of the Black community in that geographic area ... some fool feels comfortable enough to hang a noose. We are not talking about silly white kids in Jena, LA ... this time we're talking about some grown college-age adults.
Villagers, the September 20 rally in Jena is more and more important. Not just to change the legal system in Jena, but also to remind America that racist acts against our community will no longer be tolerated.
Sit around the baobob tree and share your thoughts on the noose incident at the University of Maryland. What say u?
