From here:
MOST SERIAL KILLINGS in America take on a life of their own through movies, books and documentaries. The crimes of Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer and The Son of Sam are still well remembered years after they were committed. Yet there is one set of serial killings that has been almost completely forgotten and is rarely mentioned in popular culture.
The Zebra Killings occurred in the San Francisco bay area between 1972 and 1974 and left 71 people dead. They were dubbed the Zebra Killings because of the radio channel used by the police investigating the case (channel Z). The name would take on a more sinister meaning as it became apparent that a group of blacks was systematically stalking and killing whites simply because of the color of their skin.
[...]
The majority of the attacks were carried out by five members of a group within Louis Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam called the "Death Angels." Jesse Lee Cooks, J.C. Simon, Larry Green, Manuel Moore and Anthony Harris were part of this group which believed that whites were created 3,000 years ago by a black mad scientist named Yacub who wanted a race of inferiors to rule over. Death Angels believed they could earn "points" towards going to heaven when they died if they killed whites. For them, whites were not human beings but "grafted snakes," "blue-eyed devils" and "white motherf-----s."
Howard describes the vicious and cowardly nature of the attacks, which were made at gunpoint and mostly carried out against women and weak or old men who could not fight back. The first victims in San Francisco were a couple named Richard and Quita Hague. The Hagues were out for an after dinner walk when they were abducted at gunpoint and forced into a van. They were bound and Richard was beaten over the head with a lug wrench and knocked unconscious. Quita was sexually molested and hacked with a machete. While begging for her life she was decapitated. Before leaving, the attackers hacked at the face of the still unconscious man. Miraculously, he survived and was able to give valuable information to the police.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Kim Pearson
Good morning,
I share the reviewer's concern that this sad episode has largely faded from memory (except for books such as this one and magazines such as FrontPage.com), but one of the difficulties is that so much of what has been written seems to err in fact and context. For example:
1. This article puts the death toll at 71; however, the official count was 14 dead and seven wounded. Still heinous, but a major difference. See:
http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/mass/zebra_murders/16.html?sect=8
2. The quotes representing black community sentiment appear to be taken out of context. The primary concern of the black community members and leaders that I saw quoted was first, that the police were saying that there was a widespread conspiracy to kill white people, when in fact, this was the behavior of a small group of miscreants.
The second concern had to do with what we would now call racial profiling, and that was the basis of the judicial order to stop Operation Zebra. See:http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/mass/zebra_murders/12.html?sect=8. Racial profiling has been consistently been found to be an ineffective policing method, in addition to its troubling ethical ramifications.
Finally, the reviewer is mistaken: racially motivated against whites are prosecuted as hate crimes. See the FBI's annual hate crimes report, available here: http://www.fbi.gov/publications.htm. For 2003, the last year for which data is available, 830 incidents of anti-white bias crimes were reported, as compared to 2,548 incidents of anti-black bias crimes. One anti-white homicide is recorded; there were four anti-black homicides.
The Zebra killings deserve to be remembered as a horrible crime and as yet another tragic episode in which misinformation and misperceptions about race stirred up resentments and interfered with solving an important serial murder case.
2 - Dave Nalle
So now we've discovered both how to attract the anti-semites and the klansmen to BC. Oh joy.
Dave
3 - Dave Nalle
To treat RJ's closing question seriously for a second, I can't imagine how this could not be treated as a hate crime today. It fits the definition so well that if you accept the idea of hate crimes, you have to accept that this is one.
On the other hand, how much more can you punish these violent racists than to execute them, as their crimes deserve. Oh wait - one really shocking thing RJ failed to mention - even though California has the death penalty, the members of this group got only life in prison and are up for parole again this year, although like Manson their parole will likely never be granted.
Dave
4 - Victor Plenty
Life in prison might be best for hate crimes, anyway. Let them rot in jail, waiting in vain for the "race war" they idiotically hope will occur any day now, but which stubbornly continues refusing to arrive.
I've spent good portions of my life working side by side with black Americans, black Africans, American Indians, Indians from India, and other people darker brown than the so-called "white" people of northern Europe. In doing so I've met many I would trust with my life.
