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Fordecadesnow, we have all seen the highly teased hair and take-no-stuff attitude from Nancy Grace, former prosecutor turned television star, who has been known to question authorities on high-profile cases when she feels the facts aren’t adding up. Although this has gotten her in hot water from time to time, her ability to garner national attention for smaller yet socially significant cases and keep them at the top of headlines doesn’t go unnoticed. And this is why her vocal skepticism of the investigation of Nolan Wells’s death might help us finally find out the truth.
Four hours after Nolan Wells was laid to rest at his funeral in Mississippi on Monday, Nancy Grace aired a one-hour episode on “Crime Stories,” where she recapped everything we know thus far about the case, questioning the validity and injustice of how the Mississippi police are handling it. In her signature fiery tone, she shut down naysayers who accused her of not having her facts together before making assumptions. The episode resulted in a slew of viral social media clips largely circulated by the Black community.
One musician and content creator, Vincint, expressed in his story how powerful Grace’s coverage is. When she gets involved, he purports, somebody is going to jail. This sentiment — about how this woman is using her privilege to draw attention to a case that’s been making us all sick — has been largely echoed online. Grace has earned a reputation, within many marginalized communities, for saucily and unabashedly busting down roadblocks in crime cases with her pointed analysis and holes poked in shoddy police investigations.
She’s also well known for digging into a case until all resources have been expended. As a self-proclaimed victims’ rights advocate, she is known for not letting people off the hook — often litigating cases on her show for months to years — and not giving those she feels are abusers any peace. Although it’s presented with levity, our collective excitement about her covering this story felt more like a prayer being answered by those who have used their platforms to continue seeking answers.
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This moment, though, is much bigger than Nancy Grace. Although she has become a meme and somewhat of a polarizing figure, her involvement speaks to the larger issue of what can happen when people with privilege use it to advocate for others who don’t have a voice or platform. She publicly asks the questions that many of us have been shouting from the rooftops, to no avail. Her massive platform also allows more access to information than we might have.
As I described last week regarding this case, our incessant social media conversation has been instrumental to bringing more attention to this case; it helped us reach Colin Kaepernick, who paid for a second, independent autopsy to be conducted as well as Tyler Perry, who took care of Wells’ funeral expenses. If we’re going to get answers about what truly happened to Nolan, it is going to be on the public to force the hand to get the truth that Nolan’s parents, family, friends and community deserve.
We have been through enough suspicious deaths as Black Americans in all-white environments to know that without constant pressure from the masses, these stories just become another one in a history of our pain. However, when public figures such as Grace use their platform to hold people accountable and press the issue hard, we just might get closer to the truth.
