Good Story about Shipyard Workers
Posted On Thursday, March 13, 2008 at at 5:08 PM by Dan
While working with the Racial Justice Campaign we talked a lot about the connection between the modern civil rights movement (particularly MLK) and India. I'm amazed by this story and the imagery used by the workers. That alone gave me some hope today.
Shipyard Workers Organize to Stop 21st Century Slavery
Tuesday 11 March 2008
Workday Minnesota
http://www.workdayminnesota.org/index.php?news_6_3550
PASCAGOULA, Miss. - More than 100 workers, carrying signs reading "I Am A Man," walked off the job at a Mississippi shipyard last week to protest conditions of slavery. Their struggle for justice comes 40 years after the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., marched with striking Memphis sanitation workers carrying the same signs.
The shipyard workers -- who are from India -- have filed a class action suit against Signal International, a marine fabrication company; recruiters in India and the United States; and a New Orleans immigration lawyer, Malvern Burnett; accusing them of forced labor, human trafficking, fraud and civil rights violations.
The suit charges that in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, more than 500 Indian men "were trafficked into the United States through the federal government's H-2B guestworker program to provide labor and services . . .Plaintiffs were subjected to forced labor as welders, pipefitters, shipfitters, and other marine fabrication workers at Signal operations in Pascagoula, Mississippi and Orange, Texas."
At the walkout last Thursday, the workers symbolically threw their hardhats over the fence as they left the shipyard, media reported, and sang the civil rights anthem, "We Shall Overcome."
Saket Soni of the New Orleans Workers' Center for Racial Justice, who served as an interpreter for the workers, said they talk of living "like pigs in a cage" in a company-run "work camp."
One of the workers, Sabulal Vijayan, tried to organize his fellow workers last year and was fired. He then attempted suicide.
The exploitation began in 2006 when recruiters in New Orleans and Bombay, together with Signal, a Northrop Grumman subcontractor, used the post-Katrina labor shortage in the Gulf Coast to create a trafficking racket within the guest worker program that President Bush wants to expand, the Workers Center said in a news release. Workers paid up to $20,000 to get jobs in the United States.
"They promised us green cards and permanent residency, and instead gave us 10-month visas and made us live like animals in company trailers, 24 to a room," Vijayan said. "We were trapped between an ocean of debt at home and constant threats of deportation from our bosses in Mississippi."
When the workers began to organize last year, Signal sent armed guards to detain and fire the organizers, the Workers Center said.
The lawsuit, filed by the Louisiana Justice Institute, Southern Poverty Law Center and the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, charges violations of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act; the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act ("RICO"); the Civil Rights Act of 1866; the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871; and the Fair Labor Standards Act.
"The U.S. State Department calls it 'a repulsive crime' when recruiters and employers in other parts of the world bind guest workers with crushing debts and threats of deportation," said Soni. "This is precisely what is happening on the Gulf Coast."
The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages and injunctions to prevent future exploitation of workers. While the court action moves forward, the workers pledge to continue more demonstrations to call attention to the treatment of workers on the Gulf Coast.
This report is adapted from information on www.Sajaforum.org, the blog of the South Asian journalists association, and www.Sepiamutiny.com.
NBC Story on Jena
Posted On Saturday, September 29, 2007 at at 3:59 PM by Dan
Jena's quiet
Posted: Friday, September 28, 2007 7:21 PM
JENA, La.– Looking for the mood in Jena is like looking for the truth – it all depends on who you talk to.
The day after 17-year-old Mychal Bell was released on $45,000 bail, things are quiet. But, of course, in a town of just 3,000 it’s almost always quiet.
The satellite trucks, with the exception of our own, have shut down their generators, folded their dishes and moved on. Across the street from the LaSalle Parish Courthouse at the McCartney Slay GMC dealership the cars are back on the lot. When we were here last week for the large demonstration, the owner had moved them, fearing the worst.
Now that Bell’s out on bail, there is a sense of relief.
Cautious celebration
Family and supporters are happy to have the young man back after 10 months in jail. But since he still faces trial in juvenile court, it is a cautious kind of celebration.
Bell’s attorneys say the teen can’t talk. Even his parents have gone silent. At Bell’s home a couple of cars sit in the driveway and the yard. But there is no sign of activity. Except in the church parking lot across the street where two unmarked vehicles sit in the shade with plainclothes officers inside.
They are there to safeguard the home after a hate group published the address on the Internet. According to Bell’s lead attorney, Lewis Scott, the 17-year-old is confined to staying at his mother’s or father’s house in Jena, which are two blocks away from each other.
Scott says they want to get the teen back in school since he’s missed a lot, but there is no way he can go back until the juvenile trial is over. And there’s no way he could go back to school here, not with the memories and the feelings. They’re thinking of something private.
‘Why don’t you tell the truth about Jena?’
On Main Street there is relief Bell’s out since his continued time behind bars only seemed to reinforce the belief for outsiders that Jena is a racist haven. Of course they know that, thanks to the media, everyone continues to consider Jena a racist haven whether the youth is in jail or not.