If any race war ever did break out, I'd definitely rather be on the side of racial diversity. I could trust many of my dark-skinned friends to watch my back in such a conflict, far more than I could ever trust any of the creepy "white supremacists" I've seen posting here and elsewhere.
Racists conveniently forget the savagery of Europe's wars. The worst atrocities committed by black people in Zimbabwe, Rwanda, or South Africa have been evenly matched by the horrors carried out in the name of racial purity or religious purity by the supposedly civilized peoples of Europe.
History conclusively proves skin color has nothing to do with our capacity for violence and savagery. It is just as universal as our capacity for peaceful cooperation with each other.
It is up to each one of us to choose which capacity we will express.
My study of history tells me the forces of cooperation will prove stronger than the forces of racism and division, and I choose to be on the winning side of history.
5 - Tan The Man
Unemployment and oppression are two main causes for resentment, although I'm not sure they justify killing people. If you look at Africa and the Middle East, a lot of people are unemployed and oppressed. What breeds to fanaticism is the lack of a light at the end of the tunnel. Fanatics like those involved in the Zebra Killings or in the daily suicide bombings in Iraq see no light and have nothing to hope for in this life. They see only death.
6 - STEELWOLVES
Tan, that is one of the dumbest remarks I've seen in awhile. Congradulations! Precisely what "lack of hope" did the Zebra killers endure that would motivate them to do their heinous acts? I believe every one of them was employed by various NOI enterprises in San Francisco. Oh, since several had been in prison I suppose that makes them "oppressed?" You are correct in one respect when you said "They see only death"----only in this case the death they saw was the deaths of their innocent victims. Please use some commonsense next time and not compare the "persecution" of the Zebra killers with truely poor and oppressed persons in the third world.
7 - Louis Calabro
There will be a Tenth Annual Zebra Victims Memorial Service on the Plaza Side of San Francisco City Hall on October 20th, 2006 at 12:00 Noon. Mayor Newsom and other dignataries will be invited to honor the 15 victims in San Francisco who were murdered because they were European American whites.
Louis Calabro, President, European/American Issues Forum
8 - Lisa
Thanks for bringing these crimes to light again ! I remember quite well as a child watching the news and reading over my fathers shoulders in the newspapers the Zebra killings... The victims of these ignorant bastards should be remembered and remind us all of how precious human life truly is. As far as the whole " racial thing" and why the Zebra Killings haven't been seen nor heard about on a national level is beyond stupid ! being a survivor of my brothers senseless murder... evil has no color ! evil will always be just that EVIL !
9 - larry mayfield
i have worked at the post office that delivers mr shields mail since before the murders and have to comment on the way the family handled this ordeal with dignaty. the 'zodiac" movie brought this to mind for me
10 - Folkwolf101
First, just a couple of corrections to a very engaging commentary: Quita Hague was not quite decapitated, but close to it. The serial killing circle was actually better organized outside San Francisco and throughout all of California, where the murders were quite numerous and possibly in the hundreds.
Yes, it is a touchy subject. Society is not yet ready to ever whisper the taboo of Black on White hate crimes, yet it certainly does happen. Perhaps if and when Barack Obama becomes president, such crimes will be seen for what they are: pure cowardly hatred toward others. Thousands of films and books on Nazis and white serial killers, but only two books on the Zebra killings. But, the media is just to scared to raise a whisper and instead lambasts Hillary Clinton for every possible innuendo toward Barack Obama. Hey media, if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. These crimes were inspired with a hatred toward white skin.
11 - RJ Elliott
When I wrote this:
But one wonders if such vile acts, were they to occur today, would be prosecuted as "hate crimes." After all, it was black-on-white, not the reverse. And prosecutors have been extremely reluctant to pursue convictions for "hate crimes" if the defendants are black.
Is this a particularly obvious example of a "hate crime"? Yes. But is it also obvious that this would be prosecuted as such, if it were to happen today? No.
And that is the problem with "hate crime" legislation: Unequal protection under the law...
