Maude Lee is the president of the NAACP West Palm Beach Branch. Her NAACP branch is under tremendous pressure for joining with National Action Network to ask for reduced bail on the four Dunbar Village rapists. This decision to support release of these four gang rapists is wrong on so many levels ... not the least of which is the lack of support given by Ms. Lee's NAACP branch for the Black woman and her child victimized by these gang rapists. It should be noted that there is a formal campaign ongoing to discontinue financial contributions and volunteer support to NAACP or NAN as a result of the decision to support these Dunbar Village rapists.
Ms. Lee wrote a letter to explain her actions. Click here to read the letter. Ms. Lee claims that her NAACP branch participation was "... simply to call for fair and just treatment in all phases of the criminal justice system for the Dunbar Village defendants..."
The odd thing is that Ms. Lee claims that the NAACP responded to call from Rev. Sharpton and the folks from the NAN Florida chapter. NAN tells a different story. NAN indicates that they were at the press conference at the request of Ms. Lee and the NAACP WPB branch. It appears that the two organizations are turning on one another as the pressure continues to mount. Personally, I think that Ms. Lee saw the opportunity to get her face and her branch into the limelight by introducing Rev. Al Sharpton to the media and she didn't really care about the content of the press conference.
Ms. Lee wrote a letter to explain her actions. Click here to read the letter. Ms. Lee claims that her NAACP branch participation was "... simply to call for fair and just treatment in all phases of the criminal justice system for the Dunbar Village defendants..."
The odd thing is that Ms. Lee claims that the NAACP responded to call from Rev. Sharpton and the folks from the NAN Florida chapter. NAN tells a different story. NAN indicates that they were at the press conference at the request of Ms. Lee and the NAACP WPB branch. It appears that the two organizations are turning on one another as the pressure continues to mount. Personally, I think that Ms. Lee saw the opportunity to get her face and her branch into the limelight by introducing Rev. Al Sharpton to the media and she didn't really care about the content of the press conference.
This is not a 'due process' issue. The four rapists had due process. They each hav
e lawyers. They simply didn't get bail because of the heinous nature of their crime. The fact pattern for these four rapists who terrorized, raped and tortured a Black woman and her child wasn't the same as the five white rapists in Boca Raton. This is not a 'due process' issue. This is a 'poor judgement' issue. Maude Lee (NAACP WPB Branch) and Al Sharpton (NAN) showed incredibly poor judgement. It is costing them goodwill, volunteer hours and donations from the Black community.
You can reach out to Ms. Lee by phone (561) 655-9798 or e-mail if you are so inclined. My suggestion is that Ms. Lee reach out to those of us in the Black community who question her judgement. Sending a letter to her state NAACP leader ain't gonna get it done. What say u?
e lawyers. They simply didn't get bail because of the heinous nature of their crime. The fact pattern for these four rapists who terrorized, raped and tortured a Black woman and her child wasn't the same as the five white rapists in Boca Raton. This is not a 'due process' issue. This is a 'poor judgement' issue. Maude Lee (NAACP WPB Branch) and Al Sharpton (NAN) showed incredibly poor judgement. It is costing them goodwill, volunteer hours and donations from the Black community.You can reach out to Ms. Lee by phone (561) 655-9798 or e-mail if you are so inclined. My suggestion is that Ms. Lee reach out to those of us in the Black community who question her judgement. Sending a letter to her state NAACP leader ain't gonna get it done. What say u?
10 comments:
Brother Wayne, You know I have a lot of respect for you and I like yoru blog and the things you are trying to accomplish. But on this one, I would ask that you really consider what you're doing.
You have every right to disagree with the position taken by the Palm Beach Branch, but to say that Ms. Lee supports Rapists and then post her personal phone number on line is just not right bruh...
Do you expect that she'll receive only thoughtful and insightful calls from people who wish to debate the issues of due process and disparate treatement? Isn't it likely (if not intended) that she'll also receive a number of anry and occsionally threatning calls? You want to be the facilitator of that? Why wouldn't you post the Branch number or her office number?
Do you really believe that Ms. Lee is sexist against Women? Do you really believe that she doesn't care about justice?
You are inviting people to call this woman and vent their anger and outrage over her "support for Rapists".. Do you care if her kids answer those calls?
