The memory of Renisha McBride’s murder might have faded away since it happened a little less than a year ago, but it has recently re-gathered media attention, as the man convicted of her murder, Theodore Wafer, was sentenced to 17 years in prison.
McBride, a 19-year-old black woman, was shot to death on Wafer’s porch in metro Detroit while seeking help after a car accident.
The Sankofa Graduate Association at MSU has been actively spreading awareness on the case since it took place. The association held a teach-in November 2013 to highlight the issue.
They have also been in contact with McBride’s family to see ways in which they could help them.
“The family felt they had justice,” said Janelle Edwards, Sankofa Graduate Association president. “I’m glad they’re at peace.”
Edwards said her feelings and thoughts about the sentencing were conflicted.
Edwards said she thinks that if the man convicted was a black man, unlike Wafer, he would have probably gotten a longer sentence.
“Part of me says this is not enough,” she said. “He should be imprisoned depending on her life expectancy.”
Edwards said the other part of her was wondering whether him spending time in prison will change anything.
“I don’t think it’ll change how the system works,” she said.
Edwards said it was important to shed the light how racism is a systematic problem and to dismantle the idea that it is an individualized act.
“It’s not something that is isolated- this can and will happen here (in Lansing),” Edwards said.
In general, the association is a politically and socially active group that focuses on helping graduate students, mostly African-American students, enrich their academic, cultural and social experiences.
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