neighbors. Howard quotes from manon-rnthe-street interviews conducted byrnthe San Francisco Examiner in 1974.rnAmong the responses by blacks were: “1rndon’t feel comfortable with all the policernaround. But then, I never have felt safernaround them.” A young housewife stated,rn”I’m really glad that the police arernconcerned for a change. 1 just wonder ifrnthey’d be as much concerned if it werernblack people getting killed.” A black attorneyrnadded, “I commend the police forrntheir beefing up of the force, but I hopernit’s not just directed at blacks. I hopernblacks aren’t being harassed.”rnStill other blacks blamed “unemployment”rnand “oppression” for the attacks.rnOne man said, “The madness that drivesrnblack men to kill innocent people . . . involvesrna sickness that is as American asrnapple pie.” Black Panther leader BobbyrnScale declared, “every black man in thernBay area is in danger of losing his life.”rnThe Reverend Cecil Williams claimedrnthe entire black community was “underrna police state that could erupt into arnracial war.”rnIt is disturbing that at a time whenrnwhites were being randomly killed becausernof their race, black citizens of SanrnFrancisco were venting their anger aboutrnpossible police harassment and perceivedrndouble-standards. Howard observes,rn”Although they were respondingrnonly to a question about Operation Zebra,rnit was curious that none of the blacksrninterviev,’ed took the occasion to condemnrnthe unknown street killers or expressedrnsympathy for the victims.”rnDetectives Gus Coreris and John Fotinosrnwere both 13-year veterans of thernHomicide Unit and led the investigationrnwhich eventually cracked the case.rnThough both suspected the Black Muslimsrnwere involved, it was hard to get anyrninformation on the possible suspects becausernof a ban on surveillance of placesrnof worship. Moreover, the strict, closedrnahnosphere of the NOI made it hard tornget spies into the organization or to enticerninformants with rewards.rnBecause the attackers were using thernsame weapons for each victim, Corerisrnand Fotinos were able to link the murderers.rnAlso, the people who survived,rnsuch as Agnos and Richard Hague, werernable to give descriptions of the attackers.rnFinally, one of the Death Angels camernforward with information on the otherrnkillers. Those arrested were eight blackrnmen with prior prison records. All werernmembers of the Death Angels. The corernof the group that committed most ofrnthe murders consisted of five men: JessernLee Cooks, J.C. Simon, Larry Creen,rnManuel Moore, and Anthony Harris.rnIronically, Harris was married to a whiternwoman. Though this group of eightrncommitted most of the killings, they dornnot accoimt for all the members. Somernkillers remain free to this day.rnThe Nation of Islam paid for the legalrnrepresentation of every one of the accusedrnexcept for Cooks, who had immediatelyrnadmitted to his killings. All thernDeath Angels caught are still in prison,rnthough they do have a chance for parole.rnThe E/AIF and family members of thernvictims have pledged to attend every parolernhearing and to work to make surernthe killers spend their lives in prison. OnrnOctober 20, the same group will installrna plaque at the sight where Richard andrnQuita Hague were abducted 25 yearsrnbefore.rnThe capture of the Death Angels putrnSan Francisco at ease again, and the lastrn25 years has seen little to no publicityrnabout the murders. It is interesting thatrnwhile most serial killings take on a life ofrntheir own through movies, books, andrndocumentaries (Jeffrey Dahmer, the Sonrnof Sam, the Zodiac Murders), the Zebrarnkillings have been all but forgotten. Calabrornis often told that his remembrancernof the murders is “inflammatory” andrnwill create division. Still, he believes therninnocent victims of this tragedy must bernremembered. He will invite San FranciscornMayor Willie Brown to attend thernmemorial ceremony but does not expectrnan answer. The mayor’s oifice was invitedrnto a smaller service last year but didrnnot even bother to send a representative.rnCalabro, who expects some local mediarncoverage for the event, detects a degreernof “political correctness” in regards to thernZebra murders. “The lack of publicity’rnand recognition of this terrible tragedy byrngovernment agencies, civil rights groups,rnand the media is consistent with theirrnovert efforts to portray European-Americansrnas the perpetrators of hate crimes.”rnUnfortunately, the same type of blackon-rnwhite serial murders occurred again.rnThe Miami-based cult of Yahweh-Ben-rnYahweh began systematically killingrnwhites in the early 1990’s. /s in the Zebrarnkillings, whites were portrayed asrn”devils” to be killed at random. In whatrnwas mainly local news, seven peoplernwere ritually slaughtered before the cultrnwas stopped.rnIt is said that those who forget histor)-rnare doomed to repeat it. The lack of attentionrngiven to this crime as it approachesrnits 25th anniversary does notrnbode well for the future of racial justicernand reconciliation. Though the report ofrnthe President’s race panel will likely getrnmore attention than the E/AIF memorialrnservice, we would all do well to ponderrnthe words of Clark Howard: “Monstrousrnbehavior has never been restricted byrnrace or religion—and never will be. Thernrecounting of that behavior in books, articles,rnand films must never be restrictedrneither — not by censor, not by conscience.rnFor only in the telling of itrnmight understanding surface.”rnJames P. Lubinskas is a writer livingrnin Falls Church, Virginia. For morerninformation on the Zebra KillingsrnMemorial, please call Louis Calabrornat 650-952-8489.rnMEDIArnHillarylandrnby Janet Scott BarlowrnAbit of autobiography. I was bornrnand reared in Chicago. I am marriedrnto a man of achievement. I havernwatched my children leave the nest forrncollege. I am highly opinionated andrntend to believe that the world would be arnbetter place if more of my fellow citizensrnagreed with me. I have experiencedrnboth joy and sorrow in my life, and notrnlong ago I celebrated my 50th birthday. Irnlist these facts in case Time is interestedrnin doing a cover story on me; in casernNewsweek, U.S. News, and the New YorkrnTimes decide to run lengthy features coveringrnmy life at midpoint; in case the entirernAmerican media establishmentrnwould like to use my transition into middlernage as a catalyst for its own self-analysisrnand, ultimately, self-affirmation.rnMy thumbnail autobiography listsrnwhat I have in common with HillaryrnClinton, and it was enough to earn herrnan orgy of national attention, right downrnto a booklet published by the ChicagornChamber of Commerce titled Hillary:rnThe Early Years. Of course, she is thernFirst Lady of the United States and I amrnnot. But in a sense, that merely illus-rnOCTOBER 1998/37rnrnrn