by Michelle Charles, MSW

All too often, when we discuss in the motives of white male mass murderers in the media, we become fixated with the status of their mental health and whether or not mental illness may have played a role in their actions. In the case of atrocious shooting in Charleston, South Carolina at the historic flagship Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church, we have somehow managed to fall victim to this useless conjecturing again, despite the Pro-Apartheid and neo-colonial signifying patches with which the shooter adorned his jacket. As this familiar hemming and hawing becomes United States narrative, I have become fiercely disinterested in the discussions about the mental health of the perpetrator in the context of these shootings, as they serve myriad destructive purposes. It privileges the perpetrators with the luxury of our understanding; it inaccurately paints mental illness as a precursor to destructive acts; and it neglects the mental health needs of those who were victimized or directly affected by the event.

by Rebecca Carroll for The Guardian

Before opening fire – and reportedly reloading five times – the man who killed nine black people at the historic Emmanuel AME church in Charleston, South Carolina on Wednesday night, reportedly said: “You rape our women. And you’re taking over our country. And you have to go.” (Dylann Roof has been arrested in North Carolina and is expected to be charged with the crime.) According to police, three of the people who died were male, including South Carolina state senator Clementa Pinkney, who served as the church pastor, and six were female.

by Carmen Jones

by Leah C.K. Lewis

The domestic terrorism unleashed at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church (Mother Emanuel) last night in Charleston, South Carolina, “the Holy City,” starkly displays the hypocrisy of U.S. Christianity. According to the Pew Research Center, 70.6% of U.S. citizens identify as Christian. If in fact, nearly two-thirds of the people of this country who purport to be disciples of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, stood for LOVE there is no way in hell that the murder and oppression of African Americans would be anywhere near acceptable and well-tolerated.

by Dee Rene


In 2005, I was a student at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill when a student named Jillian Bandes wrote the following sentence in a column of the campus newspaper, The Daily Tar Heel: “All Arabs should be stripped naked and cavity-searched if they get within 100 yards of an airport…” (Bandes would later be fired from the newspaper for her sentiments.)

by Rev. Dominique C. Atchison of The Mad Preacher
I perform with a group that recreates the Ring Shout in a contemporary context. (Shout out to Dance Diaspora Collective!) The Ring Shout was a dance done by enslaved Africans in the Americas, specifically in the Sea Islands off of the coast of Georgia and the Carolinas. I would invite anyone reading this to look up the Ring Shout for more detail. But today I mention the Ring Shout not simply as a Black History Month factoid. I mention it because I believe its origins and history are relevant to the death of 17 year old Jordan Davis.

I graduated a semester early from Fordham University in December 2010. Contrary to popular belief, I left school early because I craved real world experiences -- not because I disliked college life, and Fordham in particular. I have never once regretted my choice to attend the "Catholic Ivy League".  My three and a half years of undergrad there were some of the happiest and most important years of my life thus far. Fordham is where I decided what my path in life would be, where I had my notions challenged and altered, and where I was introduced to some of my mentors and closest friends.

I never thought that my views on the University would change (besides those regarding mounting tuition prices) drastically until a very disturbing story broke last month. In February, a black Fordham senior, Melissa Wright retired to her dorm only to find the word "nigger" sprawled across her door in black marker. Sometime later, the word appeared once again in the wall of a men's bathroom. As of the present, University officials have not taken major steps in response to these occurrences besides sending out a mass email highlighting the school's "zero tolerance" policy for bias, claiming to have an investigation conducted by campus police, and having a scheduled meeting with the University president and student groups.

To say that I am angry and hurt at the reaction, or lack thereof, of Fordham's officials would be a major understatement. I am appalled that the very place that is supposed to foster and mentor the leaders of tomorrow is allowing such acts of hate and prejudice to breed and grow. I say "allow" because until major action is taken (i.e. full investigations with the NYPD to find who the culprit(s) is/are; having a town hall to address how to prevent and punish such acts in the future; and creating stricter University policies for all hate crimes), Fordham is just as guilty as the coward(s) who scribbled the epithet on campus. 

I once heard someone say that it is not a matter of if a racist incident takes place on a college campus, it is simply a matter of when it happens. We cannot act naive or oblivious to the fact that these acts of prejudice are occurring continually on campuses all across the United States. Colleges and Universities need to do a better job of creating a safe and comfortable environment for all their students -- not just the white ones.

Current and former students and staff of Fordham University are showing solidarity in combating racism on campus by sending around an online petition denouncing the hateful acts. I ask that all who read this post aid us in this fight, by signing the petition here. It is my hope that with a strong and unified front we can send a message that institutions of higher learning will not serve as hotbeds for acts of discrimination.


Valerie Jean-Charles is a 23 year old community servant and writer in Brooklyn, NY. She holds a BA in Political Science from Fordham University. Follow at @Empressval to join her never-ending conversations about everything and then some.