The NAACP said Tuesday it does not support a hate crime awareness march that will raise money for a black woman who says she was tortured by six whites.
Local and national NAACP officials said they disapprove of Saturday's march organizers, a group based in Washington, D.C., called Black Lawyers for Justice that wants hate crime charges brought against the defendants.
Six whites are charged with raping and torturing 20-year-old Megan Williams for days until her Sept. 8 rescue. All could get life prison sentences if convicted, but the prosecutor has not filed hate crime charges, saying they could be difficult to prove.
Williams, her family and black leaders such as the Rev. Al Sharpton plan to participate in the march, which has been endorsed by groups including the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the National Conference of Black Mayors.
The Rev. Audie Murphy, NAACP branch president for Logan and Boone counties, said his group will continue supporting Williams, "but not within this march."
"The NAACP is not against hate crimes being charged; we're just saying we respect the decision of the prosecutor to later on have the freedom to do so. We do believe that some of what the perpetrators (had) against Megan, it was hate crime, but we want them to be prosecuted under the laws."
Malik Shabazz, co-founder of Black Lawyers for Justice and legal adviser to the Williams family, said the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has been slow to respond to the black community and Williams' needs.
"I make a last-ditch appeal to (the NAACP) to catch up with the tide of the people. We can still work with them to alleviate injustice against blacks in the state," said Shabazz.
The Southern Poverty Law Center is critical of Shabazz for his association with figures like the late Khalid Muhammad, a former Nation of Islam member famous for incendiary remarks about whites and Jews.
Murphy and some other black leaders have accused Shabazz of using Williams' case to showboat.
Shabazz bristled at the characterization, saying "with God as my witness, I got nothing but praise and thanks from West Virginia residents, from 10-year-olds to 80-year-olds, most overwhelmingly in churches, who thank us for coming to defend Williams."
The NAACP's branch in Charleston issued a statement Tuesday saying it would continue to monitor Williams' case but won't support the march to the Capitol.
Richard McIntyre, a spokesman for the NAACP's national offices in Baltimore, said that the organization does not approve of Shabazz's involvement and that local chapters never requested approval from the national body to participate in the march.
Last week, the Charleston Black Ministerial Alliance — including some who had supported the idea of a march in the past — said they wouldn't participate and would urge their congregations not to join. The ministers said they would consider planning a separate rally on behalf of Williams.
The organizers of Saturday's march have sharply criticized those churches, saying they are losing sight of Williams' plight. Shabazz said his group aims to raise $10,000 through the march for Williams, whose family struggles to get by.
Charged with attacking Williams are Bobby Brewster, 24; his mother, Frankie Brewster, 49; Danny Combs, 20; Karen Burton, 46; Burton's daughter, Alisha Burton, 23; and George A. Messer, 27. All face kidnapping and sexual assault charges.
Logan County prosecutor Brian Abraham has said state hate crime charges, which carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, could be difficult to prove because Williams had a "social relationship" with Bobby Brewster for at least several months before the suspected assault.
USAToday.com
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-10-30-march-naacp_N.htm?csp=34
