Former Professor Convicted Of Hiring Hitman To Murder His African American Daughter-In-Law For "Cultural Reasons"
Eight years ago, newlywed and new mother, Sparkle Reid-Rai was brutally murdered in her own home with her newborn daughter just a few feet away. She was just 22 years old. Yesterday, her father-in-law, Chiman Rai was convicted of masterminding her murder. The case has been labeled a hate crime or an "honor killing" because Chiman Rai strongly objected to his Indian son being married to an African American.
Not only is the brutal murder of Sparkle Reid-Rai a major tragedy, it might have been preventable if her husband had been more truthful about his family and their feelings toward African Americans. Rajeeve "Ricky" Rai lied to his wife and her family by telling them his parents were dead. When confronted with the truth, he offered no explanation for the lie. He clearly suspected his father after the murder, telling the police his parents were "a little racist." He should have been more forth-coming about his family, then maybe Sparkle Reid-Rai and her family could have been better prepared.
Reid-Rai's husband has since completely abandoned their child to be raised by her parents and has not seen the child in years. I do not envy those grandparents having to explain this horrific story to that child when she grows up. How do explain that your grandfather who has never seen you, hire people to murder your mother?
12 comments:
Well he has been convicted. Now it's the sentencing phase. It was probably better than the child was kept away from the father considering the circumstances. He seemed to be making excuses for his parents and has not done any work on confronting his own prejudices. I hope Sparkle's family brings a civil suit against the Rai family.
Wow!! Giw horrible. I feel so sorry for this young woman's family. I wish that the husband could be charged with something too because his silence contributed largely to her murder.
I hope he rots. Dang, disown your son if you are so against the marriage. Not only that, the son is pathetic for lying about his parents, and then abandoning his child.
That is why there is a place called hell.
They've (Reid-Raj's father-in-law and husband) definitely got the VIP section in hell.
what a tragedy. I can't say I'm surprised about this since one of my friends went into hiding when her father found out she was dating a black man and threatened to kill her.
It is sad how prejudiced people are and I really feel for this deceased woman's child.
Even if her husband had been completely honest about his racist parents, we don't know how things would have turned out. There are people who try to make interracial/cultural relationships work under these types circumstances all the time.
This was a dishonor killing on American soil. The underlying dynamics of these crimes are very different from the types of murders that are indigenous to American culture.
In this case, I really doubt Chiman Rai was specifically hateful of blacks. In his mind, he wanted his son to marry into his own culture, at the same or at a higher caste level, a virgin. He would've hated anyone who didn't fit his narrow criteria for suitability. Sparkle just happened to be black. But she could've been brown, pink, green, or purple, and Chiman's attitude toward the marriage would've been similar.
Ellen R. Sheeley, Author
"Reclaiming Honor in Jordan"
http://www.redroom.com/author/ellen-r-sheeley
i actually know sparkle's family. her sister is one of my closest friends. this story is tragic and although i did not know her i do know her daughter. i am so releaved to know that justice will be served. something happens to all of us that we may not disagree with but nothing is worth taking someone's life. although her family will never get over anything like this, at least there is closure now.
well said blkseagoat. the brahminical racist mindset has been well documented by 'untouchable' (dalit) activists in india. they are treated horribly there.
and unfortunately, that mindset doesn't disappear when they immigrate to america. to them, the racism applies to black people too.
hi all-
i have said this before as the rush for interracial relationships reaches a frenzied height...black women must do background checks and figure out who they are involving themselves with. (i suggest it with ALL men) racists do engage in interracial relationships, folks.
as quiet as it is kept, NO one is all that thrilled with intermarriage, dating, and race mixing---only the courageous few will tell the truth.
in a world dominated by white supremacy, MOST other nations have digested the lie that they are somehow superior to black folks; which is why i advocate more of a clannish mentality among black folks.
for the record, i really HATE when people start talking about pink, purple and polka dot people. there are no pink, purple or polka dot people! whenever that happens it is hard for me not to acknowledge that folks have given themselves permission to check out from reality. when they check out, i check out as well with their point. sorry.
may this sister rest in peace and her child grow to know his full divine purpose in this life. this is not the first such case that i have read of, i don't think that it will be the last either, unfortunately. folks need to get real and honest---fast.
blessings,
focusedpurpose
They may have been against their son's marriage, but I suspect that her murder was the result of a warped culture rather racial hatred. Note, they had her killed and not their son. If it had been their daughter married to a black man, I believe they would have had her killed and probably not the black man. In many of these cultures, women can be bumped off if they don't tow the line. Contrary to popular belief, I have heard of white women meeting the same fate when they marry into certain societies. So if their own women can be brutalize in addition to white women, we should expect that black women can be victims of this madness when they marry into these cultures. Personally, I feel that black women should be able to find love and happiness wherever she wants. But we have to consider that some cultures are brutal when it comes to dealing with women.
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