[News] Jena 6 Analysis from Malcolm X Grassroots Movement

[Anti-Imperialist News]

http://mxgm.org/web/jena-6/jena-resistance-and-self-defense.html

Jena, Resistance and Self Defense
Lumumba Akinwole-Bandele

One of the main implications of the case of the Jena 6 is one that
has sent countless activists to prison.  The implication-if you dare
to remove yourself from the role of a victim and attempt to assert
justice yourself, you will pay a heavy price. The notion that six
young Black men responded appropriately by not allowing an
environment of terror to exist in their lives and their community
enrages a society that does not want to see Black people recognizing
and acting on the understanding that we alone will change our
conditions. This case would have made countless people considerably
more comfortable if these young brothers did not engage in a physical
encounter with the white student. Many would have been appeased if we
as a community continue to appeal to a legal system that has made it
clear that it doesn't place much, if any value on the lives of Black
people.

The Jena 6 engaged in an act of self-defense and their actions
reflects our reality.  Lynching, a genocidal act that occurred with
the consent of the government, has long been a part of Black
Experience in North America. In a petition submitted to the United
Nations in 1951, titled "We Charge Genocide", Paul Robeson and other
prominent Blacks, documented that at least 10,000 Black people had
been lynched since the abolition of slavery. The exact number of
people murdered can never be known. The horrendous act of lynching
did not stop with the Civil Rights movement and our communities
remain intimately familiar with the legacy of the noose. Countless
numbers of Black people have been killed throughout recent history
with the legal system failing to prevent similar cases from
reoccurring.

The call for justice in this case must include the dismissal of all
charges against the Jena 6 and the immediate termination of
prosecutor Reed Walters.   Any call for decreased charges affirms the
notion that Black people can do anything to struggle against white
supremacy/racism except for physically defending ourselves.

Our history of struggle in North America has always had the
importance of defending our lives as a fundamental pillar.  The act
of defending ourselves as a community has always been criminalized.
This process of criminalization is an attempt to dissuade communities
at large from becoming self sufficient in their own security.
Former Black Panther Party member, Jalil Muntaqim stated, "We are our
own Liberators"; our path to liberation must be decided and executed
by us in the manner that we determine.  It is this act of
self-determination that is considered to be the most dangerous by
government officials.   The legacy of the Black Liberation Movement
was rooted in this ideology and was responded to viciously by all
levels of law enforcement, which routinely attacked and murdered
activists.  Thus we have the many political prisoners and prisoners
of war in the united states today.   Nationally we have a
responsibility to call for the freedom of all political prisoners in
the united states who have been found guilty of simply defending the
lives of Black people.

We are pleased to hear the many calls for people to pay attention to
Jena 6s in our own towns.  We must recognize that we all live in
Jena. The same people who boarded buses from all corners of this
country must organize against the mass criminalization of our youth,
militarized law enforcement and participate in the work for
self-determination and the unconditional release of the political
prisoners and prisoners of war in the United States.

Self Respect, Self Defense and Self Determination
We will defend our freedom fighters


      * To find out how you can participate in the movement to free
political prisoners, please contact: Malcolm X Grassroots Movement:
http://www.mxgm.org
      * Jericho amnesty campaign: http://www.thejerichomovement.com
      * Hands Off Assata campaign:  http://www.handsoffassata.com
      * Free the San Francisco 8 campaign: http://www.freethesf8.org



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