Hate Crime as Litmus Test for Solidarity, Jackie Robinson Statue Defaced + More

What’s the difference between a community, and a loose association of people and groups? That’s the question posed by Rev Dr. Stephen Sprinkle, in his open letter to the LGBTQ community of Dallas, Texas. He is troubled by the lack of support for Jimmy Lee Dean, the victim of a 2008 homophobic beating and robbery. Dean’s online campaign to raise funds for medical expenses incurred as a result of his beating has only attracted three donors, indicating to Rev. Sprinkle that the term “community” might go further in word than in deed.

 

“A community begins to become serious and exist in the real world when it starts to take care of its own whenever they meet crisis and disaster. Until then, it is a fair-weather association, at best,” writes Sprinkle, an ordained Baptist minister and openly gay professor at Fort Worth's Brite Divinity School. He is also the author of Unfinished Lives: Reviving the Memories of LGBTQ Hate Crimes Victims. Since Sprinkle’s letter, more funders have slowly begun to contribute to Dean’s campaign.

 

Recently, a jury unanimously voted to convict Dean's assailant. Speaking on his surprise regarding the unanimous decision, Dean said the verdict gives him 'faith in people' and said the days are gone when criminals received a lesser sentence because the victim is gay. "This sets a precedence for anything like this that happens," Dean said. "Maybe this will set a standard for anybody, no matter what your sexual orientation is, a violent crime is a violent crime."

 

 

More than 60 years ago, Brooklyn Dodger Pee-Wee Reese walked onto the field and placed his arm around Jackie Robinson in a display of solidarity, to silence the racist heckling coming from the rafters. That moment has been immortalized in a statue in Coney Island, honoring Robinson’s courage as well as that of Reese for openly supporting him. But earlier this month, the statue was defaced with swastikas and racist verbiage.

 

Mark Reese, son of Pee-Wee Reese, recounted the differing opinions on the possibility of racial progress held by his father and Jackie Robinson. “I remember my father telling me of a conversation he had with Jackie several years ago. It was Pee Wee who first posed the question, ‘Do you think the day will come when people can live in harmony?’ Robinson’s reply was an emphatic yes — the day would come. Then Jackie, in his boundless wisdom, posed the same to Pee Wee. Dad's reply: ‘It’ll never happen.’”

 

With more than $40,000 being offered for information leading to the arrest of the perpetrator, there seems to be a majority united against the hateful actions of a single individual. The incident has even inspired mayoral hopeful Bill Thompson to include hate crime prevention in his campaign promises, calling for increased surveillance around targeted spaces such as religious buildings, and more tolerance education in public schools.

 

New York Senator Eric Adams added, “The vandalism of the statue of civil rights icon and hero Jackie Robinson, who broke baseball’s color barrier in the borough we are proud to call home, is a sad reminder that those who hate, hate indiscriminately. We cannot – and will not – be intimidated by such vile individuals. Everything that is great about Brooklyn, and New York City, comes from its diversity.”