Concerned Blogosphere Launches Virtual March In Support Of Jena 6
Posted by bronzetrinity on September 19, 2007
For Immediate Release
Concerned Blogosphere Launches Virtual March In Support Of Jena 6
Contact: Daz Wilson theultravioletunderground@gmail.com or Yobachi Boswell 615-478-5204.
Afrospher Jena 6 Coalition – Worldwide Web — September 17, 2007
The Blogosphere recently took matters into their own hands when they saw the lack of coverage for the Jena 6 case in mainstream media. A day of blogging was coordinated with the intent of magnifying the voices of ‘the people’, while also requesting that the mainstream media share the story of miscarriage of justice that has taken place in the Jena 6 case, with their mass audiences. A press release was issued to notify the media, and on Thursday August 30, 2007 the Day of Blogging for Justice (http://www.pr.com/press-release/50358) took place. On the very same day of the event, MSNBC stepped up and aired a 5 minute segment on the Jena 6 case. They also continued to cover the story online.
The Blogosphere is again coordinating another show of support and concern with an online Virtual March which will act as an unofficial companion and alternative to the Michael Baisden and Al Shaprton lead March in Jena Louisiana on September 20, 2007, for those who cannot make it to the physical March and also for those who wish to double and triple their efforts.
Interested bloggers, webmasters, and social networking profile owners are asked to take a picture of themselves holding a sign that reads ‘Free the Jena 6′ and other messages. As an added measure, if possible, Virtual Marchers are asked to wear black as Marchers will be doing on September 20th. The digital photos can then be posted to visible sidebar areas on their blogs, sites, profiles and anywhere else they feel it will send a constant message that ‘the people’ are standing against racism in the justice system and elsewhere. Virtual Marchers are asked to keep displaying the pictures on their profiles until true justice has been served for all of the Jena 6, as a show of solidarity.
Those who don’t have digital cameras can check with their local office supply stores. Most office supply stores will scan a photo and save it to a disk that can hold the file needed to upload to the internet. After that, Image hosting services like Imageshack.us can store the photos and generate a code Virtual Marchers can use on their profiles. If there are no office supply stores in the area, other Virtual Marchers who have access to scanners will likely accept photos through the mail, scan them, then email them back.
‘The hope is that the Virtual March in addition to other acts of solidarity will stand as a message that ‘the people’ are aware of the evils these young men have encountered, and are also aware that theirs is not truly an isolated incident. This March is therefore symbolic of our refusal as aware individuals to allow these evils to befall people of color, or people targeted for any reason of systematic prejudice. Many have shed blood and stood strong against tyranny, and it is up to us to honor those sacrifices,’ Advises Daz, a coordinator of the Virtual March. Go Here for some blogs that may participate in the campaign: http://www.blackperspective.net/index.php/jena-6-page/day-of-blogging-for-justice/
More information can obtained by typing ‘Virtual March’ in search at: www.ultravioletunderground.com , and also by visiting www.blackperspective.com
– Recommended *-*
September 20, 2007 at 12:59 am
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September 20, 2007 at 4:29 am
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September 21, 2007 at 5:33 pm
I beg to differ. Somewhat!
http://averagebro.blogspot.com/2007/09/averagebro-blogs-live-from-jena-la.html
October 5, 2007 at 8:57 pm
Which Way From Jena
Eddie Griffin
Friday, October 05, 2007
BLOGGERS: Congratulate yourself for raising public awareness about the Jena 6 case. But kick yourself in the butt for not educating such a mass of people about the significance of the Jena 6 Movement. Many people came from Jena looking into the stars for direction.
It is a sad commentary when I read: “While there is no doubt last week’s rallies illustrated this generation’s commitment to social justice, a fundamental question arises: Where do we go from Jena?” (Blackademics.org)
Highway directions are printed on the map. Didn’t we print maps, or did we print out a bunch of hyped rhetoric? How did you get here, Blackademics blogger, via radio disc jockey? As well as our brothers, the DJs, did over the airways in rallying the masses to the cause of these six youth, we would not expect them to be responsible for Mass Educate- or would we?
