NAACP's McSurely 's letter : So bad it was good

KC Johnson has posted letting Durham-in-Wonderland readers know NC NAACP attorney Al McSurely is a registered agent for false accuser Crystal Mangum who's reported to have a book coming out later this month.

KC's post brought to mind a letter of McSurely's published June 3, 2006 in the Raleigh News & Observer.

McSurely was responding to a column by the NY Times' David Brooks, which the N&O had published May 31.

Brooks column was a forthright and graceful acknowledgment that in an earlier column he'd rushed to judgment regarding the Duke lacrosse players.

Brook's apologized and urged others who'd helped create "a witch hunt" to examine more carefully the facts of the case.

If you know McSurely, you know Brooks' column is the kind of thing that would light his very short fuse.

The day McSurely's letter appeared I posted here. The post contains the full text of his letter about which I said, among other things:

McSurely's letter is notable for its personal attacks on Brooks, its playing to stereotypes, its misrepresentation of facts, and its failure to mention many pertinent facts which have led most fair-minded people to question much of what the accuser and her supporters such as McSurely are saying.

The letter is so bad in terms of a careful presentation of the known facts that it has to give encouragement to those who believe the indicted lacrosse players are very likely innocent.

I posted again the following day asking readers:

What’s McSurely doing besides dealing N&O readers a race card?

I hope you read McSurely's letter.

You'll see why I thought McSurely's error-filled, illogical, and racially manipulative letter was good for those seeking truth and justice.

And if, as seems likely, McSurely again appears on the Duke case "radar screen," his letter will be a useful reminder of just what sort of person, attorney and "civil rights advocate" has "blipped on to the screen."