WAS JAVION McGEE LYNCHED?
FAMILY SUSPECTS YES, BUT
VANCE COUNTY SHERIFF SAYS NO
By Cash Michaels
Contributing writer
A young Black truck driver from Chicago, Illinois was found dead in Vance County last week with a rope around his neck, in a seated position, at the base of a tree, but despite his family’s suspicions, authorities say this was not a lynching.
The death of 21 year-old Javion McGee has been officially ruled a suicide, although at press time, full autopsy results from the state medical examiner have not yet been disclosed. According to a warrant, McGee’s body was found September 11th under a tree near Henderson, reportedly off a rural road not far from his truck. Based on evidence recovered, including the rope found around his neck, a receipt showing that the rope was purchased at a nearby Wal-mart distribution center where he had to make a delivery, and video from that Wal-mart showing McGee going in, making the purchase, and then leaving that store alone along with other evidence, the Vance County Sheriff’s Office determined that McGee committed suicide with that rope, and no one else was involved.
But McGee’s family isn’t buying it, saying the young man had no history of known mental illness.
This case got public attention when the victim’s cousin, Ms. Scottie Primpin, went on the social media platform Tik Tok to tell it’s mass audience about her cousin’s death, and her suspicions about it.
“We obviously don’t believe that, and we are just asking for your help to push his story out there,” Ms. Primpin said online. “Please help in getting justice for my little cousin.”
It wasn’t long before some social media users chimed in that Henderson was a “sundown town” where decades ago, Blacks were not allowed to be out after a certain time of night less they be killed by white racists.
The family also claimed to have difficulty seeing McGee’s body, and had to wait until his father reportedly gave permission.
Vance County Sheriff Curtis R. Brame, an African-American, told local reporters that his officers were conducting the death investigation, and that there were no signs of foul play.
"I understand there's over 1,000 hits on Tik Tok (accusing) the sheriff's office of not being transparent, not providing information to the family and that is not true," Brame said. "There's been information put out there that there's a lynching in Vance County. There is not a lynching in Vance County. The young man was not dangling from a tree. He was not swinging from a tree. The rope was wrapped around his neck. It was not a noose. There was not a knot in the rope, so therefore, it was not a lynching here in Vance County."
Sheriff Brame said his investigators are waiting for toxicology results on McGee’s body from the state medical examiner, but thus far, based on preliminary autopsy results,
there were no obvious signs of defensive wounds or scars on his limbs including arms and legs, but there were signs of hemorrhaging around the soft part of the victim’s neck.
But even with the Black sheriff’s pronouncement, Javion McGee’s family remain unconvinced, and believe he was the victim of a hate crime.
Candace Matthews, a spokesperson for McGee’s family in Illinois, told Raleigh media, "We have a lot of questions, not enough answers," This does not sound logical at all ... we want to see everything that pertaining to the investigative process. We want full transparency.”
Sheriff Brame has asked the Vance County District Attorney and the State Bureau of Investigation to assist in the probe.
Meanwhile, McGee’s family has secured civil rights attorneys to monitored the case, and the investigation.
The family has also secured the support of The NC NAACP, which expressed “deep concern,” and from national civil rights leader, former NC NAACP Pres. Bishop William Barber.
“The death of a young person is hard and painful enough, but in this circumstance, we must have truth and transparency. Hanging, whatever the cause, is not a form of death that can be easily dismissed, particularly here in the South where it has been used as a weapon of terror against Black families for generations," said Bishop Barber in a statement. "I join [the] attorneys …as they seek transparency, truth, and justice for Javion Magee and his family. We must and will find out what has happened.”
Anyone with information about the death of Javion McGee is asked to contact the Vance County Sheriff's Office at 252-738-2200 or Henderson-Vance Crime Stoppers at 252-492-1925.
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ALL INDICATIONS ARE
WHEN ELECTION DAY
ENDS, TROUBLE BEGINS
By Cash Michaels
Contributing writer
Except on rare occasions in the past, when the November general elections came and went, the public had what many believed were the results, and life could go on.
But as the 2020 general elections proved, that state of mind is now a thing of the past.
There are legal challenges, rule changes, and toxic rhetoric aplenty this election year that threatens to prolong the final official voting counts, not to mention voters being able to have unfettered access to cast their rightful ballots, that registered voters must be aware to make sure that their vote counts in the end for the candidates they choose to be in office.
Translation - that means it’s going to take a little more work on your part to make sure that if you’re going to spend valuable time on a long line once early voting begins on Thursday, October 17th (Sept. 24th for all voters who have requested a mail-in absentee ballot), and of course, on Election Day, November 5th.
Over 166,000 absentee voters have requested mail-in ballots, and there was some question if they would be able to get them by mandated deadline after third-party candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently litigated to have his name removed from North Carolina’s ballot for the sole purpose of helping Republican former Pres. Donald Trump’s campaign in the state.
With the Republican-led state Supreme Court ruling in Kennedy’s favor, local boards of election had to scramble and spend millions to get RFK’s name off in time to distribute ballots starting on Friday, Sept. 20th, one day before the federal deadline.
The local county boards were previously prepared to distribute mail-in ballots on Sept. 6th before the state High Court ruling.
All North Carolina registered voters can use a mail-in ballot, but request one by October 29th, and be properly submitted back to their local County Board of Elections by 7:30 p.m. Nov. 5th, Election Day
As noted before, especially for African-American voters, it’s important to either check online (www. ncsbe.gov) or at your local county Board of Elections to ensure that your personal voter registration is correct and up-to-date (proper and current address, etc.) so that your ballot is not rejected for some reason.
Voter registration ends Oct. 11th at 5 p.m.
In-person Early voting/Same Day registration begins Oct. 17th, and ends Saturday, Nov. 2nd.
But it doesn’t stop there.
Thanks to four lawsuits from the Republican National Committee and the NC GOP, under the guise of “Protect the Vote,” it is now being alleged that the NC State Board of Elections is improperly allowing non-citizens, or people who have not provided proper identification, to vote, among other issues. The GOP is seeking to purge 225,000 voters from North Carolina voting rolls. It has been suggested that if the GOP is successful, the massive purge could possibly cover the margin of victory for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, and gubernatorial candidate Josh Stein over their respective Republican opponents.
The State Elections Board is vigorously denying the GOP allegations.
NC House Democratic Leader Robert Reives is clear about what he thinks the Republican Party is up to, and why.
“Voters in our state will have the opportunity to reject Republican extremism at the ballot box,” wrote Rep. Reives in a recent op-ed. “If anything, maybe GOP attempts to block access to the ballot will motivate even more North Carolinians to make sure their vote is counted this election.”
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