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FinalCall.com News
National News
Hundreds protest in support of The Jena 6
By Jesse Muhammad
Staff Writer
Updated Aug 22, 2007 - 1:47:00 PM
Stop the Jena-cide!
JENA, La. (FinalCall.com) - On July 31, family members and hundreds of supporters of the “Jena 6” caravanned from across the country to stand in solidarity on the grounds of the LaSalle Parish Courthouse in Jena, La., to demand justice and freedom for the six young Black males: Mychal Bell, Robert Bailey, Theo Shaw, Carwin Jones, Bryant Purvis and Jesse Beard. Huge banners, handwritten signs, and raised fists covered the clear skies in the small town that has now drawn national attention.
“The Black students here are the ‘Rosa Parks’ of Jena because they decided to take a stand and say we are not going to take it any more,” stated rally moderator King Downing, the National Coordinator for the ACLU Campaign Against Racial Profiling.
“How many of us took a stand at 15 years old? These families have made sacrifices and are standing up,” Mr. Downing asked, and then announced that the “White tree” at Jena high School had been cut down the day before.
The rally opened with the penetrating sounds of the African drums, followed by the pouring of libations by Hannibal Afrik. Opening prayers and welcomes were made by Bishop Hall and Minister Lawrence Muhammad of Monroe, La., followed by words from the Jena 6 families.
“I love to see us all come together as a coalition because unity is what it’s all about,” stated Caseptla Bailey, the mother of Robert Bailey who is also being charged. She serves as the President of the newly-found NAACP LaSalle Parish Branch. “We thank everyone for their support and give a special thanks to those who have been with us from the beginning. I’m proud of those young men who stood up at the school.”
“This all started with those nooses. That’s the real problem,” stated Catrina Wallace, the secretary of the NAACP LaSalle Branch and step-sister of Robert Bailey. “It’s beautiful to see all of you out here to support us. “
Tina Jones, mother of Bryant Purvis, added “We are fighting for justice for our [youth] and it’s all about them.”
Standing in the place of her mother, Carwin Jones’ sister held back tears while expressing her family’s appreciation for the overwhelming support of her brother.
Melissa Bell and Marcus Jones, the parents of 17-year-old Mychal Bell, were also in attendance. Mr. Bell was convicted in June by an all-White jury of aggravated battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated battery. Mr. Bell faces up to 22 years in prison and the remaining five still await trial. His trial date was originally set the same day as the rally, but due to the motions filed by his new defense Attorney Lewis Scott, it has been rescheduled for Sept. 20.
“We appreciate your support of Mychal, and you all stay with the fight,” said Ms. Bell. All of the families continue to declare that their sons are innocent.
“I’m overwhelmed right now, but the chant ‘Free Mychal Bell’ is alright with me!” said Mr. Jones with a fist in the air. He told The Final Call that a protest of this magnitude was the first in Jena history.
The chants continued as more and more people gathered on the lawn of the courthouse. More dynamic speakers came forward to send strong messages to the town’s law officials.
“We didn’t ask for this fight but we most definitely have accepted the challenge. We as Black people are no strangers to the concept of fighting for justice,” said Deric Muhammad, the Houston Millions More Movement Minister of Justice. The huge delegation from his city included Muhammad’s Mosque No. 45, the MMM-LOC, the Texas Coalition against the Death Penalty, and local media outlets seeking to cover the story.
“The job is not done because Mychal Bell is still incarcerated. We as men have to stand up.”
“Genocide is the systematic annihilation of a people. This American system targets our young Black men. So this is Jenacide!” stated Krystal Muhammad, Southern Representative of the New Black Panther Party. “This movement will continue and we will be back September 20.”
All of the speeches were punctuated by chants of “No Justice, No Peace,” “Stop the Jena-cide Now,” “Schools, Yes, Jails, No,” “Black Power,” and others.
Activist James Rucker of colorofchange.org read the petition that was signed by people from around the world in support of the Jena 6. To everyone’s applause, he announced that the number of signatures surpassed 45,000. The huge stack of petitions was delivered to the hands of the District Attorney J. Reed Walters in the courthouse foyer area. As protestors entered the courtroom, tension began to build up between them and law enforcement on site. Words were exchanged at times and strong messages given directly to the face of the District Attorney.
Jordan Flaherty, editor of Left Turn magazine, expressed “Thank you to The Final Call newspaper and others for putting this story back on the national scene!”
Mr. Flaherty, along with the show The Community Defender, was instrumental in breaking the story during its inception.
Everyone then lined up to march through downtown Jena to allow the cries of justice to resonate through the mostly segregated town, which is 85 percent White in population. Led by a police escort, the long stream of marchers walked several blocks before reconvening at the courthouse. Organizers called on everyone to prepare to return in even larger numbers for Mychal Bell’s sentencing date. Everyone agreed.
Others in attendance were Nation of Islam representatives from Lafayette, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and Shreveport, La.; Millions More Movement LOCs from Louisiana and Texas; N’COBRA; the Malcolm X Grassroots organization; The Community Defender; the ANSWER Coalition; and the Party for Socialism and Liberation.
New defense for Mychal Bell
Attorney Scott took over the case when Mr. Jones reached out to him after seeing his son unjustly represented by Blaine Williams. “This is a traditional civil rights issue like the ’60s in the year 2007. Depriving a student the basic right to sit under a tree is sad,” stated Attorney Scott to The Final Call in a recent telephone interview.
“I took on this case because I was always focusing on the legal side of [it], so I filed for a motion for continuous so we can look into the legality of the proceedings that took place, examine whether any evidence was presented and other legal aspects,” he explained. “The average person would not be charged like this. The venue where the trial took place was definitely an unfair element to the case.”
He recently visited Mychal Bell in prison and told The Final Call that “Mychal Bell is cautiously optimistic.” Attorney Scott has also utilized the assistance of five other attorneys from Monroe.
(For those who are interested in joining the September 20th protest log on to www.mmmhouston.net or email: [email protected].)
