We've been publishing a series of articles on the general topic of Hate Crimes and Assaults here on the Loper Website. As a part of this series, we are interviewing people with something to share - insight, opinion, even more questions - and will publish these interviews from time to time. The framework for the interviews is a questionnaire, but we will not slavishly force each interview to follow a prescribed format - ideas flow too freely for that.

Dave Sagarin interview with Rick Turner

What is a Hate or Bias Crime? Should there be special Hate Crime laws?

I don't think anyone has a right to assault anyone because of race or sex or whatever -- if they do, they should be dealt with according to the full extent of the law.

Do you know any of the victims or assailants?

One of the victims is in my class, and from talking to him, [I've learned] he didn't feel that it was a hate crime at the time. [I think if anything] it was his [small] size more than his color that made him vulnerable.

And [then] the question was asked, if [it] had been African American students, looking preppy and so forth, out at that hour -- would they have been assaulted? And my gut reaction is, probably not. So there might be some of that [bias] in it, but not as the primary motive.

I'm glad that in the final analysis [these assaults] were found not to be hate crimes

Comments on recently-formed Community Committees

I think it was thoughtless and unforgiving for these people to allow Ron Doggett [of EURO] to participate.

On the University Committee

I am pleased with one thing that has come out of all this. There's a committee that's been formed here at UVa, by [Co-Exec.V.P. and C.O.O.] Leonard Sandridge, Jr - he gives it direction - and it includes [Police] Chiefs Longo [of Charlottesville] and Norris [of UVa], as well as other people from the university - students, administrators, faculty ….

I'm pleased with the commitment that this demonstrates - you know, the community talks about the university not being involved but here you have genuine leadership and [a sincere desire] to deal with [issues like] race. There's no end to this issue. And it's so volatile - this [recent] business shows us that.

And to deal with the psychological impact - [this will be a problem] for a long time - for the victims [but also for] the people who assaulted them.

Comments on Race

I only know about racism as a victim - that's my perspective.

[Ultimately] the solutions to race problems [in Charlottesville and nationally] are not going to be found in meetings. They'll be found through sustained activities - in six months this [series of assaults] will all be forgotten [so we must take advantage of the moment]. Ongoing mediation has to take place

We need to [involve] people with expertise -- bring in outside experts, because we just don't have [enough expertise] here in Charlottesville.

[And] nothing will [really] begin to happen until whites begin to talk about race at the kitchen table. The cycle [of racism] has to stop and you have to stop it with how you educate children -- there's a book, "The First 'R' - how children learn race and racism," by Ausdale and Feagin, that sets this out - there are many things in it that are painful to read. (May 13, 2002)

M. Rick Turner is Dean of the University of Virginia's Office of African American Affairs and a member of the adjunct faculty of the Department of Sociology, teaching a course on "Sociology of the African-American Community."