The three lacrosse players have been declared innocent, Duke University has agreed to a multi-million dollar settlement, and Michael Nifong’s law license has been yanked. But unfinished business remains.

Three weeks after Crystal Gail Mangum made her false allegations of rape, 88 Duke professors ran an advertisement in the student newspaper asking, What Does a Social Disaster Sound Like? 

The rambling April 6, 2006 statement lamented, “… no one is really talking about how to keep the young woman herself central to this conversation, how to keep her humanity before us.” But no mention was made about the humanity of three male students falsely accused of rape.

Worse, the professors’ manifesto used the logic of the lynch mob, fostering the notion that since a Black woman claimed to be a victim of rape, everyone at Duke was now tinged with racism: “We go to class with racist classmates, we go to gym with people who are racists … It’s part of the experience.”

Exactly who are the members of the Duke 88 and what is their agenda?

The most vitriolic member of the bunch was professor Houston Baker, who repeatedly indulged in racist and sexist claims. In his letter to Duke provost Peter Lange, Baker charged, “Young, white, violent, drunken men among us - implicitly boasted by our athletic directors and administrators - have injured lives.”

Young, violent, drunken men among us – Dr. Baker, that’s the language of the KKK, not of a university teacher.

Karla Holloway, chair of the university’s Race Subcommittee, justified her membership in the Duke 88 because she desired to express her support for “all” students at Duke. When asked whether her support for all students included the beleaguered lacrosse players, she refused to answer.

When Crystal Gail Mangum changed her story for the umpteenth time and the case had more holes than the frayed netting of a lacrosse stick, the Duke 88 fell back on their neo-Marxist slogans and stereotypes.

History professor William Chafe made the claim that “Sex and race have always interacted in a vicious chemistry of power, privilege, and control.” Somehow Dr. Chafe forgot his history lessons about the notorious case of the Scottsboro Boys, the nine Black teenagers who were falsely accused of rape in 1931.

Wahneema Lubiano outrageously argued the lacrosse players were probably guilty since they were “the exemplars of the upper end of the class hierarchy, the politically dominant race and ethnicity, the dominant gender, the dominant sexuality, and the dominant social group on campus.”

Rich, white, male, and heterosexual – yep, guilty as charged.

So when the DNA tests failed to link Mangum to any of the lacrosse players, Lubiano poo-poohed the news as part of a “demand for perfect evidence on the part of the defenders of the team.”

Likewise, professor Thavolia Glymph fretted the DNA results would cause the Duke 88’s crusade to transform the campus to start “moving backwards.”

And even after her radical leftist colleagues fell under withering criticism, Gang of 88 member Paula McClain refused to express remorse. “I’m not going to be intimidated into modulating speech,” she retorted.

And for real entertainment, a visit to the websites of the Duke 88 provides a revealing glimpse into the mindset of these academic elites.

Like professor Kathy Rudy’s website that reports she is “Currently workig on a new project critiquing animal rights from speciesist persective.” 

Speciesist perspective? Workig?? Thank goodness this black-gowned agitator is teaching women’s studies, not English spelling and grammar.

And literature professor Antonio Viego, whose website proudly announces he specializes in “queer ethnic studies and lesbian and gay theory.”  Parents, have you ever wondered where your $34,000 tuition money is going?

The Duke 88 advertisement marked a critical turning point in the Mangum rape case. It condoned the actions of the campus potbangers, hardened racial divisions in the Durham community, and provided fodder for Michael Nifong’s re-election campaign. And just 12 days after their statement came out, two members of the lacrosse team were arrested on charges of rape, first degree sexual offense, and kidnapping. A month later, a third player was indicted.

A year later, these young men have been declared innocent and a semblance of normalcy restored to their lives. But their names and reputations are forever associated with a heinous crime.

Meanwhile, the identities of the Duke 88 remain unknown to the public, their deed of infamy hidden behind the cloak of anonymity and plausible deniability.

So let it be said that these 88 men and women acted in a scurrilous manner to foster race hysteria, inflame gender relationships, and trample on the due process protections for three men falsely accused of the crime of rape:

1. Stan Abe - Art, Art History, and Visual Studies 2. Benjamin Albers - University Writing Program 3. Anne Allison - Cultural Anthropology 4. Srinivas Aravamudan - English5. Houston Baker - English and African & African-American Studies 6. Lee Baker - Cultural Anthropology 7. Christine Beaule - University Writing Program8. Sarah Beckwith - English9. Paul Berliner - Music10. Connie Blackmore - African & African-American Studies11. Jessica Boa - Religion & University Writing Program12. Mary T. Boatwright - Classical Studies13. Silvia Boero - Romance Studies14. Eduardo Bonilla-Silva - Sociology15. Matthew Brim - University Writing Program16. William Chafe - History17. Leo Ching - Asian & African Languages18. Rom Coles - Political Science19. Miriam Cooke - Asian & African Languages20. Michaeline Crichlow - African & African-American Studies21. Kim Curtis - Political Science22. Leslie Damasceno - Romance Studies23. Cathy Davidson - English24. Sarah Deutsch - History25. Ariel Dorfman - Literature & Latin American Studies26. Laura Edwards - History27. Grant Farred - Literature28. Luciana Fellini - Romance Studies29. Mary McClintock Fulkerson - Divinity School30. Esther Gabara - Romance Studies31. Raymond Gavins - History32. Meg Greer - Romance Studies33. Thavolia Glymph - History34. Michael Hardt - Literature35. Joseph Harris - University Writing Program36. Karla Holloway - English37. Bayo Holsey - African & African-American Studies38. Mary Hovsepian - Sociology39. Sherman James - Public Policy40. Alice Kaplan - Literature41. Keval Kaur Khalsa - Dance Program42. Ranjana Khanna - English43. Ashley King - Romance Studies44. Claudia Koonz - History45. Peter Lasch - Art, Art History46. Dan A. Lee - Math47. Pat Leighten - Art, Art History, and Visual Studies48. Frank Lentricchia - Literature49. Caroline Light - Institute for Critical U.S. Studies50. Marcy Litle - Comparative Area Studies51. Ralph Litzinger - Cultural Anthropology52. Michele Longino - Romance Studies53. Wahneema Lubiano - African & African-American Studies and Literature54. Kenneth Maffitt - History55. Jason Mahn - University Writing Program56. Anne-Maria Makhulu - African & African-American Studies57. Lisa Mason - Surgical Unit-210058. Paula McClain - Political Science59. Louise Meintjes - Music60. Walter Mignolo - Literature and Romance Studies61. Alberto Moreiras - Romance Studies62. Mark Anthony Neal - African & African-American Studies63. Diane Nelson - Cultural Anthropology64. Jolie Olcott - History65. Liliana Parades - Romance Studies66. Charles Payne - African & African-American Studies and History67. Charlotte Pierce-Baker - Women’s Studies68. Wilma Pebles-Wilkins69. Arlie Petters - Math70. Ronen Plesser - Physics71. Jan Radway - Literature72. Tom Rankin - Center for Documentary Studies73. Marcia Rego - University Writing Program74. Deborah S. Reisinger - Romance Studies75. Alex Rosenberg - Philosophy76. Kathy Rudy - Women’s Studies77. Marc Schachter - English78. Laurie Shannon - English79. Pete Sigal - History80. Irene Silverblatt - Cultural Anthropology81. Fiona Somerset - English
82. Rebecca Stein - Cultural Anthropology83. Susan Thorne - History84. Antonio Viego - Literature85. Teresa Vilaros - Romance Studies86. Priscilla Wald - English87. Maurice Wallace - English and African & African-American Studies88. David Wong - Philosophy