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	Column: Another Abuse of Silence By Rhonda Swan Palm Beach Post April 23, 2009 http://www.palmbeachpost.com/opinion/content/opinion/epaper/2009/04/23/a14a_swancol_0424.html It has the perfect ingredients of a television movie: sex, lies and DVDs. The setting: a poor, rural Florida town about which few care. The villain: a charming, yet manipulative man of the cloth. The victims: teenage boys with dreams of escaping poverty. The climax: the shocking revelation - by videos - that for years the villain has been sexually abusing these boys, luring them with promises of athletic scholarships and football stardom. When Belle Glade makes headlines, it's usually for one of two things - football or crime. The allegations against the Rev. Richard "J.R." Harris - unlawful sexual activity with a minor and lewd and lascivious battery - involve both. Rev. Harris, a former pastor, community activist and perennial political candidate, was a Belle Glade fixture. As the lurid details of his alleged crimes come to light, residents seemingly can be split in two camps - those who are shocked and astounded that he could be capable of such heinous acts, and those who'd heard the rumors, suspected something was amiss, and kept their children away from him. And kept quiet. Some in law enforcement say those who've kept quiet were reluctant to tell authorities of their suspicions because of a long-held distrust of police in the predominantly black community. If the allegations are true, it means that a sexual predator roamed freely into high school locker rooms, onto high school football fields and to the homes of unsuspecting parents who allowed him to taxi their children to and from school because no one said a word. That is the danger of a culture of silence. We can assume why the victims stayed quiet. They're young and naive. Scared and ashamed. Since the stolen videos were seen by many in town, some have reportedly contemplated suicide. Why, though, did so many adults keep silent about their suspicions? Had someone spoken up, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office would've launched an investigation that might have revealed what the person who burgled Rev. Harris' home uncovered. And some of the victims might have been spared. It is this culture of silence that keeps murderers free from the arms of justice. Cartheda Mann, president of Belle Glade's NAACP chapter, has been working with the Glades Ministerial Alliance to change this culture. The alliance has held marches to draw attention to the violence that pervades the community and to persuade residents to break the code of thou-shalt-not-speak. When one person steps up, Ms. Mann says, others will follow. "I just believe that the more they see people who are saying, 'this will not happen on my watch and if I know something, I'm going to tell it,' they won't feel the same kind of fear," she said. "They will know that they're not alone." And alone is how many in the Glades feel, which could, in part, explain the silence. When bad things happen "out there," the attitude of residents and elected officials on "the coast" and in Tallahassee is, "That's the Glades." It's the same dismissive "That's Afghanistan" attitude Americans had toward events too remote to matter before Sept. 11. Perhaps, if Belle Glade made headlines when good things outside of football happened, more people would care. "There's a lot of good folks that live in the Glades," said Maj. Tony Arhujo, who oversees the Glades for the sheriff's office. "I wish the media would do a little more reporting about some of the great things that are occurring out there." Such as the two Glades Central High School students getting Gates Millennium Scholarships. Or the publication of Up From the Muck about successful Belle Glade natives by former Glades Central Principal Effie Grear. If there were more stories like these, Belle Glade might feel and act less isolated, less like a stepchild who's ignored and more like a part of the family. In my family, rarely is there silence.
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