Whenever I introduce myself as being with NBC News, the return greeting is usually the same. "Why don’t you tell the truth about Jena?" The old white guy at the thrift shop said it was just the blacks that were labeling the community racist. I had to agree he had me there – not too many whites had come forward claiming their town had a race problem.
As I returned to the courthouse, a young African-American woman was telling my cameraman about how racism was very much still living in town.
Still, there was a crime
District Attorney Reed Walters said if he had it all to do over again, he would do things differently. He would not change how he prosecuted the case; instead, he would change how he communicated the case. He’s been true to his word. In the past week he’s held two news conferences and written an Op-Ed spot for the New York Times.
Walters denies the protests and the pressure have had any bearing on his actions. No one in town or elsewhere believes him.
This story has grown beyond Jena in many minds. Sometimes the facts seem to just get in the way. Jesse Jackson said all charges should be dropped against Bell and the other members of the "Jena 6." But there was a crime. Classmate Justin Barker was beat up by a group of youths last December at the high school. And it was not just a schoolyard fight. Barker was blindsided with the first punch as he stepped out the door. As he fell he struck his head. He was defenseless as he was repeatedly punched and kicked while he lay unconscious.
Should Jena ignore this crime for the greater good? Ignore it like authorities allegedly ignored white-on-black incidents in the town? Perhaps Bell, who some say wasn't even part of the assault on Barker, should use the line some fostered in the high school after nooses appeared in a tree on campus, that it was "just a prank."
City officials openly lament that if the noose incident had been dealt with much more harshly and right away, Jena wouldn't be the modern synonym for Selma.
In other words – if the town had spoken out and hadn't remained so quiet.
The Justice that Jena Demands
Posted On Thursday, September 27, 2007 at at 6:26 PM by Dan
by Xochitl Bervera
Families and Friends of Louisiana's Incarcerated Children (FFLIC)
I want to tell you about Emmanuelle Narcisse. He was a tall, slim, handsome young man who was killed by a guard at the Bridge City Correctional Center for Youth – a Louisiana juvenile prison – in 2003. Apparently, he was "fussing" in line, talking back to a guard. The guard punched him in the face, one blow, and Emmanuelle went down backwards, slamming his head on the concrete. He took his last breath there behind the barbed wire of that state run facility. The guard was suspended with pay during the investigation. No indictment was ever filed against him.
There is also Tobias Kingsley,[1] sentenced when he was 15 to two years in juvenile prison for sneaking into a hotel swimming pool (his first offense). Tobias endured physical and sexual abuse inside the prison. He said that guards traded sex with kids for drugs and cigarettes, and sometimes set kids up to fight one another, making cash bets on the winner. His mama said he was never the same after he came home. She said the nightmares, the violence, the paranoia persisted years after the private lawyers helped him come home early. His battles with addiction and depression are not yet over.
And there is Shareef Cousin, who was tried as an adult and sent to death row in the state of Louisiana for a murder that he didn't commit. Shareef spent from age 16 to age 26 behind bars, the majority of those years isolated in Angola's Death Row, because an over zealous prosecutor didn't care that the evidence didn't really add up. After all, it was only a young Black man's life on the line.
These are young Black men who have encountered Louisiana's criminal justice system who I know because their mothers have become proud members of Families and Friends of Louisiana's Incarcerated Children (FFLIC), the organization I have worked for over the last 7 years. These stories are about young men who have experienced incredible injustice, not unlike the Jena 6, only the national spotlight has never shined on them.
There are hundreds more. Thousands. Every day in the state of Louisiana (and in most states in this nation), injustices of epic proportions are taking place in our criminal and juvenile justice systems. We, those of us who live here, fight here, and organize here, know hundreds of families and young people – often our own - who've endured almost inconceivable levels of violence, abuse, neglect. And despite efforts to get someone, anyone to care and to act, these young people most often end up statistics in somebody's dismal report, or an anecdote in an article just like this. Because people don't care. Because these young people are not just poor, they are not just Black, they are criminals.
Hallelujah, someone noticed!
So, Hallelujah! Almost overnight it seems, the nation is looking deep into the heart of Louisiana's criminal justice system and seeing what we've been shouting about all these years! The racism, the blatant and unaccountable abuse of power masquerading as "justice." The slavery-like, Jim Crow-like, Bush-era prejudice and exploitation that has been the bedrock of white supremacy here and all over the Deep South for decades. Young people of color and mothers across the country are rising up saying "We wont take it anymore! We demand justice!" The myth that the goal of the criminal justice system is protecting public safety is slowly unraveling as youth in Philadelphia, DC, Oakland and mothers in Chicago, Jackson, and Birmingham make that most important of realizations, "that could have been me," "that could have been my child."
Many are asking, "why now?" Why, of all the horrific incidents we've seen and exposed, is this the one that set off this fire of hope? Our young people have been shot and killed by police in every city in this nation, left to die of dehydration in local jails, railroaded by white juries and judges into serving 20, 30, 40 years in the prison plantations we call Angola, Parchment, and Sing Sing...
Let me tell you what my heart tells me. What really matters is not why, but what we plan to do with this moment now that it has arrived. What will the leaders, the youth, the elders of our movement do now?
