On Sept. 7, two dozen activists gathered in the small town of Moosup, Conn., to demand justice for 17-year-old Nashawn Williams. In October 2007, Williams was attacked by the racist gang “K Nation,” known for its association with the KKK. The gang threw hot coffee in Williams’s face, then brutally beat him. Days after the attack, a mob appeared at the Williams’s door yelling racist slurs and threatening the family with reprisal if they did not leave town.
Despite claims of performing over 100 interviews and two persons having come forward with knowledge about the attack, the police department and the FBI say they have no leads on the case and have closed it. Moosup and Plainfield share the same police department. Following the rally in Moosup, the activists caravanned to the police department, where Rabbi Donna Berman posted a manifesto on the door of the building.
The note, addressed to the Plainfield police chief and department, read in part, “Let it be known that we are seeking justice, not just for this young man, but for all those who went before him, who endured suffering and anguish inflicted by prejudice, those who stand at the crossroads of time and space, among them Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcom X, Medgar Evers, Ida B. Welles, Huey Newton, Sojourner Truth, John Brown and nameless others.”
The rally follows many that have happened in the 11 months since the attack. At a rally on Dec. 15, 2007, Williams’ mother, Phyllisha Williams, shouted “No excuses” as the town’s First Selectman (the mayor) defended the lack of progress by the police.
In response to the Sept. 7 rally, Plainfield Police Chief Robert Hoffman told the Norwich Bulletin, “It wasn’t worth the fuel they used to come here,” a clear indication of the intentional inaction which has plagued the entire investigation.
All working people must defend the victims of such vicious attacks and expose the connivance of the state in a united fight against all forms of racism.