I am a Father and an activist, and as someone who has received threatning phone calls at home after challenging issues in my community, I can tell you that this is not right Wayne...
There has got to be a way for us all to display our commitment to the community without demonstrating our willingness to hurt each other...
These people have no consistency and therefore no moral basis to speak for black people.
The closest recent case to the Dunbar Village rape & torture is Megan William's rape & torture.
What would they say if a white group came out and demanded that those rapists/torturers get offered bail because of some unrelated case?
They need to get on the side of the JUST, and stop thinking that the rest of the world can't see the blatant mockery that they are making of the justice system in this case.
Black women and children (please don't forget that her son is a victim too, people) DESERVE BETTER THAN THIS. They need to fall back on this and stop this action.... NOW.
Also, I have no problem with publishing phone numbers if it's a work-related number. They all have their phone numbers/email addresses published on their websites anyway.
Kevin - The phone number was obtained from the NAACP Florida website. That website contained the phone number, address and email address for all Florida-based NAACP branch offices. I have no access to her personal, home number. My assumption is that the NAACP website would publish her office number. If you have a more correct phone number ... please share it with me. I publish the number because I think that someone misspoke. NAN sez that they showed up at the invitation of NAACP WPB branch. Ms. Lee sez that she introduced Al Sharpton at the request of NAN. Somebody misspoke ... and the net effect is that two Black organizations supported Dunbar Village rapists this month ... while neither group showed support for the Black woman and her child that were raped, tortured and terrorized. I think that both NAN and NAACP WPB branch should answer the criticism directly....
Again, I posted number provided by NAACP website. Please let me know if there is a more appropriate phone number to use...
SheCodes - Thank you for having my back. I'm on the road in Newark, NJ for the next few days making some speeches and such. I did get the phone number from the NAACP Florida website. If there is a more appropriate number ... please let me know...
I am outraged by this and I have told everyone I know about it. I don't care if she gets thoughtful and insightful calls about it or not.
And YES, it is very possible for women to be sexist or biased against other women. It happens all the time. From teasing in the schoolyard about nappy hair to genital mutilation, women have been complicit in keeping other black women down for centuries.
I am glad that sensible people are finally taking a stand.
Brother Miles, I respect you too, but I support Villager 100% on this one. That woman WAS FORCED TO HAVE SEX WITH HER SON, through intercourse and orally. They tried to blind the son with chemicals, and raped and sodomized the mother repeatedly, then beat them both unmercifully and tried set them on fire.
I understand your loyalties, but think of your own wife and children in the same situation (assuming you have some). How would you feel if a team of folks defended the rapists publicaly, and no on did anything to help your family AT ALL.
With all due respect, I really don't care what her inner motivations are, cause all I know is what I see. None of it seems noble--and she needs to be told.
Miss & Invisible Woman - Asante sana for sharing your village voice. Hopefully, we will hear from Ms. Lee directly as this issue reflects on her branch ... not the other kazillion NAACP branches, such as the one led by Kevin in Wichita...
If it's a work number and it's on the job website that makes it fair game.
Somebody somewhere is lying! she says one thing , and they say another, but both spoke out in support of RAPISTS, SODOMIZERS, MOLESTERS, ABUSERS!
I just got off the air with Al Sharpton on his radio show. He is backpedaling BIG TIME. And frankly, I am glad that he is.
He claims that he never said that the prosecutor was treating the suspects unfairly. However, there is video, eyewitness reports from newspapers that say the exact opposite.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2008/03/11/0311sharpton.html
Video (it takes a minute to load)
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/mplayer/pbpost news/74046
However, by the end of his show, Al Sharpton finally spoke out against the violence of the victim, admitted that he would have been there sooner if the perpetrators were white, and called on organizations to take violence against black women more seriously.
The old curmudgeon ALMOST won me over with that statement. Almost.
I see this as a victory for bloggers and women and men everywhere would said NO... NOT THIS TIME. Al Sharpton is now officially denouncing bail for the suspects.
One down and one to go.
Regina - Asante sana for your support on this issue...
SheCodes - I posted this week's open letter. Thank you for your efforts on the Al Sharpton radio show. Now, if we can simply get Maude Lee and her NAACP branch to do the right thing...
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