Which Way Do We Go?
Many people go back to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s… wrong direction. Many people return to Reconstruction Era Jim Crow and racism… wrong direction. Not that these areas in history is without due reference- we must always consult history.
The railroad system from school to prison is the real issue behind the six black Jena youth… just another poor black youth on his way to prison on hyped up charges, and nobody was saying anything. Take into account the millions of young black men to go to prison every, it is a railroad system… Railroad Justice. And, it has filled our prisons to the brim.
While everyone is quibbling over who first hit whom, etc., the district attorneys across this nation are making decisions on prosecution- what charges to bring against which defendants.
Need we ask which way to go to get to the end of this railroad track?
• The United States has the highest reported incarceration rate in the world. While the United States currently incarcerates 750 inmates per 100,000 persons, the world average rate is 166 per 100,000 persons. Russia, the country with the second highest incarceration rate, imprisons 624 per 100,000 persons. Compared to its democratic, advanced market economy counterparts, the United States has more people in prison by several orders of magnitude. Although crime rates have decreased since 1990, the rate of imprisonment has continued to increase.
• Growth in the prison population is due to changing policy, not increased crime. Many criminal justice experts have found that the increase in the incarceration rate is the product of changes in penal policy and practice, not changes in crime rates. Changes in sentencing, both in terms of time served and the range of offenses meriting incarceration, underlie the growth in the prison population.
• Changes in drug policy have had the single greatest impact on criminal justice policy. The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 created mandatory minimum sentences for possession of specific amounts of cocaine. The Act instituted a 100-to-1 differential in the treatment of powder and crack cocaine, treating possession of 5 grams of crack cocaine the same as possession of 500 grams of powder cocaine. Crack cocaine is typically consumed by the poor, while powder cocaine, a significantly more expensive drug, is consumed by wealthier users. Mandatory minimum sentences for low-level crack-cocaine users are comparable (and harsher in certain cases) to sentences for major drug dealers.
• The composition of prison admissions has also shifted toward less serious offenses, characterized by parole violations and drug offenses. In 2005, four out of five drug arrests were for possession and one out of five were for sales. The crime history for three-quarters of drug offenders in state prisons involved non-violent or drug offenses.
• The prison system has a disproportionate impact on minority communities. African Americans, who make-up 12.4 percent of the population, represent more than half of all prison inmates, compared to one-third twenty years ago. Although African Americans constitute 14 percent of regular drug users, they are 37 percent of those arrested for drug offenses, and 56 percent of persons in state prisons for drug crimes. African Americans serve nearly as much time in federal prisons for drug offenses as whites do for violent crimes.
• The U.S. prison system has enormous economic costs associated with prison construction and operation, productivity losses, and wage effects. In 2006, states spent an estimated $2 billion on prison construction, three times the amount they were spending fifteen years earlier. The combined expenditures of local governments, state governments, and the federal government for law enforcement and corrections total over $200 billion annually. In addition to these costs, the incarceration rate has significant costs associated with the productivity of both prisoners and ex-offenders. The economic output of prisoners is mostly lost to society while they are imprisoned. Negative productivity effects continue after release. This wage penalty grows with time, as previous imprisonment can reduce the wage growth of young men by some 30 percent.
• Prisons are housing many of the nation’s mentally ill. Prisons are absorbing the cost of housing the nation’s mentally ill. The number of mentally ill in prison is nearly five times the number in inpatient mental hospitals. Large numbers of mentally ill inmates, as well as inmates with HIV, tuberculosis, and hepatitis also raise serious questions regarding the costs and distribution of health care resources.
• The United States faces enormous problems of offender reentry and recidivism. The number of ex-offenders reentering their communities has increased fourfold in the past two decades. On average, however, two out of every three released prisoners will be rearrested and one in two will return to prison within three years of release.
