Fwd: MLK Day Call
William Winters
If so, let's start planning soon.
William
From: Alice Woodward <awoodw...@yahoo.com>
Date: Jan 8, 2008 4:53 PM
Subject: MLK Day Call
To: william Baton Rouge < uuadv...@gmail.com >
January 21st: Oppose the Lynch Mob Racists! No to Nooses! Free the Jena Six! We Want a Better World!
White Supremacists plan to march in Jena on Martin Luther King Day in 2008. On Martin Luther King day of all days, the one day that is supposed to be about the struggle of Black people, they are coming to march with Nooses! This is a call to people everywhere: On Monday January 21st, get to Jena! OPPOSE THE LYNCH MOB RACISTS!
Displaying nooses is a hateful and terrorizing message. These racists want to take us back to the days of lynch mobs murdering Black people in this country. Nooses are INTOLERABLE. Bring a sign, hang a poster, make a banner, get to Jena, SAY NO TO NOOSES!
The Jena High students said no to nooses hung at their school when they protested by standing underneath the "white only tree". Then on September 20th, 2007 tens of thousands of people stood up, marching in Jena and around the country. People said Enough is Enough to the injustice in punishing Black youth who take a stand against racism. The white supremacists call Black youth criminals and thugs, they say, "Jail the Jena Six". Let's say it loud again in Jena: FREE THE JENA SIX!
It is in response to September 20th and what that day achieved that white supremacists are lashing out, with a message that takes us back to the horrors of lynch mobs and segregation. When racism rears its ugly head, it is up to people everywhere white and Black, people of all nationalities, to take a stand. If you are against injustice and inequality, if you want racism to end... its up to you to voice it! If we don't speak up and stand up, this horrific message will go unopposed. If not us who? If not now when?
Protest in Jena on January 21st. Join people everywhere in politically opposing white supremacy and drowning out their message of hate with the message that WE WANT A BETTER WORLD.
Endorsed by a group of 12 Jena residents white and Black, including youth, and one of the parents of the Jena Six.
We call on people every where to endorse and support this call and build for January 21st.
--
William Winters, III
Advocacy Staff
Unitarian Universalist Hurricane Relief and Social Justice Project
Doug Leyda
The Southern Poverty Law Center has very good information and suggestions to responding to hate demonstrations – it is important to ACT, not react. I’ve listed the links below. Also, try to verify that a permit to march has been requested and received. Sometimes these calls to march are just tactics to stir up trouble that never materialize. Finally, you may be able to get someone with SPLC to help do the research and background check of any hate groups/individuals that are planning a demonstration. I think I have copies of the booklet somewhere if anyone is interested in a copy.
Ten Way to Fight Hate:
http://www.toleranceorg/10_ways/index.html
Item 5: Create an Alternative: the key is to not go toe-to-toe with them and give them more publicity, but to draw the community and media to something positive.
http://www.tolerance.org/10_ways/create/index.html
__________________________________
Doug Leyda doug_...@msn.com
Family & Community Partnerships Manager
YWCA GBR Early Head Start
3180 Convention Street
Baton Rouge, LA 70806
w: 225-338-0028 f: 225-336-0701
www.ywca-br.org
Steve Crump
----- Original Message -----From: William WintersSent: Wednesday, January 09, 2008 8:56 AMSubject: [JenaSixActionPlanning] Fwd: MLK Day Call
Rhonda Browning
Another thing is a tactic used by groups against anti-gay groups where the good guys carry large sheets of pink foam insulation and block the view of the haters to the public and media. A group called Pink Angels used to do this against Westboro Baptist Church (godhatesfags.com) when they would come the funeral of a person with AIDS. The would dress as angels with big pink wings and surround them, cutting them off from the family and the media.
Drowning the haters out is tacky and not respectful of their right to free speech. Their own words are what is needed to convict them, because these people do not know that they are wrong and a lot of the folks in Jena are going to be supportive of them. A good guy who can blend into the crowd needs to record, getting as close to the speakers as possible and just blending in. Otherwise, they won't be open. All their speeches need to be taped and examined for anything that could be considered terroristic threats, however.
Of course they want to have their demonstration on MLK Day! And they have as much of a right to do so as everyone else. They consider the whole Civil Rights Movement and affront to their freedom and Dr. King the symbol of totalitarianism. They want to eliminate King Day as a national holiday. King Day is not just a celebration of black civil rights. The Civil Right Movement jumpstarted freedom for all second class citizens. Right behind it came a hard push for the the Women's movement, which of course had started in the late 1800s but was somewhat stalled after their original objective, the right to vote, was established and the Disability Rights movement which required disabled kids to receive equal educational opportunity and then, of course, the gay rights movement. They were all going but the passage of federal laws benefiting African-Americans, gay the other movements a good push.
If they commit any acts of violence, there will need to be a follow-up march by the good guys. When Hosea Williams marched on an all white (literally) county in Georgia with only about 50 people,the rednecks threw rocks at him. So two weeks later he came back with 2000 demonstrators and Forsyth County soon had quite a few black people living there. The march I beleive was in the early 1990s. If you don't remember Hosea he was Dr. King's workhorse. He did not make a lot of speeches and was not slick and dignified. He usually wore overalls, tended to be extremely outspoken and had some personal flaws, namely a drinking and driving problem, but was very effective until he died of cancer a few years ago. He was not a Reverend, by the way. He was a chemist. Just a couple months before he died, a street in Atlanta was named after him. He started a massive holiday feeding program called Hosea Feed the Hungry.
Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2008 07:48:30 -0800
From: tru...@yahoo.com
Subject: [JenaSixActionPlanning] Re: Fwd: MLK Day Call
To: jenasixact...@googlegroups.com
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