The Ezera Trial

To the Editors of The Crimson:

In Brenda A. Russell's recent editorial on the Emeka Ezera trial, she begins with the sentence, "It could have been a coutroom parody and people would have laughed to see such ignorance." From Emeka Ezera's viewpoint, "The trial was a rude awakening to the blatant racism inherent in the American judicial system." Yet after reading the evidence concerning the case, I am still puzzled by these two observations.

One claim that Ezera made was that "the only thing that could have kept him out of court would have been a different skin color." Well, of course, if he were white, he wouldn't have fit the woman's description of the purse snatcher. But, on the other hand, if a white person were identified three times as a purse snatcher (as Ezera was), there is no evidence that he would not also have been arrested. In fact, from the defendant's statement, "I felt sure that when I flashed my Harvard ID, that would be it," it appears that he was more disappointed that a prestigious name could not keep him out of court. So if neither Ezera's arrest nor his subsequent acquittal was based on judicial prejudices, where is the blatant racism?

Although this accusation can be excused by the trauma of Ezera's experience, it is not an isolated example of Black overreaction. Other recent examples include the use of capitalization in Russell's editorial (e.g. "two security officers, on Black and one white," "70 people, 60 per cent Black and 40 per cent white," etc.); the demanded creation of ethnic studies departments in Chicano, Boricuan (Puerto Rican), Latin American, Asian American and Native American Studies; and the accusations (which were later dropped) against proposed Afro-Am Professor Lawrence W. Levine.

Perhaps the most damaging effect of this overreaction has been a detraction of attention from such vital issues as the affirmative action program, the Afro-American Studies Department, and the newly-proposed Third World Center. It would be a shame if the true needs of Black students at Harvard are overlooked because of any alienation caused by this overreaction. Nathan Berkovits