Muncie Times, Muncie, Delaware County, 4 October 2007 — Page 22

Page 22 • The Muncie Times • October 4, 2007

Many Questions Remain Unanswered

In Pleasant Hill, Kentucky, a small interpretive plaque on a tiny 19th century building describes that it was used as a place to store and preserve apples. The exact process by which the Shakers, all of whom are gone, went about this is unknown. The last line of the plaque reads: “Many questions remain unanswered.” The same could be said of recent events that have a Muncie connection. Immediately after basketball Coach Ronny Thompson left town, the NAACP respectfully called on Ball State University to identify and report the racist notes left in his office as a hate crime. Hearing of the incident, the Department of Justice offered to help with the investigation. The university chose not to act on either suggestion. Weeks later, the ensuing report of the campus police stated that the investigation had yielded nothing. On 9/27, an article in USA Today stated the obvious: “It’s far from over.” For many in the Muncie community, many questions remain unanswered. This is not the only event that recently provoked action and prompted questions. On September 20, a group of Ball State students marched in support of the Jena 6, a group of African American students ranging in age from 15-17 who were

arrested after a school fight. An all-white jury convicted Mychal Bell, the first to go on trial, of aggravated battery and conspiracy. What sparked the attack? A black student sat under a tree in the schoolyard where only white students sat. The next day, three nooses were hanging from the tree. Those who wonder what this incident has to do with Muncie have only to remember the events of 1930 when two African American men were lynched in Marion, Indiana. While some whites in Jena referred to the nooses as a prank, they represented something far different to the African American community. The same can be said for the racist notes shoved under a black coach’s office door. Finally, a recent article in the Muncie StarPress reported that the integrity of the Muncie Police Department has come under scrutiny. In one case, a police officer who used poor judgment has resigned. In another, a police officer who battered his daughter’s friend is going to face a grand jury, presumably of his peers. Just as in the Thompson case, there are rumors. For example, did the officer in fact go back out to his car and get his gun after finding the young man in his daughter’s home? Did he call 911 because he was afraid that the man was seriously hurt after his gun dis-

charged? Would he have a forum to address the Respectfully submitted taken the same course of concerns of the commu- on behalf of the memberaction if the man were nity—black and white, ship,Jayne R. Beilke, white? We issue a call to Many questions remain Ph.D. President, NAACP Chief Winkle to sponsor unanswered.

PPI

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