Not just a symbol

It’s been two weeks now since several cross burnings took place in Durham. In the wake of this iconographic symbol of racial hatred, the community has come together at unity rallies and vigils that have drawn up to 700 people. In fact, this event has peaked public discussion about racially charged issues in Durham, the city’s crime rates and race relations in general. But still, FBI special agent Lou Velasco, who is involved in the investigation of the cross burnings, said Wednesday that no new developments have occurred in the case. Rewards for information that could lead to a conviction in the case are now up to more than $22,000. But the horror of the crime should be motivation enough for people to come forward.

But perhaps the investigation doesn’t even matter as much as it would at first seem. Racial issues plague Durham and this country in general—Duke is no exception. In Durham debates about zoning issues, construction priorities and infrastructure improvements often break along black-white racial lines. For the past year, fighting on the school board about alleged racism in Durham’s schools has dominated local headlines. Increasingly, the racial tensions in this city where every Duke student lives are including a Hispanic faction as well.

The point, perhaps, is not that someone burned crosses, a symbol that belongs in many ways to an older generation. The point is not even that Durham is a community where that symbol would inspire a particular reaction. The point is that racial hatred and discrimination occur all the time. And it should not take a cross burning to make a community discuss that fact.

In the classrooms of this University, students and professors alike spend a lot of time studying and considering hatreds of the past and analyzing problems of the present. Often the situations take place decades ago or thousands of miles away. But these are issues that, whether we realize it or not, exist right here in Durham.

The events of two weeks ago are horrific, but they have served as a focal point for serious public analysis of the way race factors into events and concerns of this community. Although it is an unfortunate starting point, at least the discussions are starting.