Demanding Justice for Us All
Of course we must relentlessly and persistently demand justice for the Jena 6. But we must demand justice, not only in the form of dropping the charges against these specific youth, but in the systematic and thorough rooting out of racism from all wings of the criminal justice systems across the United States of America.
Justice in Jena requires justice for all the others as well – for all those who have suffered (and some who have died) silently behind bars and for their families who have fought without benefit of TV cameras and news reporters. It requires understanding that we will not, we can not achieve racial justice in this country if we do not fight against the criminal justice system, not just in individual instances, but in its institutionalized, systemic form. If we do not understand this – and understand it deeply – then this newly discovered energy, this tidal wave of outrage, this beautiful, intergenerational protesting isn't going to mean a damn thing past next week's news.
Justice in Jena requires all of us across the country to rise up against the racism and exploitation of the criminal justice system in all the places where we've come to see it and grown to accept it whether that's allowing for an abysmal public defender office in your county or turning away when you see a police officer trample the rights, and perhaps the body, of a fellow citizen. We must cast off once and for all, the fundamental lie that the system has anything to do with criminals or justice or public safety. We must not back down, as so many movements have, when we are "crime-baited," accused of defending rapists and murderers, accused of defending crime itself. We must not make excuses for some parts of the system while protesting others. Similar to opposing the war, the whole war, and not simply certain battles or certain strategies, we must oppose the system in its entirety. We must dismiss, once and for all, the urge to discuss what's wrong with the system – what's broken and needs to be fixed.
There is nothing broken in this system. In fact, usually (when it is not disrupted by 50,000 protestors), it is quite efficient at doing precisely what it was created to do. In the Deep South, the criminal justice system as we know it was built after the abolition of slavery, as part of the terror machine which destroyed the briefly federally protected Reconstruction era. Without nuance or subtlety, the system was created by wealthy, land owning whites to keep Blacks "in line," on the plantation, and working for next to nothing. Thanks to the Thirteenth Amendment which abolished slavery "except as a punishment for crime," laws and codes were invented that criminalized the very existence of Black people, police were hired to "enforce" those laws, and courts were mandated to send these newly created "criminals" to jail, or better yet, to be leased out to the very plantation owners they had been "freed" from just months before. The "justice" that was once meted out by slave owners who were "masters" of their property, was now taken care of by the law. The word "slave" was replaced by the word "criminal."
"Its not about race, it's about crime"
And yet, even with this history known, the stigma of criminality has remained so strong that our own movements have turned their backs on this issue over the years. Too many of our movements today want to dismiss, minimize, or overlook the necessity for a racial justice movement to prioritize organizing around criminal justice. Too often, our members meet others – even those who should be allies – who hold the entrenched belief that if a child is in prison, he must be "bad," he must have done something wrong. Even in progressive circles, organizations prefer to focus on the school children who need an education, the families who want affordable housing, the victims of street violence and drive-by shootings. These people are portrayed as "innocent" and deserving while currently and formerly incarcerated people are "guilty" - of something.
Of course, it's a false dichotomy. Everyone knows that the same communities, the same people, who are most impacted by violence, the lack of health care, education, and housing are those most brutally impacted by policing and prisons. But the idea of the dichotomy has been essential to maintaining the stigma which justifies the system. And it's been a handy and effective tool to explain away a great deal of racial injustice in this country.
In Jena, when asked about the incident which led to the arrests of the Jena 6, a white librarian confidently explained to the NPR reporter, "It's not about race. It's about crime." Crime -- the ultimate proxy for race, the ultimate justification for racism.
What the future holds
I believe that this moment in history can be a pivotal one if we make it so. Up to 50,000 people marched in the streets of Jena yesterday – the majority of them Black, many were from the South. All were outraged by the blatant racism evidenced by the criminal justice system. This could be the beginning of the end for a system that should have been dismantled years ago.
But what we fight for and how we fight will make all the difference. The most obvious principle is that we cannot fight for the system to expand – in any way. Asking for the white kids who hung the nooses to be charged, calling for Hate Crime Legislation -- these "solutions" just strengthen the system and give the same players – the DA, the judge, the jury – more powers and more validation. If we understand that the system, at its core, is not designed to promote justice, then why would we ask for anything that expands its reach or powers? At the very least, we must only call for things which shrink the system – closing prisons, freeing prisoners, cutting correction budgets, eliminating the death penalty and Life Without Parole, prohibiting juvenile transfers, and implementing sentencing reform.
We can also call for accountability from our elected officials. DAs and judges who perpetuate injustice, state representatives who are in bed with the corrections department and private prison companies – these people should not be allowed to hold office. They should be ousted whether by recall, regular elections, or public pressure to step down.
But we can – and should - also call for the redirection of funds into a real public safety system. We must make it clear that the issue of public safety is fundamentally distinct from the issue of the criminal justice system. The only thing they have in common is rhetoric. Developing a public safety system which is prevention orientated, based on principles of restorative or transformative justice, prioritizes making the victim and community whole, and creatively resolving conflict is a powerful and noble goal and our communities should know more about these models and fight for them. A public safety system includes community based programs, quality education and the elimination of racism.
