Posters Naming Alleged Rapists Spark Discussion About Culture Of Silence At Spelman And Morehouse

Signs accusing students of rape were put up throughout the campuses of Spelman College, Morehouse College, and Clark Atlanta University, bringing the current national conversation on sexual assault to the doorstep of these historically Black colleges and universities.

The signs, which went up Wednesday, also accused the administrations of each school, which make up the Atlanta University Center Consortium, of covering up sexual assaults. The school have previously been accused of protecting rapists over sexual assault victims.

“No More Secrets,” one sign read. “Morehouse Protects Rapists – Spelman Protects Rapists,” another one read. Some signs named specific male students who had allegedly raped Spelman students. The signs were later taken down by campus police. 

The conversation, however, continued on social media under the hashtag #WeKnowWhatYouDid with both current students and alumni chiming into the discussion.

“It’s very often where victims stay silent and are kept silent, so I think it’s beautiful whoever put those posters down,” Spelman College senior Micaela Harris told the local CBS station.

Spelman released a statement saying that it was “committed to combating sexual assault and harassment on campus…Our efforts in this area are focused on prevention of these acts and are directed at every member of the college community.”

Morehouse’s statement mirrored that of Spelman’s saying, “We encourage anyone who has been impacted by sexual harassment or assault on the Morehouse College campus to come forward and file a complaint or to use our anonymous complaint hotline.”

BuzzFeed reported an in-depth article in 2016 that looked at how the sibling dynamic between the schools has essentially silenced the voices of women who have been assaulted.

Last year, an anonymous Twitter account emerged detailing the disturbing alleged gang rape of a Spelman freshman by Morehouse students.  You can read Essence.com’s reporting on it here.