The KSU chapters of Phi Beta Sigma Inc. and Sigma Gamma Rho Inc. co-hosted an open forum discussion, “A Conversation Among Brothers and Sisters,” on the death of Florida teen Trayvon Martin and the controversial Willie Lynch Letter last Tuesday night.
Around 40 students attended the event, which consisted of two presentations followed by open discussion. on April 3. Valerie Cuffie, senior communication student and Sigma Gamma Rho chapter secretary and publicist, led with a presentation of the controversial Willie Lynch Letter.
The Willie Lynch Letter is a contested 300-year-old piece of literature in which Lynch explained how American colonists could systematically break down a slave community, by breaking male slaves physically and female slaves mentally, to render it a useful tool. The message of the letter carries enormous implications because of the potential effects it could have on the African American community even today. Since its 1993 discovery in St. Louis, the authenticity of the letter has come into question due to inaccuracies in Lynch’s personal history and the vocabulary used in the document.
Regardless of the letter’s integrity Cuffie believes there is still a place for it in the African American community and its advancement in the future.
“We all need to stop blaming someone else for what happens in our community and move on to how we are going to fix it,” said Cuffie.
Andrew Sims, Phi Beta Sigma chapter president and junior communication student, followed with the Trayvon Martin presentation and discussion. Skittles and iced tea were served as refreshments in respect of Martin’s death.
Before opening the floor for discussion, Sims stated the facts currently known in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin and the Stand Your Ground law in Florida that currently protects shooter George Zimmerman from any legal or civil actions against him. Sims played the emergency dispatch call in which Martin’s pleading for help, and the single gunshot that ultimately ended his life, could be heard in the background. The discussion later called into question the legitimacy of Zimmerman’s self-defense claim, that he pursued Martin, instigating their altercation. Students also argued if wearing of hoodies in support of Martin served a true purpose, or if it had become propaganda or an overblown social media fad.
“I believe that for me it is purpose, it has symbolism…When I came in my hoodie, it was to show respect to the situation,” said Jessica McPhail, a senior integrative studies student who attended.
Sims went on to place emphasis on increasing political awareness and involvement in our generation as a whole and reminded those in attendance of a voter registration marathon his chapter would be hosting April 8 on the campus green.
“As far as our generation is concerned if it’s not on a social media site we are not looking at it. Why, I don’t know, but it is something we definitely have to refocus ourselves on, to raise awareness and get people out to vote,” Sims said. “We have the potential to make a change.”
The collaboration between Phi Beta Sigma Inc. and Sigma Gamma Rho Inc. was the first of its kind between the two organizations at the chapter level. The Kennesaw chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Inc. hosts a discussion on HIV-AIDS awareness each semester as a part of fraternity initiative at the national level but took on the new topic this spring when the Martin case gained national attention. KSU’s Sigma Gamma Rho Inc. chapter asked to join the discussion and present the Willie Lynch Letter topic after both Cuffie and Sims learned of the letters existence while attending a convention in St. Louis in February 2012.
Other student organizations represented in attendance Tuesday night included the NAACP, Black Gentlemen of Distinction, Ladies of Distinction, the African American Student Alliance, and the Kennesaw chapter of Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority Inc.
The Willie Lynch Letter in its uncensored entirety can be found at thetalkingdrum.com/WIL.HTML. Please note racial slurs and vulgarities are used in the document itself.
If you wish to participate in the petition calling for the prosecution of George Zimmerman, visit http://www.change.org/petitions/prosecute-the-killer-of-our-son-17-year-old-trayvon-martin.