The families of the Jena 6 are ahead of the crowd in the list of demands they have made public: 1. Drop (or fairly reduce) All Charges; 2. Reinstate School Credits; 3. No Juvenile Records; 4. Investigate "Noose" Incident of September 1, 2006; 5. Remove Reed Walters from the District Attorney's Office; 6.Conduct Undoing Racism Workshops for Staff, Faculty, Administrators, Students, Parents and Community Members.
These are good demands for Jena. What will you demand in your hometown or city?
FFLIC is a membership based organization consisting primarily of mothers and grandmothers. These mothers and grandmothers have seen all sides of the farce known as the criminal justice system. They have been victims of sexual and physical violence who have either kept quiet or endured the humiliation and neglect of the DA's office and the so-called victim's advocates. They have been forced to call the police on their children when mental illness or addiction has made them violent and no other services exist. They have visited their children in prison and seen boot marks on their faces. They have walked home alone through dark streets in poor neighborhoods where there are no programs, no services, no activities to keep young men busy and hopeful. They have seen their children beat by police officers, by prison guards, sometimes even by judges and district attorneys.
Standing on both sides of the system, these mothers will tell you that justice exists nowhere in the vicinity. It may sound radical, but its time we start listening to those who have been through it all and tear down the disgrace that is the U.S. criminal justice system.
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Note:
[1] Name has been changed for purposes of confidentiality
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Xochitl Bervera is co-director of Families and Friends of Louisiana's Incarcerated Children (www.fflic.org). She can be reached at xochitl@fflic.org.
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Resources:
New York Collective of Radical Educators (NYCoRE) and Network of Teacher Activist Groups (TAG) have developed: Revealing Racist Roots: The 3 R's for Teaching About the Jena 6, a curriculum guide for teachers to address what's happening in Jena. Download the resource guide in PDF Version or Word Version for free at: www.nycore.org OR www.t4sj.org.
Donate to support the legal defense fund:
Jena 6 Defense Committee
PO BOX 2798
Jena, LA 71342
Sign the petitions at: http://www.colorofchange.org/jena/
For more information or to offer concrete support, email:
jena6defense(at)gmail.com
The Jena Six and the School To Prison Pipeline: http://naacpldf.org/content.aspx?article=1208
If you are in nyc and want to get involved Jena Six Support, email: da_bla2@yahoo.com.
In New Orleans, email: neworleans@leftturn.org.
Support Organizations:
http://friendsofjustice.wordpress.com/
http://www.colorofchange.org
http://www.millionsmoremovement.com
http://www.laaclu.org/
http://www.fflic.org
Please support independent media! Subscribe to Left Turn Magazine. http://www.leftturn.org .
Jordan Flaherty Report on Jena Rallies
Posted On Saturday, September 22, 2007 at at 10:12 AM by Dan
I think Jordan is a great writer, but this essay was just what I needed. The analysis of what happened and the organizing behind it helps me feel better. The days of charismatic leaders may be over. Or maybe not, maybe I'm just wishing it to be so. Either way, Jena is something.
Jena Ignites a Movement
By Jordan Flaherty
September 21, 2007
Six courageous families in the small Louisiana town of Jena sent out a call for justice that has now been amplified around the world. Yesterday's mass protests in Jena were unlike anything I have seen in my life, a beautiful and enormous outpouring of energy and outrage that may have the potential to ignite a movement.
The basic facts of the case are by now widely known. In this 85% white town, where the high school yard was segregated by race, a Black student asked to sit under a tree that had been reserved for white students only. The next day, three nooses hung from the tree. The white students who hung the nooses received only a mnor punishment, and more importantly, no one in the white power structure of LaSalle Parish, where Jena is located, seemed to take the nooses seriously as racial incident. There were no lectures to the students on the meaning of the nooses, or the legacy of racism, slavery and Jim Crow in the rural south. Instead, the Parish's district attorney told protesting Black students that he could take away their lives, "with a stroke of my pen." He then proceeded to attempt to do just that, charging six students with attempted murder after a schoolyard fight later that year.
In the nine months since their children were charged with attempted murder, the family members of the Jena Six organized meetings, hosted rallies, sent out press releases and letters and made phone calls – whatever they could think of. They were determined to not let this stand. For months, they stood nearly alone, accompanied by solidarity visits from activists from nearby towns and cities in Louisiana and Texas. Many of their friends and neighbors were afraid to speak out, and some reported having their jobs threatened. One white couple who spoke out said they felt pressured to leave town. But, in the face of what seemed like overwhelming obstacles, and with no organizing experience or friends in high places, the people of Jena continued to struggle. After months of silence from the media and from mainstream civil rights organizations, the first media stories began appearing, which were widely forwarded by mail, and amplified by homemade videos. After Mychal Bell's conviction at the end of June, and stories on Democracy Now and in the Final Call newspaper, support started growing exponentially, with hundreds of letters bringing tens of thousands of dollars in donations. By September, it became a movement that even the corporate media could not ignore.
