To Free The Jena Six, The Struggle Must Continue
By Hank Brown & Alice Woodward
08 November, 2007
Countercurrents.orgWednesday November 7th we saw the racist and unjust prosecution of the Jena Six move ahead. Bryant Purvis, one of the Jena Six, was charged with Second Degree Battery and conspiracy to commit second degree battery. A trial date was set for March 24th 2008. This means that trials for all of the Jena Six are now going forward, they face decades in jail. The system is moving full speed ahead with the enforcement of white supremacy onto these youth who stood up against the racist status quo in society. The District Aattorney Reed Walters now along with a reporter from the Jena Times have been spreading lies and half truths in the media to justify the outrageous persecution of the Jena Six and confuse those who have stood up for what is right. Mychal Bell is back in juvenile facilities in a state known for its horrific abuses done to youth behind bars. And Judge J. P Mauffrey and the District Attorney are proceeding with the criminalization and incarceration of Mychal Bell, now hidden from the eyes of the public, with a gag order on all the lawyers and families. Enough is Enough!
The people must continue to build the struggle and fight on to Free the Jena Six! This is not a time to chill. The events that sparked a movement- the protest and resistance of the Black people in Jena against the hanging of the nooses, and the authorities coming down on these six youth to enforce the racist status quo- are still playing out today. Jena is a racist and segregated place, in a racist and segregated society where Black people are systematically discriminated against. There can be no “reconciliation” with this.
When people stood up on September 20th, voiced their outrage and acted, it put this whole case in the spotlight and achieved real victories. The courts vacating Mychal's convictions could not have happened without this. Continuing to act in this way is the only thing that will prevent the system from proceeding with plans to unjustly punish the Jena 6. What is needed is for the struggle to spread and grow with protests, campus speak outs, t-shirts, banners, marches, all across the country with the spirit and determination that made September 20th a historic day. Court dates are set for the coming months, there's an urgent need for a response from the people to manifest before the next move from the authorities.
To that end we are uniting with families and residents in Jena, as well as organizations nationwide, to call for a day of protest, and soon. A day for people across the country and in Jena, to deliver the demands that ALL the charges be dropped, and that it is completely unacceptable that Mychal Bell or any of the Jena 6 be held in jail or put on trial for one day more. Details of this call to action will be announced. We urge supporters of the Jena Six to contact us to contribute their ideas on this next step and get involved.
Hank Brown: A follower of Bob Avakian and long time supporter of the Revolutionary Communist Party. Brown came forward in the civil rights movement and black liberation struggles of the 1960s and early 70s. He was a member of SNCC throughout that era. Hank Brown participated in the May Day Brigades which spread a Revolutionary Communist, Proletarian Internationalist, outlook across the country in the 1980s. He has been reporting in Jena Louisiana for almost three months. [email protected]
Alice Woodward writes for Revolution and has been in Jena Louisiana reporting for three months. Her articles on the Jena Six have also been published online in Counterpunch.org and Countercurrents.net. She has reported on the Jena Six in a variety of radio appearances from local hiphop stations to progressive radio talk shows. [email protected]
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