Hypocrites of Hate: Williams College Okay with Black Panther Party Symbol Despite Its History of Torture

I stumbled over the arrogant hypocrisy of Adam Falk, the soon-to-be ex-president of Williams College this morning. The campus police noticed that someone had scrawled a tiny "KKK" on the  Williams Class of 2019 banner.

According to Falk, ..."the symbol “KKK” has long been used as a weapon, to intimidate and instill fear. We cannot yet know the writer’s intention, but the nature of a weapon is that it does harm regardless of intent. When someone inscribed those letters, or defaced the banner with them afterwards, they harmed our community."

The irony, of course is that right beside this "KKK" someone has written in a big and bold clenched fist, the symbol of the violent, criminal, black nationalist, Black Panther Party.

If I was still teaching at Williams College, I think I would still be bold enough to observe that when I see the clenched fist, I recall the violence of the Black Panther Party. In particular, the clenched fist reminds me of how three guys in the New Haven chapter of the Black Panther Party tortured and murdered Alex Rackley. Rackley, 19, was old enough to be a sophomore at Williams College. Apparently, elite members of the Black Panther Party suspected him of being a police informant.

Rackley’s fellow Black Panthers tied him to a bed and tortured him by pouring boiling water on his stomach, shoulders, and thighs. It is gruesome to remember that this torture continued for two days.

The horrifying details of his interrogation at the hands of Black Panther Party officials can be heard on an audio tape which was played at the trial of his killers. The whole thing is chilling and frightening and deserves a wider audience, especially at Williams College. You can access the audio recording and a transcript by clicking on the link below:

Black Panther Torture “Trial” Tape Surfaces

I do not see how any person, or institution, which truly understands the mental associations connected with the Black Power Party fist would allow it to be displayed in any manner, much less on a class banner. Whoever uses that symbol should remember the pain and suffering of Alex Rackley. They ought to listen to his actual voice...word by word...during the final days of his life.

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.

What Has Trump Accomplished? Useful List from Ray Schneider

What has president Donald Trump done? Since he has been in office and for the first time in eight

long years the GDP has risen above 3 percent.

1. Supreme Court Judge Gorsuch

2. 59 missiles dropped in Syria

3. He took us out of TPP

4. Illegal immigration is now down 70%( the lowest in 17 years)

5. Consumer confidence highest since 2000 at index 125.6

6. Mortgage applications for new homes rise to a seven year high

7. Arranged from 7% to 24% Tariff on lumber from Canada

8. Bids for border wall are well underway

9. Pulled out of the lopsided Paris accord

10. Keystone pipeline approved

11. NATO allies boost spending by 4.3%

12. Allowing VA to terminate bad employees

13. Allowing private healthcare choices for veterans

14. More than 600,000. Jobs created

15. Median household income at a 7 year high

16. The Stock Market is at the highest ever in its history

17. China agreed to American import of beef

18. $89 Billion saved in regulation rollbacks

19. Rollback of A Regulation to boost coal mining

20. MOAB for ISIS

21. Travel ban reinstated

22. Executive order for religious freedom

23. Jump started NASA

24. $600 million cut from UN peacekeeping budget

25. Targeting of MS13 gangs

26. Deporting violent illegal immigrants

27. Signed 41 bills to date

28. Created a commission on child trafficking

29. Created a commission on voter fraud

30. Created a commission for opioids addiction

31. Giving power to states to drug test unemployment recipients

32. Unemployment lowest since May 2007

33. Historic Black College University initiative

34. Women In Entrepreneurship Act

35. Created an office for illegal immigrant crime victims

36. Reversed Dodd-Frank

37. Repealed DOT ruling which would have taken power away from local governments for infrastructure planning

38. Order to stop crime against law enforcement

39. End of DAPA program

40. Stopped companies from moving out of America

41. Promoted businesses to create American Jobs

42. Encouraged country to once again - 'Buy American and hire American'

43. Cutting regulations - 2 for every one created

45. Review of all trade agreements to make sure they are America first

46. Apprentice program

47. Highest manufacturing surge in 3 years

48. $78 Billion promised reinvestment from major businesses like Exxon, Bayer, Apple, SoftBank, Toyota

49. Denied FBI a new building

50. $700 million saved with F-35 renegotiation

51. Saves $22 million by reducing white house payroll

52. Dept of Treasury reports a $182 billion surplus for April 2017 (2nd largest in history)

53. Negotiated the release of 6 US humanitarian workers held captive in Egypt

54. Gas prices lowest in more than 12 years

55. Signed An Executive Order To Promote Energy Independence and Economic Growth

56. Has already accomplished more to stop government interference into people's lives than any President in the history of America

57. President Trump has worked with Congress to pass more legislation in his first 100 days than any President since Truman

58. Has given head executive of each branches 6 month time frame, dated March 15, 2017, to trim the fat, restructure and improve efficiency of their branch. (Observe the push-back the leaks and the lies as entrenched POWER refuses to go silently into that good night!)

59. Last, refused his Presidential pay check. Donated it to Veterans issues

I hope each and every one of you copy and paste this every where, every time you hear some dimwit say Trump hadn't done a thing!

Ray Schneider, PhD
Associate Professor Emeritus


Bridgewater College