Jena Six Updates: The Protest is Still On

Posted 16 September, 2007 at 10:46 pm by Kevin
Filed Under Good Causes |

The rally scheduled for 20 Sept. in Jena, LA. is still on, despite the overturning of Mychall Bell’s Conviction. See Color of Change for more info.

Important Update: 3rd Circuit rejects Mychal Bell’s conviction; Rally on 20th still goes on.

On Friday, a judge in the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals found it improper that Mychal was tried in adult court, nullifying his conviction. However, the District Attorney will probably appeal to the Louisiana Supreme Court, and if that fails, he is expected to try Mychal again in juvenile court and do the same for the remaining 5 young men.

The pressure we’ve mounted is working. The prospect of more than 10,000 people coming to Jena has created a crisis for the state. Now is the time to maintain momentum. We must keep up the pressure–if the spotlight on what’s happening in Jena fades, there will be nothing to force Walters to slow down or stop his attempt to ruin these young men’s lives.

Yep, that’s what I’m talking about.

For those that can’t make it to Jena for the rally, there are other ways you can show your support. Everyone should wear either black or green on the 20th. Black will symbolize “strength and mourning,” while green will symbolize “growth and surpassing hate.” Take your pick. You can’t go wrong with either color. Many folks are suggesting that you walk out of your job or class in support, but I’ve always found those suggestions to be slightly classist. There are a lot of folks that are down with the cause that simply can’t afford to do something like that, and I can’t get mad at someone for wanting to keep food on the table. Activists and their families gotta eat too, y’know.

There are other avenues that you can take, though. Color of Change, once again, is on the ball and has everything set up for those that can’t make it. I’m going to be making a hella lot of calls on 20 Sept. If you have the time, please do what you can.

From Color of Change:

Flyering Early next week, we’ll provide flyers that you can download and print that will give background on the Jena 6 case and actions folks can take to support the Jena 6. The flyer will include a link to the online petition and a list of phone numbers to key Louisiana officials they can call. On the 20th, you can pass them out, set up a table in a public place, or post the flyers in local businesses or in other public places.

We’ll also provide a quarter-sheet version of the flyer, so if you’re wearing a Jena 6 t-shirt, you can have flyers in your pocket, ready to pass to everyone who asks about your shirt.

Phone Calls On the 20th, you’ll be able to use our call tool to make calls to Louisiana officials, stepping up pressure on the Governor and making it clear she needs to act now. You can make as few or many calls as you like. All you need is your computer and your phone—the tool provides you with the phone numbers and the call script. Calls should be made during the Louisiana work day.

Vigils, Rallies, & Meetups One of the most powerful ways to take action is by organizing or participating in a rally, meet-up, or vigil. These events truly bring people together as a community, and they often attract local press which is great for making more people aware of the situation. Vigils could happen the evening of the 19th or the day of 20th. Rallies can happen before work, at lunchtime, or at the end of the workday. Easier to plan, but no less important, would be a meet-up, where you and others get together in a high traffic spot in your community to raise awareness and spread the word with flyers and/or to engage folks in writing postcards for the young men and their families.

If you’d like to host a vigil, rally, or meetup, click here to set it up and let other ColorOfChange.org members know about it.

If you know of an event that’s already scheduled and that other ColorOfChange members might want to attend, please register it here.

• Step Into My World

  • About
  • Archives
  • Comment Policy
  • Contact
  • Kevin Online
  • Link Love
  • The AfroSpear

• Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries RSS
  • Comments RSS
  • WordPress.org

• Translate

• Search for:

• You Might Also Find Me At
• Solidarity Design Network
• Thinking Girl
• Unapologetic Mexican