Dover Delaware, 2012

On October 6, 2012 in Dover Delaware this blogger was confronted with claims of a lynching, an attempted lynching and a cover up that were not immediately credible ... Here is my weblog as I struggle to place in some kind of order all the information coming in since then. Although the topics in this blog have grown beyond the original case, still ongoing and unsolved to the minds of many, the focus is the same. Equal protection under the law.

Thursday, November 22, 2012

What happened to Henry Fordham?

  My first post on this blog was an attempt to tie together the information that has pretty much taken over my life. On October 6, 2012 at a political meet and greet in Dover Delaware six candidates including myself were put on the spot.  Nobody was interested in hearing about why they should vote for us. A group of people were upset over what the city was calling a suicide and an attack on another man that was being swept under the rug.

  The death ruled a suicide befell Johnny Clark of Dover on May 12, 2012 in Silver lake Park in Dover Delaware. The man who was assaulted in the same section of Silver Lake Park on September 21, 2012 is Henry J. Fordham who also was residing in Dover in the same neighborhood as Johnny Clark.

 On October 17, 2010 a star athlete from Edison New Jersey and a Freshman at Wesley College was reported hanging from a tree in an alley off of the 200 Block of North Governor's Avenue in Dover. Allegedly hanging from his own belt, same as Johnny Clark. The only thing the two victims had in common is skin tone and the manner and proximity of their public deaths, both ruled suicides.

  In December 2011 there was a racist leaflet distributed in Dover Delaware. The leaflet depicted a lynching, a swastika and contained racist language implying that the streets should be cleaned one African American at a time.

  Checkmate. For some reason I couldn't turn the group down when they asked for assistance in early October. I would do my best to get to the truth of the contested demise and get justice for the man who was assaulted.

  At first the only mention of the death of Johnny Clark and the assault on Henry Fordham could only be found here: http://www.bhbanco.org/2012/09/vp-biden-and-his-son.html

WGMD News in the morning anchor Bill Colley first read the above post on air and called the claims specious. Local paralegal and community activist Eshed Alston called in to the show and shared his observations from his contact with the assault victim whose complaint was refused by police.

 I had a hard time believing the claims. I asked if there was any proof of the assault victim's claims.  A wound, ostensibly from a dull knife is telling.



  With the police and reportedly also the attorney general refusing to act on the assault the victim spoke to a film crew associated with an arguably radical website.

   The mutilation near his ear and report of the attackers trying to cut off his ear and penis is a troubling set of circumstances and allegations. This man may or may not have known that his report is consistent with patterns of behavior seen in lynchings of black men going back well over a century.

  Mr. Fordham identified his attackers and their address and vehicle are also kown, along with their first names.


 Officially, Dover Police maintain that there is no probable cause to investigate an assault on Mr. Fordham because they 'poked holes in his story' (concerning how he came to be in contact with his attackers) and he is 'known to them'.

 Here's the thing. Fordham claims that his attackers confessed to killing Johnny Clark. Clark's death by hanging from a tree by his belt in the very same public park was ruled a suicide. Johnny Clark's brother reported that the last people he saw his brother with on May 11, 2012 were the same two white males named by Mr. Fordham as his attackers.

 Johnny Clarks brother testifies to the Dover Human Relations Commission:



  The problem inherent in the current situation is easy to spot. Dover Police and City Counsel are standing firm on ruling Johnny Clark's death by hanging a suicide and are refusing to investigate the assault into Henry Fordham.

  If Mr. Fordham and Johnny Clark's brother are correct, there are two murderers on the loose having committed heinous crimes. If the two are fabricating the story then that's also a very serious matter because of the potential for social destabilization.

 Either way we need to know and the key to understanding is the assault on Fordham. Fordham identified two individuals by first name, race and gender, vehicle, and address. Said individuals confirmed to exist at said address by neighbors. These two white males also reportedly vacated their residence the same day that somebody stuck a knife in Henry's head.

   Unconfirmed but wide ranging reports from the street indicate that these two white males were involved with dangerous drugs, possibly to include some form of PCP. That alone should warrant police attention.

 When will Dover P.D., City Counsel, or the Attorney General step in here?



2 comments:

  1. Doug,
    Have you learned more about these events since May 2013? I just learned about Johnny Clark, Henry Fordham, Dr. Issa, the two possible 2010 lynchings, and the egregious behavior of the Dover police today. I was trying to find information on a 1903 lynching in Wilmington, and am very dismayed that white city officials seem to be obstructing an investigation into events and behavior that seem like throwbacks to the early 20th century, when white supremacy was fashionable. Dover sounds scary, and the response (or rather lack thereof) by those in power sounds as inept, mean-spirited, and, well, racist as that in Sanford County Florida.
    Brian Hallstoos

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    1. Now the 911 call has been released. It's ugly. Stand by....

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