At 5:00am, the buses were already arriving. A full bus from Chicago emptied out, some people brushing their teeth as they stepped into the slightly cold pre-dawn air. They seemed exhausted, but also charged and energized. Next came buses from Baton Rouge, Los Angeles and Philadelphia. By 7:00am, reports were coming in that hundreds of buses were lined up outside of town, some having been briefly prevented by State police from entering. Meanwhile, hundreds of people, from cars and buses and motorcycles, were pouring into Jena, while many thousands more were gathering in the streets outside the Jena courthouse. As simultaneous rallies began in the two locations, thousands of more people streamed into the city. By 9:00am, there were, by some estimates, up to 50,000 people in this town of 2,500. Almost every business in town was shut down, many roads were closed by police checkpoints, and a sea of protest filled the city for miles.
This demonstration was not initiated by any one national organization, and there was little coordination between some of the major organizations involved. The initial call came from the families themselves, and most people had heard about the demonstration through local Black radio stations, especially on syndicated shows like the Michael Baisden and Steve Harvey shows, as well as through blogs and youtube (one activist-made youtube video, recommended by Baisden, has already been seen well over a million times) as well as on social networking sites like myspace. As Howard Witt has pointed out in the Chicago Tribune, "Jackson, Sharpton and other big-name civil rights figures, far from leading this movement, have had to scramble to catch up. So, too, has the national media, which has only recently noticed a story that has been agitating many black Americans for months."
This decentralization was beautiful, although sometimes chaotic. As thousands gathered at the rally at the ball field, which was sponsored by the NAACP, thousands more demonstrators marched from the courthouse to the Jena High School, and tens of thousands continued to arrive and fill the streets around downtown Jena. Because this movement was without central leadership, there were many agendas, and also some confusion, as people were unsure when the march began, or if there was a march, and also unsure about parallel events, such as an afternoon hiphop concert at the ball field, which was mostly attended by people from the local community. People seemed unconcerned about the lack of clarity, however, and marched on their own schedule, which led to a more democratic feel to the day, unlike the more controlled, and sometimes disempowering, marches that some mainstream groups have organized in the past.
The t-shirts on display reflected the lack of central control – every community had made their own t-shirt, literally hundreds of variations on the theme of Free The Jena Six, many personalized to reflect their school or community. Hours of speakers delivered messages of solidarity and calls to action, from Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson to performers such as Mos Def and Sunni Patterson, while the enormous crowds marched and chanted, and also simply basked in a truly historic outpouring of activism. Participants varied from children and teens at their first demonstration to civil rights movement veterans. Many people who had never before been to a demonstration ended up organizing a delegation or booking a bus for this journey.
While the vast majority of the white community of Jena chose to stay either indoors or out of town, hundreds of Black Jena residents proudly displayed their "Free The Jena Six" shirts, and continued to gather in the ball field hours after most out of town visitors had left. White activists from across the US also largely stayed away from this historic event – perhaps 1 to 3 percent of the crowd was white, in what amounts to a disturbing silence from the white left and liberals. This silence indicates that the US Left is divided by race in many of the same ways this country is.
Yesterday's march, however, was not about division. It was a generational moment – the kind of watershed event that could signal a turning point in our movements. But what does the gigantic crowd in Jena mean? For some supporters, it felt like a fulfillment of those months that the families stood alone – a moment where the world stood with them, and the power structure backed down. In the last week Mychal Bell's convictions have been overturned, and most of the other students saw their charges lessened. Yesterday was also a moment for grassroots independent media, who built this story, and kept it alive until the 24 hour news channels could no longer ignore it. It was a moment for historically black colleges and universities to shine - Student activists organized bus convoys – five or more buses arrived from many southern schools - which were quickly filled by a broad range of students.
Yesterday was a moment for the unaffiliated left, for people everywhere concerned about a criminal justice system that has locked up two million and keeps growing. It was a moment for those concerned about school systems in the US, and especially the policing of our schools, what activists have called the School to Prison Pipeline. It was a moment for those that feel that the US has still not dealt with our history of slavery and Jim Crow, and our present realities of white supremacy. Perhaps that is where the power in yesterday's demonstration lies; if this undirected and uncontrolled outrage can be directed towards real societal change, if outrages like Jena can finally bring about the conversation on race in this country that we were promised after Katrina, if this united movement to support these six kids can show that we can unite for justice and win, then Jena will truly have been a victory.
As writer Andre Banks asked yesterday, "What would happen if every person who wore a t-shirt today or handed out a flyer or wrote a blog post woke up tomorrow and looked for the Mychal Bell in their own backyard? He, or she, won't be hard to find. What if our outrage, today directed at the small Louisiana town of Jena, extended to parallel injustices in Detroit or Cincinnati or Sacramento or Miami? What if we viewed this mobilization not as the end of a successful, innovative campaign, but as the moment that catalyzes us into broader and deeper action in every place where we are?" If this happens, we can say that it all began with six families in Jena, Louisiana, who refused to stay silent.
