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Mos Def & Common Call For A Student Walk-Out In Support Of The Jena 6
In a gesture of protest and solidarity for the Jena 6, artists including Mos Def, Common, MC Lyte and student leaders from over 100 campuses across the country are calling for a National Student Walk Out today (October 1).
Organizers are asking students to walk out of their classrooms at 12 noon Central time and join rallies either on campus or at designated areas to demand the ethical and fair legal treatment of Louisiana student Mychal Bell.
Bell was one of the six black students initially charged with second-degree murder in connection with a fight that ensued after 3 nooses were hung from a tree on the school grounds of Jena High School. The murder charges were eventually reduced to attempted battery and conspiracy charges but the six teens still face up to 20 years in jail.
Until September 27, Bell was the last remaining member of the Jena 6 serving jail time. District Attorney Reed Walters chose not to appeal the court's ruling but said he will retry the case in juvenile court in the coming weeks. Bell is currently out on bail.
In addition to the aforementioned artists being involved in the walk-out efforts, actor Idris Elba, dead prez rapper M-1, Talib Kweli and Pharoahe Monch have also taken up the cause.
"This is the time for Black people to support the Jena 6, and call attention to the unequal treatment the criminal Justice system is dishing out not only in Jena, Louisiana but across this nation...we all live in Jena," said Mos Def. "Jena Louisiana is the same as 'Jena' New York. From Mychal Bell to Sean Bell our communities continue to be targeted."
Several national civil rights and community organizations are also backing the protest as well, including the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, Sankofa Community Empowerment, Change the Game, the National Hip Hop Political Convention, The Hip-Hop Association and Color of Change.
Organizers for the walk-out have also issued a public list of demands that they feel should be met in light of what they feel have been unethical and egregious actions on the parts of Judge J.P. Mauffray and District Attorney Reed Walters.
The demands include that all charges against the Jena 6 be dropped, that Judge Mauffray be removed from presiding over Bell's juvenile court hearings or other proceedings and that each local, state and federal criminal justice apparatus stop profiling the black community in general and specifically black youth for imprisonment and free labor.
Source: sohh.com
Organizers are asking students to walk out of their classrooms at 12 noon Central time and join rallies either on campus or at designated areas to demand the ethical and fair legal treatment of Louisiana student Mychal Bell.
Bell was one of the six black students initially charged with second-degree murder in connection with a fight that ensued after 3 nooses were hung from a tree on the school grounds of Jena High School. The murder charges were eventually reduced to attempted battery and conspiracy charges but the six teens still face up to 20 years in jail.
Until September 27, Bell was the last remaining member of the Jena 6 serving jail time. District Attorney Reed Walters chose not to appeal the court's ruling but said he will retry the case in juvenile court in the coming weeks. Bell is currently out on bail.
In addition to the aforementioned artists being involved in the walk-out efforts, actor Idris Elba, dead prez rapper M-1, Talib Kweli and Pharoahe Monch have also taken up the cause.
"This is the time for Black people to support the Jena 6, and call attention to the unequal treatment the criminal Justice system is dishing out not only in Jena, Louisiana but across this nation...we all live in Jena," said Mos Def. "Jena Louisiana is the same as 'Jena' New York. From Mychal Bell to Sean Bell our communities continue to be targeted."
Several national civil rights and community organizations are also backing the protest as well, including the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, Sankofa Community Empowerment, Change the Game, the National Hip Hop Political Convention, The Hip-Hop Association and Color of Change.
Organizers for the walk-out have also issued a public list of demands that they feel should be met in light of what they feel have been unethical and egregious actions on the parts of Judge J.P. Mauffray and District Attorney Reed Walters.
The demands include that all charges against the Jena 6 be dropped, that Judge Mauffray be removed from presiding over Bell's juvenile court hearings or other proceedings and that each local, state and federal criminal justice apparatus stop profiling the black community in general and specifically black youth for imprisonment and free labor.
Source: sohh.com