Mos Def, Erykah Badu, Common, M1, Talib Kweli, the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, Sankofa Community Empowerment, Change the Game, the National Hip Hop Political Convention, Color of Change and student leaders from over 100 high schools and colleges have called for National Action on Monday, October 1 at 12:30pm to support the Jena 6. Mos Def, who spearheaded the call, said "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." Okay, boys and girls, you heard the man. Act.
And incidentally, you don't need to go to the streets to act. Talk to your co-workers, your fellow students, your boss or your boss's boss. Start a discussion on institutionalized racism over lunch. Tell your family members. Write a letter to an editor. Or to Reed Walters (now, there's a thought!). Email the New York Times and let them know what you think of their giving Walters a platform to bash Black folks with Jesus, no less. Tell the Kansas City Star what you think of Jason Whitlock's "commentaries." Support your local Black and Latin@ cultural programs. Volunteer to mentor a poor kid in a poor school. Speak up and speak out. Because we all live in Jena and that's a fact, Jack!
..OR become a tutor or mentor. I can't tell you how influential they were when I was a kid.
ReplyDeleteWell, maybe you just did, ACT. If you're a conflict theorist now, you've come a long way from needing a tutor/mentor. And you're dead right. Even an hour or two a week can make it possible for a kid to survive who might not otherwise. If people just understood how little it takes to give a child some hope, they'd be ashamed not to do something.
ReplyDeleteOn Jena, I am assuming you've heard of this?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cnn.com/2007/US/10/04/jena.six.reenactment/index.html
damn, just got this memo...
ReplyDelete