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Jordan Flaherty is an editor of Left Turn Magazine , a journal of grassroots resistance. His May 9, 2007 article from Jena was one of the first to bring the case to a national audience. His previous articles from Jena are online at http://www.leftturn.org. To contact Jordan, email: neworleans@leftturn.org. On myspace: http://www.myspace.com/secondlines.
Thousands in Jena
Posted On Friday, September 21, 2007 at at 9:28 AM by Dan
There are reports all over the net about the Jena march. Take a look at the Free the Jena 6 website for a good collection of articles. I did notice that Rev. Al Sharpton is calling for a march on Washington. I hope this isn't true. I have a sinking feeling that the energy will be directed towards DC rather than in local communities. That could kill this wave. Don't get me wrong, this is a a good day.
Part of 'Jena 6' conviction dropped; charges reduced
Posted On Saturday, September 15, 2007 at at 11:42 AM by Dan
This was posted on the Free the Jena 6 website. Looks like a partial victory, but there still has to be pressure on the D.A. Rally next week people!
HOUSTON — Ruling in a racially charged case that has drawn scrutiny from national civil rights leaders, a judge in the small central Louisiana town of Jena on Tuesday partially vacated the conviction of a black teenager accused in the beating of a white student while the district attorney reduced attempted murder charges against two other black co-defendants.
Judge J.P. Mauffray threw out a conspiracy conviction against Mychal Bell, granting a defense motion that Bell's June trial was improperly held in adult court and should instead have been conducted as a juvenile proceeding.
Jena 6 Rally in Atlanta on Sept 18
Posted On Friday, September 14, 2007 at at 3:06 PM by Dan
On Tuesday, September 18 come out to the CNN center. Details are:
11:30am- assemble between the entrance to Spelman College and the Morehouse College parking deck; march to CNN
12:30-1:30pm, rally at CNN entrance on Centennial Olympic Park Dr (at Marietta).
Sponsored by the I Am the Jena 6 Movement.For more information, e-mail iamjenasix@gmail.com
Preliminary Findings of People's International Tribunal on Hurricanes Katrina & Rita
Posted On Sunday, September 09, 2007 at at 3:59 PM by Dan
In this post:
* Press release - International Tribunal issues preliminary findings
* Greetings from People's Hurricane Relief Fund
* How you can support the tribunal
International Tribunal Issues Preliminary Findings
Bush, Blanco, Nagin Committed Crimes against Humanity
New Orleans—Between August 29, 2007 and September 2, 2007, a Tribunal of 16 esteemed jurists from nine countries, including Algeria, Brazil, France, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mexico, South Africa, Venezuela, and the United States, convened in New Orleans to hear testimony by experts and survivors of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
After hearing nearly 30 hours of testimony by hurricane su! rvivors and experts – covering government neglect and negligence in 15 areas, ranging from police brutality to environmental racism, from misappropriation of relief to gentrification, the jurists announced their preliminary findings.
Jill Soffiyah Elijah, the Deputy Director of the Criminal Justice Institute at Harvard Law School and Coordinating Justice for the International Tribunal on Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, announced the Tribunal’s preliminary findings, “It is our view that the US Government has committed crimes against humanity particularly in relation to its failure to maintain functional levees that should have protected the City of New Orleans from flooding….it was the reckless disregard and, in some instances, negligence of the US government, the state of Louisiana and the city of New Orleans that created the devastation we continue to see today.”
Elijah also announced that the Tribunal made preliminary findings that the federal, state and local governments are guilty of violating the human rights to life, dignity and recognition of personhood; the right to be free from racial discrimination-- especially as it pertains to the actions of law enforcement personnel and vigilantes; the right to return, resettlement and reintegration of internally displaced persons; the right to be free from degrading treatment and punishment; the right to freedom of movement; the right to adequate housing and education; the right to vote and participate in governance and the right to a fair trial, the right to liberty and security of person and the right to equal protection under the law. Both actions and failure to act by the governments had disproportionate devastating impact with respect to race and gender.
The jurists announced that they would deliver their final verdict December 8, 2007—the second anniversary of the Katrina Survivors’ Assembly. In the meantime, prosecutors will be submitting additional evidence and videotaped affidavits from an additional 25 survivors.
The prosecution team included experienced attorneys from respected legal associations around the country: the ACLU of New York, National Economic and Social Rights Initiative, the US Human Rights Network, the National Conference of Black Lawyers, the Center for Constitutional Rights, National Lawyers Guild, the Center for Law and Social Justice at Medgar Evers College, the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Mississippi Workers Center for Human Rights, Washington DC Legal Defender, Mississippi Disaster Relief Coalition, International Association of Democratic Lawyers, Legal Empowerment Center and the Louisiana Justice Initiative.
The Tribunal Conveners—representi
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For samples of videotaped testimony, contact Monifa Bandele at (917) 407-3018
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Greetings family, friends, neighbors, and comrades!
How to Support the International Tribunal
1. Build a Solidarity Committee in your city, region or state to continue the struggle for a just reconstruction and against ethnic cleansing in the Gulf Coast.
2. Join the PHRF action alert network at http://www.peoplesh
3. Conduct a report back about the Tribunal and the Gulf Coast Reconstruction Movement with your members and supporters. Call 504.301.0215 for speakers and video.
