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<a href="http://mxgm.org/web/jena-6/jena-resistance-and-self-defense.html" eudora="autourl">
http://mxgm.org/web/jena-6/jena-resistance-and-self-defense.html<br><br>
</a>Jena, Resistance and Self Defense<br>
Lumumba Akinwole-Bandele<br><br>
One of the main implications of the case of the Jena 6 is one that <br>
has sent countless activists to prison. The implication-if you dare
<br>
to remove yourself from the role of a victim and attempt to assert <br>
justice yourself, you will pay a heavy price. The notion that six <br>
young Black men responded appropriately by not allowing an <br>
environment of terror to exist in their lives and their community <br>
enrages a society that does not want to see Black people recognizing
<br>
and acting on the understanding that we alone will change our <br>
conditions. This case would have made countless people considerably <br>
more comfortable if these young brothers did not engage in a physical
<br>
encounter with the white student. Many would have been appeased if we
<br>
as a community continue to appeal to a legal system that has made it
<br>
clear that it doesn't place much, if any value on the lives of Black
<br>
people.<br><br>
The Jena 6 engaged in an act of self-defense and their actions <br>
reflects our reality. Lynching, a genocidal act that occurred with
<br>
the consent of the government, has long been a part of Black <br>
Experience in North America. In a petition submitted to the United <br>
Nations in 1951, titled "We Charge Genocide", Paul Robeson and
other <br>
prominent Blacks, documented that at least 10,000 Black people had <br>
been lynched since the abolition of slavery. The exact number of <br>
people murdered can never be known. The horrendous act of lynching <br>
did not stop with the Civil Rights movement and our communities <br>
remain intimately familiar with the legacy of the noose. Countless <br>
numbers of Black people have been killed throughout recent history <br>
with the legal system failing to prevent similar cases from <br>
reoccurring.<br><br>
The call for justice in this case must include the dismissal of all <br>
charges against the Jena 6 and the immediate termination of <br>
prosecutor Reed Walters. Any call for decreased charges
affirms the <br>
notion that Black people can do anything to struggle against white <br>
supremacy/racism except for physically defending ourselves.<br><br>
Our history of struggle in North America has always had the <br>
importance of defending our lives as a fundamental pillar. The act
<br>
of defending ourselves as a community has always been criminalized. <br>
This process of criminalization is an attempt to dissuade communities
<br>
at large from becoming self sufficient in their own security. <br>
Former Black Panther Party member, Jalil Muntaqim stated, "We are
our <br>
own Liberators"; our path to liberation must be decided and executed
<br>
by us in the manner that we determine. It is this act of <br>
self-determination that is considered to be the most dangerous by <br>
government officials. The legacy of the Black Liberation
Movement <br>
was rooted in this ideology and was responded to viciously by all <br>
levels of law enforcement, which routinely attacked and murdered <br>
activists. Thus we have the many political prisoners and prisoners
<br>
of war in the united states today. Nationally we have a <br>
responsibility to call for the freedom of all political prisoners in
<br>
the united states who have been found guilty of simply defending the
<br>
lives of Black people.<br><br>
We are pleased to hear the many calls for people to pay attention to
<br>
Jena 6s in our own towns. We must recognize that we all live in
<br>
Jena. The same people who boarded buses from all corners of this <br>
country must organize against the mass criminalization of our youth,
<br>
militarized law enforcement and participate in the work for <br>
self-determination and the unconditional release of the political <br>
prisoners and prisoners of war in the United States.<br><br>
Self Respect, Self Defense and Self Determination<br>
We will defend our freedom fighters<br><br>
<br>
* To find out how you can participate in the
movement to free <br>
political prisoners, please contact: Malcolm X Grassroots Movement: <br>
<a href="http://www.mxgm.org/" eudora="autourl">http://www.mxgm.org<br>
</a> * Jericho amnesty campaign:
<a href="http://www.thejerichomovement.com/" eudora="autourl">
http://www.thejerichomovement.com<br>
</a> * Hands Off Assata campaign:
<a href="http://www.handsoffassata.com/" eudora="autourl">
http://www.handsoffassata.com<br>
</a> * Free the San Francisco 8 campaign:
<a href="http://www.freethesf8.org/" eudora="autourl">
http://www.freethesf8.org<br><br>
<br>
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