Crump, Sharpton Demand Answers in Nolan Wells Case

Laporsche Thomas, Word in Black

Civil rights leaders say conflicting accounts and Mississippi’s history demand a full investigation.

It’s a deadly mystery that has captivated the nation: a Black football player who vanished during an Independence Day boating trip in Mississippi with three white friends was found dead near their destination some 48 hours later. 

Now, conflicting accounts of Nolan Xavier Wells’ final hours, including an alleged altercation, and growing distrust of law enforcement have drawn two of the nation’s most influential civil rights warriors — attorney Benjamin Crump, known as “Black America’s Attorney General,” and Rev. Al Sharpton — into the case. 

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At a press conference in New York yesterday with Wells’ parents, Sharpton and Crump demanded Mississippi officials deliver answers about Wells’ death. Given the racial dynamics of the case, they warned, investigators must leave no stone unturned.

‘We Want Justice’

“Oftentimes when our [Black] children are killed in highly questionable situations, there is this notion that there is nothing wrong, no foul play, let’s just sweep it under the rug,” Crump said. “If the roles were reversed and you had three young Black men on a boat with a young white man and that young white man ended up dead, what kind of investigation would be being conducted by the Mississippi law officials?”

Sharpton said the investigation should follow every lead before reaching unjust conclusions — or rushing to exonerate Wells’ friends — in a high-profile, highly unusual homicide case.

“This does not smell right,” Sharpton said. “We want justice.”

Learn who else has spoken out.

This case reminds us that despite support for Black Lives Matter, there is much work to be done.

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