Hanging Doll Investigated as Hate Crime

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.

"No one is actually sure what the meaning of this is," Eckert said. "Some people think that whoever did this might not have intended a racial message with it. Unfortunately, that's what this type of symbolism is associated with. When people see it, they have a visceral reaction to it. If it was a prank, it was a really bad idea.

"The university abhors it," he added. "It's not the type of thing we teach at Richmond, nor can we accept it."

A university office hosted a forum about the incident, and students organized another. On a theater and dance department Web site, students and professors expressed shock and outrage over the incident and vowed to use their studio space to bring people together.

Some faculty and students thought the incident might be linked to an upcoming play about a fictional meeting between Malcolm X and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.