Special Vitamin Dedicated to the Jena Six
Today marks a historic day for the civil rights movement. Many brothers and sisters have boarded buses or will be attending local rallies to support the Jena Six. It is hard to think that blatant racism still exists in this country, but it does. Maybe you were not able to journey to Jena on a bus. However, I encourage you 1) to wear black in support of the Jena Six or 2) attend a local rally in your city. Here in Fayetteville, there will be a local rally at 11:00 am at Bronco Square, right across from the campus of Fayetteville State University. Additionally, please sign the petition that is floating electronically. This petition is from the NAACP.
I want to take a moment and express my disappointment to the hip hop community in regards to the Jena Six. David Bowie has contributed $10,000 toward the legal fees for the parents of the Jena 6. Conversely, for the last couple of weeks, two of the biggest names in hip hop, Kanye West and 50 Cent, have been battling each other to see who would sell the most records. Yet, I have not heard either one of them say anything or do anything in regard to the Jena Six effort. I will be honest; I was hoping that one of these gentlemen or another recognizable face in hip hop would step forward, take the reigns, and lead the charge. Why? Because hip hop reaches the masses of young people and if a recognizable figure like Soulja Boy, Cupid, Kanye West, 50 Cent, Jay Z, or Russell Simmons would have spoke to the awareness of the plight of the Jena Six, how many more youth would have been made aware of this situation and what kind of mobilization efforts could have resulted from this awareness? Maybe hip hop artists are so focused in making money, that they don't feel it's their responsibility to take a stand. If this is so, this is disheartening and I ask the hip hop community, on this historic day, "What is your focus?" If you can't make a rally or journey to Jena Sis, keep praying for these young men and pray for the safe travels of our brothers and sisters, of all races, traveling to Jena on this day.
Posted By: Alban Burney
Thursday, September 20th 2007 at 12:43PM
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