The apparent racially-motivated killing of a black man in Jackson, Mississippi on June 26 has gained national attention after CNN recently released surveillance video of white teens beating and then running over the man with their pick-up truck. While the footage is shocking, it didn’t surprise all who watched it. Pastor Brian Richardson of Castlewoods Baptist Church in Brandon, Mississippi said that beginning in 2008 his son was bullied by Deryl Dedmon, the same teenager reported to have run over and killed James Craig Anderson, a 49-year old auto worker. Richardson said that after his son was tormented, he alerted the school district and police to his concern that Dedmon could end up taking a life.
Since the Anderson murder, Richardson told Not In Our Town that he has been overwhelmed with calls of support, and that he and his son feel a commitment to ensure something good comes from this tragedy. “There are a lot of wonderful people in our community, but one of the problems we have is people think silence is golden, they don't know how to talk about it." Richardson is striving to change that by first ramping up the conversation--he met with the high school principal this week and plans to discuss youth action with the Southern Baptist Church this month. He hopes that by engaging more people in conversation about what happened, others will realize that they cannot stay quiet any more and will instead join him in developing programs and initiatives to counter hatred and foster respect and understanding.
The Mississippi alleged hate crime resembles the 2008 killing of an Ecuadorian immigrant in Patchogue, NY. In that case, seven teenagers traveled to a nearby town looking for a Hispanic person to assault, ultimately attacking and killing Marcelo Lucero. Instead of simply seeking revenge or retribution, many Patchogue residents developed and advanced new ways to counter the bigotry that created a climate conducive for the hate crime to occur. The story of this town’s struggle to build stronger interracial relations is the subject of Not In Our Town: Light in the Darkness, which will air on PBS on September 21. For more information, visit NIOT.org/LightInTheDarkness.
Photo of James Craig Anderson: The Daily Mail
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When Silence is acceptance
What happened to Mr James Craig Anderson is what we could easliy call an "unspeakable" act, -because of the brutality and inhumanity of this premeditated murder. But as Pastor Richardson and his son remind us, in such cases the "Silence is Golden" rule does not apply - in these cases, "Silence is Acceptance" and when we as the neigbors and parents turn away and do not join in a public response, we are sending a message to ourselves and our children that it is okay. My heart goes out to the people of Jackson, MS and to those in Patchogue NY where your actions are reminding us of the actual Golden Rule, "Treat others as you want to be treated."
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