# When was the last time a black murder victim was featured on the national news? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 1, 2004, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-a-black-murder-victim-was-featured-on-the-national-news/237744 "2004-04-01T16:09:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-a-black-murder-victim-was-featured-on-the-national-news/237744/21 "2004-04-03T00:26:41Z")
**qouthz** Gee, I think my remark about the New York City Coumcillor, James Davis’ “ironic” death was quite justified. Here’s the organization he founded: - In 1990, James founded **“LOVE YOURSELF” Stop the Violence** not-for-profit organization. Concerned with the growing violence in urban communities, James began waging a war against guns, drugs, teen pregnancy and school delinquency. \* And here’s the cite: [http://www.jedavis-stopviolence.org/meta2.html](http://www.jedavis-stopviolence.org/meta2.html) ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-a-black-murder-victim-was-featured-on-the-national-news/237744/22 "2004-04-03T00:52:32Z")
It wasn’t ironic, it was just sad. ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-a-black-murder-victim-was-featured-on-the-national-news/237744/23 "2004-04-03T01:02:58Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > James Bird-the man who was dragged to death chained to a car in Texas? I think Guin has nailed it here - I assume the OP was looking for a black murder victim, with no particular claim to fame, whose case received “hypercoverage.” PS It’s “James Byrd” ---
**Author:** ![ltfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-a-black-murder-victim-was-featured-on-the-national-news/237744/24 "2004-04-03T01:42:51Z")
> [@Chastain86](#): > > [Linked Cite](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/nation/specials/aroundthenation/nypd/) > > Believe me, the Amadou Diallo thing wasn’t still fresh in my mind 5 years later. Google is your friend. And I quote: > > _In February 1999, four New York City policemen searching for a rape suspect knocked on Amadou Diallo’s door to question him. When he came to the door he reached inside his jacket, at which point the officers shot at him 41 times, hitting him with 19 bullets. The object Diallo was reaching for turned out to be his wallet._ > > Sure sounds like I quoted right to me. Nobody knocked on Diallos door. Diallo was seen acting suspiciously (debated) in the vestibule of his apartment house. The four plain clothes cops spread out and approached him from different directions. One cop saw what he believed to be a gun and opened fire. With that, another cop fell, and the other three thought he had been fired on, thus, the 41 shots. My cite is following this story from day one. You can look it up in any NEW YORK paper. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-a-black-murder-victim-was-featured-on-the-national-news/237744/25 "2004-04-03T03:08:36Z")
Around here, there was the D’wan Simms case. Several years ago, a young black boy (D’wan) disappeared at a local mall. The story received the kind of “hypercoverage” that the OP is looking for. He was just a poor kid from Detroit with no famous relatives or anything like that. Still, it was all over the news for days, and got periodic mention for weeks after that. Sadly, they never found him ☹ ---
**Author:** ![vasyachkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c5a1d2/32.png) [@vasyachkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vasyachkin)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-a-black-murder-victim-was-featured-on-the-national-news/237744/26 "2004-04-03T07:43:56Z")
> [@Chastain86](#): > > The first person I thought of was Amadou Diallo, the black man shot by the NYPD 41 times. If you remember, it was after he answered the door to his apartment and then reached into his jacket for his wallet, which police mistook for a gun. > > That was in 1999. > > Are we trying to make a point here? hehe, wasn’t very smart of him to reach for his wallet … i wouldn’t have done it, and i am white 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Abbie\_Carmichael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@Abbie\_Carmichael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abbie_Carmichael)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-a-black-murder-victim-was-featured-on-the-national-news/237744/27 "2004-04-03T08:08:01Z")
How about that prosecutor guy in Pennsylvania? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-a-black-murder-victim-was-featured-on-the-national-news/237744.md?page=1)