Racism Is Still Very Much Alive in America
On or around September 11, 2024, in Henderson, North Carolina (Vance County), the body of a Black man named Javion Magee was found tied to a tree with a rope around his neck. Javion was a 21-year-old over-the-road truck driver from Chicago, Illinois. For some “strange” reason, the Vance County Sheriff’s Office prematurely announced that Javion’s death was a suicide. Javion’s father and mother rejected the explanation given to them by the Vance County Sheriff’s Office and sought help from an outside source.
Help came from two accomplished Black attorneys: Mr. Lee Merritt from Texas and Mr. Harry Daniels from Georgia. On September 18, 2024, Lee Merritt and Harry Daniels along with the family of Javion Magee held a press conference. The intent of the press conference was to provide the public and members of the media with accurate information regarding the current investigation into Javion’s death.
I learned that Javion had delivered a loaded trailer to the Walmart Supercenter in Henderson, North Carolina, on or around September 11, 2024. I also learned that Javion attempted to obtain a hotel room at the local Hampton Inn but there were no vacancies. Javion allegedly went to the local Walmart to purchase some rope (NOTE: I worked as an over-the-road truck driver for 10 years. Truck drivers buy rope for various reasons. Sometimes it’s to secure an unstable load and sometimes to secure trailer doors for safety reasons). The point was made during the press conference that just because Javion purchased a rope didn’t mean that he used it to hang himself.
When a sheriff’s department in North Carolina, or any jurisdiction for that matter, jumps to conclusions about a young man’s death without conducting a thorough fact-finding investigation, that in and of itself does a disservice to the community, it devalues the life of a young man, and it perverts the course of justice.
This leads me to reflect on the words of Oscar Grant’s mother, Wanda Johnson, when she said, “What is the value of an African American young man’s life?” As a journalist, I lean heavily toward investigative journalism. I decided to conduct my own research into lynchings. I discovered a case 10 years prior in North Carolina. A young Black man by the name of Lennon Lacy, 17, was found hanging from a swing set at the Bladenboro mobile home park. Like the Javion case, law enforcement immediately ruled that Lennon’s death was a suicide. The NAACP of North Carolina is very familiar with what they call “quick call suicide.” This term describes “suspicious hanging deaths of Black men, most of them in the South, that were immediately classified as suicides without extensive investigations despite the evidence that foul play may have been involved.” Ibid. Sue Sturgis.
At the time of Lennon’s death, outspoken community activists and preacher, Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, the president of the North Carolina NAACP spoke. Rev. Barber said this, “The images of a Black boy or Black man hanging from a rope are etched in the souls of all of us who know the history of this country. For those interested in digging deeper into this unnatural phenomenon of modern-day lynchings in America, I suggest you watch a film produced by Keith Beauchamp entitled ‘The Injustice Files: At the End of a Rope’. The show ‘examines four suspicious hanging deaths of Black men that were all were ruled suicide but that many believe were in fact murders.’”
It is noteworthy that I mention Lennon Lacy was dating a White woman at the time of his death. She believed that Lennon was murdered because of their relationship. It is extremely hurtful and quite sobering to recognize that the “ghosts” of the past which used to terrorize and torment our ancestors are still very much alive today.
The FBI determined that Lennon Lacy died by suicide. It appears he was suffering from depression and thoughts of suicide. Lennon confided in one of his closest friends that he wanted to die. His depression appears to come from a culmination of events: the death of his great uncle whom Lennon considered a father figure, and relationship issues, including his girlfriend breaking up with him a week before his suicide.
Turning to the music world. Just think about how a beautiful and gifted sister in struggle, Beyoncé, felt when she was snubbed by the Country Music Awards this year. Few have had the courage to call out the institutionalized racism which still exists within the music industry. My partner and colleague, Gale Washington, is a country music lover. She pointed out to me that Dolly Parton spoke out about Beyoncé being snubbed (Today article). Dolly Parton has never shied away from controversy.
We don’t know if Javion Magee’s death was a hate crime. But I can promise you this, if civil rights attorney Lee Merritt stays involved in this case, we will discover all of the facts. There won’t be a cover up. Here, in San Francisco there have been many racist attacks against Mayor London Breed. If these acts of bigotry and racial hatred can happen in San Francisco, they can happen anywhere. These disturbing patterns and trends must not be ignored. I am a strong supporter of multi-racial unity. Collectively as a people, we can confront this hatred and defeat it with solidarity and love. We will prevail.
I end this piece with a quote from Michele Naar Obed, a non-violent peace activist and author of Maternal Convictions: A Mother Beats a Missile Into a Plowshare, “People live in a growing state of fear of neighbor, both domestic and abroad. Fear and isolation seem to work in a sick symbiosis. The more one fears, the more one isolates, and the more one isolates, the more one fears. This twisted psychological development makes it very easy for the government (or politicians) to demonize and dehumanize people. Every young Black male becomes suspect, foreigners become likely terrorists, poor people become lazy welfare trash, and on and on.” (emphasis added)
Without the spotlight of media attention and national public outcry, I don’t believe there will be a proper investigation into the death of Javion Magee. Please share this piece far and wide.
The media has a duty to report the truth; the public in sharing information should embrace the role of a factfinder and not a gossiper. As you’ve seen and heard in the news and on social media, there are many hurtful lies being spread across this country. Lisa Miller, retired Chief of Investigations for the Colorado Attorney General’s Office made this statement, “You need to remember motives. Some people want to be first. Some people want to be out here just to get more clicks,” she said, adding that a lot of people will share without fact-checking. “If you’re not sure it’s true, don’t share it.”
Malik Washington is a freelance journalist and Director at Destination: Freedom and Destination Freedom Media Group.
