Even NPR could not ignore the two cases of black on white violence in New York in September 2013. Neither could the New York Times. But some of the largest black websites in America did.
In the first attack, Lashawn Marten declared his hatred for white people then punched Jeffrey Babbitt in the face as he walked through a Manhattan park Wednesday afternoon. Babbitt died five days later.631
Two days after the Babbitt assault, a white man was riding a bus through Harlem when a black man called him a cracker and punched him in the head. The unidentified victim suffered several broken bones in his face. Police have released a photo of the suspect.
These are hardly the first cases of black on white violence in New York City. But it is unusual for the predators to announce their racial intentions so boldly beforehand. Rarer still for The Times and NPR to report them, however timidly. However briefly. But that is more than the biggest black web sites in America did. A sampling:
TheGrio.com -- at the time a division of MSNBC -- gets its name from the term for “African story teller.” But this place for “African American breaking news and opinion” had nothing on either hate crime.
The Grio, however, did run several recent stories about George Zimmerman, including one titled “We told you so.” Reporters at The Grio also found time for features on “fashion racism,” and how an Oklahoma school district is banning dreadlocks.632
Over at BET.com, the web site of Black Entertainment Television, the editors ran one story about George Zimmerman and his run-in with his wife, one story about black women with unusually decorative dental worked called “girls with grillz,” and lots of advertisements for Chicken McNuggets from McDonald’s. But nothing on black on white violence in New York City.
The Huffington Post has a separate section for black people called “Black Voices.” Huffpo did run stories on the hate crimes in other sections, but nothing appeared in the pages of Black Voices.
Black Voices, however, did publish a full treatment on the “Tiana Parker” controversy. Parker was sent home from an Oklahoma school this week for violating district regulations against wearing dreadlocks. The Oklahoma Legislative Black Caucus is conducting a full investigation of the matter. No word from Black Voices when or if Oklahoma black legislators will be looking into the killing of the white Australian student Chris Lane in Oklahoma last month at the hands of two black people.
One of Lane’s alleged killers proclaimed on Twitter that “90% of white ppl are nasty. #HATE THEM.” The other had pictures on his Facebook page featuring a flag of Africa with the words “Black Power” on it.
TheRoot.com is the Washington Post’s black website. The Post claims it is “the premier news, opinion and culture site for African-American influencers.” It was founded in 2008 by Dr. Henry Gates – Skip, to President Obama – who became even more famous for complaining about racist treatment at the hands of Cambridge police. An incident that culminated in the “beer summit” at the White House.
The Root published nothing on either alleged New York hate crime. But it did run recent stories including “Will an HBCU (Historically Black College or University) Make My Kid too Black? No, and such assumptions about these schools suggest you might be the one who needs an education.”
The Root also published excerpts from a New York Times story advising its readers on “Racial Profiling and Surviving the ‘White Gaze.’”633
At least they covered something from New York.