Special to the NNPA from the Wilmington Journal

The Triangle Urban League (TUL), the NC Conference of NAACP Branches, along with several Black newspapers in North Carolina, are set to unveil a community-based website that allows people from across the country to express their love, support and concern for the alleged survivor in the Duke lacrosse gang rape case.

Keith Sutton, TUL president/CEO, and Dr. William Barber, NC NAACP president, will make comment on why Black community leaders and the Black Press came together to provide a vehicle by which the survivor can realize that she is not alone.

Both the press and the defense attorneys in the case have relentlessly pilloried the survivor--a mother of two, second-year student at North Carolina Central University in Durham, and US Navy veteran.

Many in the African American community, without judging guilt or innocence of the indicted suspects, believe that she deserves her day in court, and that the case should not be tried in the media.

The site, located at www.ourheartsworld.com, was still under construction at press time. The site will feature exclusive pictures taken at the first rally for the survivor by NCCU students, in addition to a special message to "Our Sister," and a special section where supporters and well-wishers can send messages of hope and encouragement by e-mail to be posted.

There will be no direct message logins on the site to prevent abuse. All e-mailed messages will be monitored and then posted for public viewing. The e-mail address for messages is yourheart@ourheartsworld.com.

The link for the NC Coalition Against Sexual Assault, and the National Sexual Abuse Hotline will be posted so that other alleged survivors of rape who login can seek counseling and support.

The Black newspapers—"The Carolinian of Raleigh," "The Carolina Times" of Durham, and the "Wilmington Journal"--signed on to be part of the project’s "Coalition of the Concerned" because of the immense media bias against the survivor.

Because Black newspapers were originally founded as vehicles of advocacy, they are required, by tradition and standard, not only to report to the African American community, to stand up for their community anytime it is under attack.

Other community-based organizations listed among the Coalition of the Concerned include the NC Black Leadership caucus, the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance of Durham and Vicinity, Andrea Harris, El-Hajj Sheik Kenneth Murray-Muhammad (who passed just this week) and his wife, Sister Margaret Rose Murray-Muhammad.