The Duke Lacrosse Case: A Generation’s Example of Systemic Racism
In March 2006, I was a couple months away from graduating from Miami University. This is when the event known as “the Duke lacrosse case” began. I was in college just like these players were. I was on a campus a lot like Duke University (and that probably wishes it was Duke University). Now, 14 years later, I can look back and know that my fascination and frustration with the case at the time was based off something I can describe now a lot better than I could then: systemic racism.
For ease, if you would like to read up on a summary of the case, the Wikipedia article will suffice.
In the wake of the news of this story and how much press it was getting, Black and Brown people across the country reacted in anger and frustration. We saw this as an example of rich white young men wielding their power to violate a young Black woman’s body. This is a practice as old as the start of the slave trade and it was now on the front pages of every newspaper. As a result, there was a desperation for justice to be served in this case much like the desperation we see now with the many Black lives that have been killed.
But the great failing of the Duke lacrosse case was of course its fabrications. The story by the accuser, Crystal Mangum, was not accurate. These young men did not rape her. These young men were subjected to months of scrutiny and their reputations tarnished as a result. Sure, if I hear the name, “Reade Seligmann,” I’ll think “Duke lacrosse case” or “rape” immediately. It’s certainly unfair but it’s how we became to be programmed.
But how all of us became to be programmed is why the Duke lacrosse case is such a fine example of systemic racism, an example of Black Lives Matter years before it existed, and an example of how racism works hand in hand with class oppression and the patriarchy.
We must first understand that our entire interaction with the case was based off the optics presented to us of it and even to this day those optics have been skewed. At the time, we looked at it pretty simply: rich, young, drunk white kids rape poor Black stripper. Our reactions and our anger were affected by however we may react to that sentence. We separated not just by race but also by class and even by our judgment of the profession of exotic dancing.
When it became apparent that Ms. Mangum’s story had too many discrepancies and the case was dropped, the attention now turned to Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong. Nifong, possibly for political motives to ensure his re-election, was disbarred for the various ethics violations he committed in handling this case. Whatever Nifong’s underlying reasons may have been, he used the media and the feelings of Black people victimized their entire lives by systemic racism in an attempt to benefit himself.
When we look back at the Duke lacrosse case, our reactions are likely very simplistic and not focused on the systemic racism that pulsates through the whole story. Even the 2016 30 for 30 ESPN documentary, Fantastic Lies, did not capture it properly. Much like the documentary, our reaction is to focus in on how bad it must have been for the white players to go through such a false accusation. It focuses in on how terrible of a district attorney Nifong was. It focuses in on the racial dynamic on the campus as compared to Durham. It focuses in perhaps, in a small way, on Mangum’s mental illness. But we have never actually cut to the depths of this case and how it is perhaps my generation’s finest and most accessible example of systemic racism.
First, we must ask ourselves why our primary focus is on the Duke lacrosse players? Yes, they were not deserving of being falsely accused. No one should have to go through that. But do we focus and feel bad for them because they are white and privileged? Even in the documentary, a player says, “Not a month goes by when I am not reminded of the damage those accusations have had on my reputation and the public's perception of my character.” That’s true and that’s terrible but the accused have gone on to formidable lives. They’ve gotten advanced degrees in law school or Wharton Business School. While they endure a lot for the accusation, their lives were able to progress on the same trajectory as would have likely happened without the case and they still have the same privileges.
How do we then look at Nifong? Simply a power-hungry, media-obsessed District Attorney? Why don’t we actually look at him as yet another white man in the system who used Black people and, in particular, one Black woman for his own advancement? There has been no criticism of Nifong on that aspect nor any culpability on his part for those issues.
Mangum is now serving time in prison for killing her ex-boyfriend. She claimed she did it in self-defense. We look back at Mangum as simply a tragic tale. She is a woman who has mental health issues and was an exotic dancer. She could not get herself out of those issues and ultimately ended up in prison. For some, it’s a sad tale. For others, she is a liar and the sadness should only be assigned to the lacrosse players who were accused of rape.
But, as we begin to examine ourselves and how we interact with systemic racism, we should use the Duke lacrosse rape case and its 14 years in our lives to retrospectively and currently examine how we felt and how we analyzed it.
I can say that, at age 21, I immediately assumed these lacrosse players were guilty and I wanted to see justice for this young woman. Why did I feel that way? Because I also have been a victim of systemic racism. Because I also was of Brown skin on a predominantly white, upper middle class campus. I saw guys on my campus just like the Duke lacrosse players every day. I certainly knew that those type of men were capable of such behavior. So I reacted emotionally and presumed guilt. Once I was made aware that the story had holes, I accepted that this was unfair to these young men and that they were innocent and I accepted that it was unfair because I believe in proper justice. I agree that they didn’t deserve to go through what they did. Even my look at Nifong has progressed over the years. I went from thinking “Why would he do this?” to realizing he is yet another white man wielding his power for his own gain and the feelings and the lives of Black people in his process to do that did not matter.
As for Mangum, there’s nothing to do but to feel bad. Her life to begin with was subject not just to systemic racism but also to the patriarchy. She had whatever reasons for becoming an exotic dancer, but that occupation in our society also subjects an individual to even more heightened levels of systemic racism and the patriarchy. As a result, it only could have intensified her already present mental health issues. Now she is yet another Black person that is incarcerated.
If we want to accept racism’s existence in our society then we must accept the fact that while the young white men involved in the Duke lacrosse case were innocent of rape, they were not innocent of systemic racism. None of us know what truly happened on that night at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd. in Durham. But, just understanding the party was filled with white upper middle class men, the fact they shared emails referencing American Psycho, their age, their consumption of alcohol, and the fact they ordered strippers, the behavior was not perfect. The power dynamics involved touch issues of potential racism, classism, and sexism. So, yes, even though I was not there, I believe some insulting things were likely said by these men to these women. I’ve heard insulting things in my life under far less difficult circumstances and I’m a middle-class Brown man. And, once you heave enough insults at an individual at one of the lowest realms of systemic racism, classism, and the patriarchy, it’s unclear what the possibilities could be. In this case, it was an accusation of rape. It later sadly became her incarceration.
If my generation truly wants to think deeper on race, then we must reflect back on the Duke lacrosse case. Think about what you thought about then. Think about what you think about it now. But, most importantly, ask yourself this question: who is the real victim here? Your answer could help you understand your place in systemic racism and systemic racism’s place in our society.
