Hanging Doll Investigated as Hate Crime

The Washington Post
By Susan Kinzie
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 4, 2008; Page B06

A black doll suspended from a noose at the University of Richmond is being investigated as a possible hate crime and has sparked emotional forums and discussions about race at the school.
Last month, just before spring break, a staff member found the roughly two-foot-long doll hanging from a noose in a studio theater with a sign reading "Art is dead -- long live art."
While some students and faculty wondered whether it was a joke or an artistic statement, many worried that it was the latest in a series of symbols evoking lynching that have been found recently on university campuses and other public spaces, including an apparent noose at the University of Maryland last year.
The noose and the doll, with dark skin and hair, were leftover props. According to the student newspaper the Collegian, which first reported the story, the doll had a green hat and clothes, and a professor who saw it hanging at first thought it could be a leprechaun. It had become a sort of mascot for the department; students played with it and it would pop up in various places, sitting on a chair or left in other spots around the theater.
The university police department is trying to determine who left the doll this time and why, said university spokesman Brian Eckert. [To read the entire article, go to: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/03/AR2008040302541.html?wpisrc=newsletter ]