4. Organize a teach-in or community forum in your city, region, or state with members of the Tribunal organizing committee to aid with the national mobilization effort for the Tribunal and Survivors Assembly.
5. Agitate on the demands and recommendations stemming from the Tribunal by asking civic, labor, political, and religious organizations in your! area to sign on as endorsers. The prosecution called for:
• Prosecution of Bush, Blanco, Barbour, Nagin, FEMA, the Army Corps of Engineers, and Homeland Security for crimes against humanity
• International and national support for the right of return and reconstruction with justice and dignity
7. Contact the various government officials in your city, region, and state and demand that they support legislation that recognizes the IDP status of Hurricane Survivors, provides restitution for Hurricane Survivors, supports the Gulf Coast Civic Works project, and holds all parties responsible for crimes against humanity liable for their actions.
8. Support the calls for censures, boycotts, and direct action issued by the Tribunal organizers and Survivors Assembly to pressure the US government to accept the demands and recommendations of the Tribunal.
9. Support the International mobilization for the Tribunal by promoting its findings, verdict, and demands to your international contacts and allied organizations. Encourage them to start resolution initiatives, petition drives, and calls for international solidarity and action.
10. Demand that all Presidential candidates take a stand in support of the findings of the Tribunal, reparations, a just reconstruction, and the right of return for all Gulf Coast IDP's.
11. Raise funds to provide ongoing financial support to the Tribunal organizers to publish and distribute the findings, continuing raising awareness, and pursue national and international litigation.
In Unity ! and Struggle,
Kali Akuno
PHRF Executive Director
Tuesday, September 4th, 2007
Stay tuned to www.katrinatribunal
Can you be in Jena, Louisiana on September 20th?
Posted On Thursday, September 06, 2007 at at 6:59 PM by Dan
This is a call out from Color of Change, involved in the rally on July 31. In a rural southern town, a large presence can have a big impact.
http://colorofchange.org/jena/rsvp.html
On September 20th, Mychal Bell--the first of the Jena 6 to be convicted--is scheduled for sentencing. If the District Attorney has his way, Mychal will face 22 years in prison. It's a horrifying moment for Mychal, his parents, and the rest of the Jena 6 families. It's also a perfect time for those who can to come to Jena, in person, and stand with them. We know it's a serious time and financial commitment, but we wanted to give you the opportunity to join the hundreds of people who have already emailed us to say that they will come. If you can join us, please click on the link below to
RSVP:
Our presence in Jena--in large numbers--will help focus media attention on the situation in Jena, escalate pressure on Louisiana public officials, and most importantly, show the families of the Jena 6, especially Mychal Bell and his parents, that we will stand with them in the face of this injustice.
On July 31st, with only a few days to prepare, 300 people from across the country rallied at the Jena Courthouse. We delivered a petition signed by 43,000 ColorOfChange.org members to the District Attorney demanding that he drop the charges against the Jena 6.
It was a powerful day that made it clear that the Jena
6 and their families won't have to fight on their own.
Since then, more than 100,000 people have taken action and contacted the Governor, media attention to the case has grown, and we have an even bigger opportunity to make a profound impact.
As we plan for this event, we want to get a sense of how many people can commit to coming to Jena. Below are some details about getting there, so you can figure out if you'll be able to join us.
Details
If you're flying to Louisiana, the closest airports to Jena are Alexandria (45 minute drive) and Monroe (1.5 hour drive). You can also fly to Lafayette (2.25 hour drive), Shreveport (2.75 hour drive), Baton Rouge (3 hour drive), New Orleans (4.25 hour drive), or Houston (about a 5 hour drive). The closest hotels are in Pineville and Alexandria. As they fill up, we'd recommend staying at hotels near the airports above.
If travelling from out of town, you'll want to get to Louisiana the night before, as things will start early in the morning, probably by 8am or 9am. Organizers will meet you when you arrive at a central location in Jena and get you situated for the day. We will be providing maps, organizers' cell phone numbers, and other information closer to the day-of; you will be able to reach someone in case you have any problems, need directions, or have questions along the way.
RSVP
Once you're confident you can come, please rsvp at the
following:
http://colorofchange.org/jena/rsvp.html
If you have questions, you can send them to jena@colorofchange.org.
If you can't come, don't worry. We'll be sending emails soon with more ways to take action between now and the 20th. Whatever your participation, we thank you for your ongoing commitment to justice for the Jena 6. It continues to be our privilege to be part of such a powerful community of support for these young men.
Thanks and Peace,
-- James Rucker Executive Director, ColorOfChange.org
August 28th, 2007
More Info on Jena 6
Posted On at at 4:54 PM by Dan
Let's hope we don't have to leave our liberation in the hands of talk show hosts. Yet, any help from folks in all quarters is necessary.
Talk Show Hosts Come To Aid Of Jena 6: Michael Baisden, Ruben Armstrong among those demanding justice for Mychal Bell.
September 5, 2007, EurWeb
http://www.eurweb.com/story/eur36488.cfm
The gross miscarriage of justice in the Jena 6 Case has drawn the immediate attention of key figures in television and radio.