...some of the commenters thought I was being silly. But read this:
In the aforementioned interview with Sheriff Mark Hackel, Frank Beckmann asked:
"Sheriff, all the kids in the video I saw are African-American. All of your victims are white. Is there evidence that this was somehow [attacks based on race]?"
Hackel responded with “It’s a question that we are asking. ... If it’s a hate crime and it happens to be a white person and the other people involved are African-Americans, we look at those things.”
When Beckmann inquired as to whether or not there is a “law to charge them with some kind of hate crime,” Hackel answered, “Well, that’s questionable. I don’t know if it applies to an unprotected class, and I don’t know if whites are part of that. I’m not sure.”
Beckmann was shocked to hear Hackel suggest that whites are not entitled to equal protection under the law. A taken aback Beckmann asked:
"You mentioned ‘unprotected class.’ You mean white people are not protected by hate crime legislation?"
Hackel answered that question by saying, “It doesn’t appear as such at this point and time that there is something that would qualify.”
Unequal protection under the law, anyone?
12 - Abagail
"blacks blamed "unemployment" and "oppression" for the attacks". Now, I am currently spending 60+ hours a week looking for employment, being an analyst with an oil company before, and now that I have been to jail for "failure to stop and give info.", I cannot find a job no matter where I look.
How many black people have not used this excuse named above? The ones who rise above the blame game, take the bull by the horns and don't give up. There are so many influential and successful blacks (can I say that word, or is it taboo yet??) that using excuses is not even justifiable.
When I was in jail, the blacks were treated like royalty, the whites were treated as lepers. That's just the honest truth. We could be called crackers, casper...anything at all, but we could NEVER defend ourselves, it just is not acceptable.
Some of the whites were being referred to as KKK members for no reason by the blacks just to try to start an argument. NOW...the members of the KKK are the most ridiculous and outrageously idiotic group of individuals I can imagine. I think most intelligent people realize this, and how much of an insult this really is.
In jail, the whites were publicly ridiculed and I tried to get into a corner and just bide my time by covering my ears and not talking, because I had been threatened on more than 5 occasions of assault with a knife (I reported the incident to the guard and she said, "too bad, that's what happens here and I won't be around to even see it when it does".
I never saw in terms of black and white before...but the hatred the blacks displayed toward me for no reason really disappointed and sickened me.
13 - Afro American
Boo hoo! White America has killed blacks for centuries.
14 - Marcia Neil
These, sad to say. are linked with product-development schemes that used person-to-person contact to try to 'order' cooperation -- the new lobby laws exist to address those often furiously-frictional contact debacles. At issue remains the 'want' to have home and vehicle trash-compactors and the accompanying 'want' to mono-polize a global sales market. Some paramilitary populations claim that it is a citizen's duty to participate in such schemes, which simply adds to the misery and potential for violent encounters.
15 - Doug Hunter
Very interesting. I had never heard of this until today.
16 - Kevin Ali
I agree with Afro American. I say we kill half of all the whites in America and make the other half our slaves. In the name of ALLAH the Merciful.
17 - sosad2see
If blacks are so great, then why is Africa such a cesspool? TRLLIONS of dollars have been given to them in cash, medicines, food, clothing, equipment, etc, etc, etc. What have they done with it? Dictators, greed, killings, slavery of their own. Blacks are unable to do anything positive it seems. I don't think the white man has done hardly anything to them, they have done it to themselves! We are their scapegoats for their own severe failures. It was blacks who sold their "brothers" for slaves. It was whites who fought to end slavery.
18 - Jim
As a close friend of one of the victoms to these brutal sensless murders I can say one thing, those NIGERS GOT WHAT THEY HAD COMING,
AMEN!
19 - Hundo
Hey Afro American and Ail, Loosen the dreds take a shower and attempt to act like humans not the primates you truly are.
