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Journey for Justice


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You’ve seen all of the major national news outlets covering Ferguson, and the events surrounding the murder of Mike Brown through their own lens, especially focused on demonizing both Brown, and the people protesting. There were hundreds of reporters assigned to cover “violence” in Ferguson, “looters” etc. It’s telling how many aren’t covering the ongoing protests and strategies being enacted by people committed to long term change. Try searching the headlines for what is going on right now. Where did the cameras go?

NAACP Announces March, “Journey for Justice: Ferguson to Jefferson City”

In response to the grand jury’s decision not to indict Darren Wilson for the killing of 18 year old Michael Brown Jr., the NAACP, including members of the Youth and College division and senior and youth organizations, will be embarking on a 120 mile, 7 – day march entitled, “Journey for Justice: Ferguson to Jefferson City”.  The Journey for Justice will commence at the Canfield Green Apartments and conclude at the Missouri Governor’s Mansion in Jefferson City.  The purpose of the march is to call for new leadership of the Ferguson police department, beginning with the police chief, and for new reforms of police practice and culture in both Ferguson and across the country.  First and foremost in that approach is a wholesale fight against racial profiling that involves advocating for adding subpoena powers to the Missouri racial profiling state law and passage of federal legislation on racial profiling. For seven days, beginning Saturday, November 29th at 12 noon, marchers will walk along the route to the Governor’s Mansion.  Each evening, the marchers will participate in teach-ins and rallies that are open to the public. New participants are welcome to join the Journey for Justice each morning as walking commences.  We expect buses will provide relief for marchers along the 120 mile Journey for Justice.

Al Jazeera didn’t leave. Here’s their clip.

Good to see Rev. Barber there, making the linkages to the injustices we face across the board. This is not just about Ferguson. It’s about Justice.


If you haven’t seen these photos, take a look and pass them on. The NAACP flickr stream has more.

The NAACP has posted its own video


You can get updates via twitter:

#JourneyForJustice

Yes. It is a journey. One we’ve been on for hundreds of years and we still have further to go.

We will walk and fight on.

Cross-posted from Black Kos


Categories: Uncategorized.

/ 16 Comments

16 comments

  2. JanF

    People of color and those who support civil rights are obviously not done marching.

    I don’t know if you had the chance to read the Chris Rock interview but he said some hopeful things about progress. This one struck me:

    There’s always going to be people that don’t know that the [Civil] war’s over. I’m more optimistic than you, but maybe it’s because I live the way I do. I just have a great life, so it’s easier for me to say things are great. But not even me. My brothers drive trucks and stock shelves. They live in a much better world than my father did. My mother tells stories of growing up in Andrews, South Carolina, and the black people had to go to the vet to get their teeth pulled out. And you still had to go to the back door, because if the white people knew the vet had used his instruments on black people, they wouldn’t take their pets to the vet. This is not some person I read about. This is my mother.

    And on his daughters, in a couple of places in the interview:


    … my kids grew up not only with a black president but with a black secretary of State, a black joint chief of staff, a black attorney general. My children are going to be the first black children in the history of America to actually have the benefit of the doubt of just being moral, intelligent people. […]

    Zahra was 4 when Obama was nominated. So as far as they’re concerned, there have always been little black girls in the White House.

    Maybe white America can get past its problem this time.

  3. Adept2u

    Like saying some people knew the problem was beyond Barack Obama and we were censured and had our names dragged through the mud.

    I’ll say it.

    http://www.dailykos.com/story/…

    http://www.dailykos.com/story/…

    These are the last 2 works I did at the other place I draw your attention to the comments, who told me my concern for my people were not as important as the air quality,  who told me my concerns for my people were off the rails etc.

    Well  here we are, and those people are tsk tsk tsking.

    The problem isn’t in coalition the problem  is in who we beg to join it.

    But I’m sleeping though.

  4. JanF

    Film of an illegal chokehold, death ruled homicide, STILL no indictment.

    We don’t need bodycams, we need independent prosecutors for police involved killings.  

  5. Diana in NoVa

    I am livid! Our black brothers and sisters did not ask to be in this country–they were forcibly dragged here in chains and enslaved. We should be making reparations to our brothers and sisters instead of shooting them.

    From now on I will never trust any police officer. I am sickened by the persistence of racism. For a time I thought things were better. Now I know they’re not.

    Would voice the hope that old the old racist scumbuckets would die off, but unfortunately they’re probably bringing up little scumbuckets.

    Don’t know what the answer is.

  6. DeniseVelez

    hat/tip to Hunter at orange

    See

    Journey for Justice runs into hostile counter-protest, keeps marching

    http://www.columbiamissourian….

    About 200 people met the marchers as they reached Rosebud around noon, activists said. A display of fried chicken, a melon and a 40-ounce beer bottle had been placed in the street. A Confederate flag flew. Counter-protestors shouted racial epithets.

    Rhea Willis of Velda City, Missouri, said she saw a boy she estimated to be 8 years old holding a sign that read, “Go home.”

    Somebody shot the window out of the back of one of the buses traveling with the march, dubbed by the NAACP as the Journey for Justice. The outer pane of glass broke. The bullet landed in the windowsill, the driver said.

  8. janicket

    There’ve been continuing protest marches and die-ins in eastern Massachusetts which have received lead-story coverage here, at least on the cable news channel NECN — I don’t watch the network affiliate stations so can’t say how they’ve reported on it as it happens, but given how many major roadways have been shut down at prime evening drive time, I’d expect they’re covering it too.

    Or maybe not; I’ve just looked at the websites for the ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox affiliates.  ABC:  Second of four rotating lead stories.  CBS:  Not even in the lead; a sidebar under “Mother, son narrowly escape being hit by train”.  NBC:  Lead story.  Fox:  Not the lead; second sidebar headline, but not as slanted as you’d expect.  Don’t, for the sake of your sanity, read the comments.

    What reports I’ve seen have pointed out how peaceful and nonviolent the protests have been, which is due, of course, to the people participating, but also to the very different attitude of elected officials and police here.  Our governor and Boston’s mayor, among many other public officials as well as Cardinal O’Malley, have openly supported the right to protest and expressed sympathy with the anger, rather than spending days ratcheting up the tensions with dire warnings about expected violence and how it will be suppressed.  The current Boston police commissioner is a strong advocate of community policing, dialog with people, and talking down angry crowds rather than rolling tanks and tear gas on them.

    Watching the coverage last night, I was struck by the difference in gear and approach of the state and local police, even when major arteries were being blocked and traffic was going to hell:  Wearing those sickly yellow-green vests but otherwise in normal uniform; no nightsticks and assault rifles out and ready, no helmets other than on the motorcycle units, no hulking tanks lurking.  I saw helicopter shots of some protesters come forward and engage in lively discussion with front-line officers, but the body language was respectful on both sides.

    I think these quotes are telling:

    On its Twitter account, the Boston Police Department thanked the thousands who demonstrated peacefully and cooperated with law enforcement Thursday night, saying: “You too should be proud.”

    Police Commissioner William Evans, in a statement, thanked his officers for showing “restraint and professionalism” during the protest.

    Source: NECN headline story on protests – http://www.necn.com/news/new-e…

    What?  Treating people with human decency and respect rather than beating them into submission?  Who’da thunk it could ever work?

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