What does brotherhood mean when it becomes violent?

In this deeply personal and unflinching episode of Cigar & A Crime, Dr. Dee examines the tragic death of Caleb Wilson, a Southern University student whose life was cut short following an alleged hazing ritual. What begins as a case investigation becomes something much bigger, a reckoning with fraternity culture, silence, tradition, and accountability.

We walk through who Caleb was beyond the headlines, the events leading up to his death, the criminal charges, and the lawsuits that followed. But this episode doesn’t stop at the facts.

Dr. Dee shares his own story, pledging in Spring 1998, experiencing isolation and abuse, and ultimately choosing peace over brutality. As a member of a historically Black fraternity and an HBCU graduate, he confronts a painful contradiction: how can we protest violence against Black bodies in public, while excusing it behind closed doors in the name of tradition?

This episode also places Caleb’s death within a broader national pattern of hazing, across Black Greek-letter organizations and predominantly white fraternities alike, highlighting why hazing is not a rite of passage, but a cultural failure.

This is not an attack on brotherhood or sisterhood.
It’s a call to protect it.

Because real brotherhood does not demand blood.
And love should never look like abuse.

🕯️ In memory of Caleb Wilson.
🎧 Listener discretion advised.