Nationally syndicated radio personality Michael Baisden will join Rev. Al Sharpton and Martin Luther King, III on Sept. 20 at the court house in Jena, Louisiana for the 9 a.m. start of a rally dubbed, 'National March For Justice.'
Gathered protesters will demand fair treatment for Mychal Bell, one of the African-American teenagers awaiting sentence in the Jena 6 Case. Sharpton was contacted by Bell's family to help bring national attention to the case and to fight for justice on behalf of the six black students involved.
As summarized in the Philadelphia Daily News by writer Fatimah
Ali: 'In short, a black student at Jena High School asked if it was all right to sit under a shade tree normally used by white students. Soon after, three nooses were found hanging from the tree branches. Fights and tensions between white and black students escalated over the next few weeks. One black student was beaten at a party by white students. Then, a white student was injured in a fight with black students. Following that fight, the student was treated at the hospital and released a few hours later, and six black teens were charged with attempted murder. In July, one of them, Bell, a star athlete, was convicted on reduced charges by an all-white jury and faces up to 22 years in prison. Most of the accused are in jail, unable to post bail, and Bell awaits sentencing after being swiftly convicted. The "weapon" in question that escalated a schoolyard brawl to attempted-murder charges ? A sneaker.'
Sharpton, who has been to Jena twice, arrived last month with Martin Luther King, III and met with local leaders, preachers and families of the students. They visited with Bell in jail and vowed to continue to fight for him and the others.
On Sept. 19, television talk show host Ruben Armstrong will broadcast live from Jena and also march the following day, when Bell is to be sentenced on charges of attempted murder.
Armstrong and his production team will be interviewing the family and supporters. According to a spokesperson for Reuben Armstrong, the show will broadcast live from Jena, Louisiana in its entirety and rebroadcast on Sept. 22nd at 12 p.m. CST.
You can watch and listen to this broadcast at http://www.reubenarmstrongshow.com/
Fundraiser for the Jena 6
Posted On Saturday, September 01, 2007 at at 11:41 AM by Dan
I am blogging on this kind of late, but every little bit helps. Below is information received from Left Turn.
FREE THE JENA SIX!
New Orleans benefit to support the Legal Defense Fund for the Families of the Jena Six
Friday, September 7, 2007
Dinner Reception for Families and Supporters
7:00PM
Ashe Cultural Arts Center
1712 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd, New Orleans
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Live Music, Performances and DJ
8:00PM
Craige Cultural Center, 1800 Newton Street, Algiers
Sliding Scale, $5 - $15, no one turned away
Saturday Benefit Featuring:
Statements by Family Members of The Jena Six
Da Truth Brass Band
Sunni Patterson
Truth Universal
Spoken Word from the Renaissance Society Poets
DJ
Food and Drinks
And more...
More About The Jena Six: In Jena, Louisiana, six Black youths who stood up to racism are facing a lifetime in prison. The six high school students were charged with attempted murder for a schoolyard fight. The fight was initiated by white students, who hung three nooses in a tree at the high school courtyard, to warn black students not to sit there. After this hate crime was dismissed as a harmless prank by the school administration, black students protested under the tree. The local District Attorney was called in to warn the black students that he could take their life away with the stroke of a pen. The nooses led to a series of fights between white and black students. After these fights, only the black students were charged-with attempted murder. The prosecutor has refused to back down in prosecuting these young men, or to admit that hanging nooses is a hate crime.
Please see http://www.freethejena6.org/ for more information, or email neworleans@leftturn.org. Phone: (504) 655-0390.
Sponsored by: Advocates for Environmental Human Rights, Families and Friends of Louisiana's Incarcerated Children, Left Turn, Louisiana Justice Institute, Craige Cultural Center, Interfaith Worker Justice, Restaurant Opportunities Center, Nation of Islam, Millions More Movement, INCITE Women of Color Against Violence, ColorOfChange.org , Safe Streets Strong Communities, Mennonite Central Committee, European Dissent, People's Institute for Survival and Beyond, Common Ground Health Clinic, Lower 9th Center for Arts & Culture, Critical Resistance, New Orleans International Human Rights Film Festival, Anti-Racist Working Group, The Homecoming Center, Common Ground Relief, Peoples Hurricane Relief Fund, Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, ACLU Foundation of Louisiana, and more (list in formation).
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Resources:
Donate to support the legal defense fund:
Jena 6 Defense Committee
PO BOX 2798
Jena, LA 71342
Donate online at: https://secure.colorofchange.org/jena_fund/
Sign the petition at: http://www.colorofchange.org/jena/
For more information or to offer concrete support, email:
jena6defense(at)gmail.com
Media coverage:
The Final Call:
http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/article_3753.shtml
NPR (News and Notes):
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11756302
Democracy Now:
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/07/10/1413220
Mychal Bell, who has been behind bars since December of 2006, has asked to receive letters from supporters. Please write to:
Mychal Bell
Inmate, A-Dorm
LaSalle Correctional Center
15976 Highway 165
Olla, LA 71465-4801