October 24, 2007 at 1:44 pm
It is easy to point out what could have been done. To express from afar the need for direction without having effectively contributed to the identification and execution of a direction doesn’t add much value. Further, While the statistics you cite are in general accurate, you miss key points. To omit any mention of self accountability implies that we as a people are incapable of self control. The message cannot be akin to let drug dealers go.The message must be “don’t sell drugs”. You mention the sentencing of drug crimes… The stats that you failed to mention are those that reflect the fact that the the drug trade fuels gangs violence, robberies, burglaries, the destruction of the black family and the murder of hundreds of black people each year in every major city in the US. Studies support that the vast majority of those convicted of felonies were under the influence at the time they committed the crime. Any statement with regards to recidivism is incomplete at best without mentioning that drug addiction fuels drug related crimes that put people back in jail.The key is not to stop prosecuting those who would poison black children. The key is to hold those who profit from the destruction of the black family equally accountable. 94% of murders againstr black people are committed by other black people. This is the epitome of genocide.
Inequity in the prosecution of drug crimes exist. Cocaine users/dealers receive less time than crack cocaine dealers for the same amount. The solution is not to weaken the laws for crack but to strenghten the laws or other drugs. a few of my thoughts.
1.Lock up all drug dealers.
Focus on the dealer from a prosecution perspective and provide treatment for the user( Note that there is a difference between possesion and possesion with intent to distribute) All crime will drop. Black lives will be saved. Do not support the person who makes money by creating crack babies.
2. Take care of your family. If you are a parent this means putting your kids first and providing for them better than you were provided for. During segregation approx 75% of black children were a part of a family that was supported by a married Mother and father. Now less than 35% of black children are born into a two parent family. Nothing will get better until we fix this. When racism was worse, we had stronger families. If we listen to those who make it feel ok to make excuses we will only get weaker.
3. Accept accountability for your decisions. I hear all the time that people committ crimes because they are poor. I have seen people in other countries who are literally hungry, ill and would never steal. To steal… to lose your honor is not an option. I have also seen people worth hundreds of millions of dollars steal … They had it all and wanted more. Stealing is not a economic issue, it is a morale issue. All poor people do not steal and some rich people do. Povery is no excuse for committing crimes. Committing crimes against your own people is even worse because of the state of the black family. It is traitorous.
4. Speak for yourself. Mr Sharpton, Mr Jackson and many others have not been elected to speak for the entire black race. Further, they are not obligated to take care of an entire race of people. VOTE! Participate in the political process. Register complaints about bias, discrimination and inequitable treatment. No other race has a spokesperson… Take control of your destiny. If you don’t vote, go to your kids school and work to effect change then you are just talking.Talk is cheap. It is your life, make it happen.
5. Stop making excuses. Racism exist. I deal with it everyday. The facts are that far too many black people have become succesful inspite of racism to use it as an excuse for failure. There is no other option but to do your best.
6 . Do not support criminality. You can’t support images of criminals , drug dealers, prostitutes and expect anyone one of any race of character to support you. Be smart enough to know when you have been sold out.
7. find your own way. Take what I say with a grain of salt because at the end of the day, you have to do what is best for you. Listen to people you respect for the right reasons and then make your own decisions. Here is a hint. Listen to people who have already done what you want to do. If you want to be drug free, have a good career, a strong family, then you find someone who has made it work and listen. Don’t listen to the person next to you who has never done it. If you want to be happy,listen and learn from someone who is happy. Sometimes you will here people say things like “Don’t listen to those ole people” . Those civilizations that do not respect and learn from thier elders die. When you hear phrases like that, That is a sure sign you are being played. If someone tells you” Trust me”, “don’t listen to your elders” , “I will not tell anyone”. It is okay to fail” You are being played. If all of your friends are thugs , get new friends. They will never let you do better.
8. Read. Know what is going on. Read your locale paper.Read books. read websites.The world is a big place.
9. You must be sober. You cannot get to where you need to be high or drunk. Try this. look at all of the adults you know you to you have failed…note how many of them drink and drug. They will say they can” handle it” .
Don L.Rondeau