20 - Carmen
Large amounts of black people have a problem with white people...There are a lot of racist black people. It is sad that racism exists at all but it is equal among all races. It is hard to have a friendly attitude to someone when you know they don't like you for the color of your skin.. White people can be ugly racists and there are many white people that would like to be friendly to black people but know they are not liked because they are white.. Also there are racists in other races..If someone is a racist they need to look in the mirror and stop blaming white people for all the racism, it is bull and everyone knows is. It is black people that is is keeping the racism going and this is the ugly truth. Racist like Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson play the race card every chance they get. I wonder what would have happened if it would have been a white doctor that killed Michael Jackson.. Think about it.. They have been quiet as mice because the doctor is black, so he is not to blame.. Bull!!!!! We are all human and can all react the same way to racism.. It is ugly in any race and it is not going to stop with Obama. Niggers come in all races and colors remember this when you are being a racist ass.. Good luck hateful people. Personally I could care less it has been going on for ever and I'm tired of it. Anyone don't like me for being who I am can kiss my grits... have a nice hateful day ya all..
21 - CLYDE
THIS IS A HEARTFELT THANKS TO GUS CORERIS AND JOHN FORTINOS. THE TWO DETECTIVES WHO LEAD THE ZEBRA CASE. I READ THE CLARK HOWARD BOOK AND I WAS BLOWN AWAY I WAS BORN AND RAISED IN THE CITY AND I REMEMBERD THE FEAR I FELT WHEN EVER I WENT OUT OR GO TO WORK. I STILL LIVE IN THE CITY BORN AND RAISED I BEGAN TO READ TO BOOK WRITTEN BY THE X CHIEF AND I FELT IT WAS A DISGRACE TO THE MEMORYS OF THE VICTIMS. NOT JUST THE ONES WHO WERE KILLED IN SAN FRANCISCO BUT ONES WHO WREW KILLED THRU OUT CALIFORNIA.ONE OF THE DETECTIVES AS PASSDED AWAY IT WAS THESE TWO DETECTIVES WHO HEADED UP THE CASE DONT BE FOOLED BY THE BOOK WRITTEN BY COHEN AND THE CHIEF. I KNOW WHEN THE WOOL IS BEING PULLED OFER MY EYES.I NEVER KNEW THE VICTIMS BUT I VISIT THERE RESTING PLACE .I THINK ITS A SHAME THAT THE REPORTERS AND NEWSCASTERS STAYED AWAY FROM STORY I OFTEN WONDERED HOW MANY LIVES COULD HAVE BEEN SAVED HAD THE PUPBLIC BEEN WARNED OF THE BLACK ON WHITE MURDER SPREE. THEY SHOULD OF BEEN ASHAMED OF THEM SELFS FOR NOT WARNING THE PUBLIC. I KNOW YOU HAVE TO DO WHAT THE BOSS EDITOR TELLS YOU WHAT TO PRINT.IJUST HOPE THAT BRAD PITT PRODUCTIONS GIVE THESE TO GREAT HARD WORKING DETEVTIVES THERE JUST DUE.IF NOT I JUST HOPE THE ENTIRE POLICE FORCE GATHERS ALL ITS MEMBERS AND DEMAND THAT JUSTICE BE DONE.FOR ALL THOSE WHO HAVE NOT READ THE BOOK READ THE ORIGINAL . IT IS TRUE AND TO THE BONE AND IT IS A BOOK THAT WILL STICK IN YOUR MIND FOR AS LONG AS YOU LIVE
22 - shaaronie
I remember these murders and every single Black person that I know was mortified by these acts. Perhaps the reporters asking the questions of those Blacks who seemed to callously disregard these actions only printed those responses that fit the mold they wanted to portray. I was so outraged as a teenager, that more than 30 years later, it still angers and stays with me. I read everything I can find on this case.
23 - Gregory H. Bontrager
Zebra is a fascinating book, I’m glad it is receiving the attention it finally deserves. Louis Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam is revealed for the murderous organization it is. As usual claims of racism will abound when the truth is brought into the sunlight.
24 - diecrackerdie
haha those crackers deserved to die.how many black people have been killed by whites and never had a taste of justice?Alot!fuck all you crackers.welcome to our world bitch.i say they should of killed alot more.i celebrate there death.hahaha
25 - RJ
And a Happy New Year to you as well, diecrackerdie.