About 40 people turned out at Leimert Park last night (November 7th) to protest the racism in Jena, Louisianna. This was one of many such actions that took place across the country, including San Francisco and Chicago. Traffic at this crowded intersection responded enthusiastically. Six to eight police officers watched us from afar in the parking lot.

One of the speakers, Linda, expressed gratification at seeing people of different races participating. “It’s going to take more than black people doing this,” she said. “Doctor Martin Luther King wanted all the different races with us. That’s how we got to where we are now. We had to have all different races to help us. . . .”

She added: “Justice delayed is justice denied. . . . We need to free the Jena Six because if we don’t, it’s going to trickle down on everybody.”

Big Money Griff, a local resident, also spoke. “I was one of the ones that went down to Jena. It was an experience that I never thought I’d [have] in terms of seeing all the youth coming up. So we got a new generation, and it’s time for us to begin the process of [deciding] how we’re going to strategize for the 21st century.

“One of the things that I’m trying to bring forward is an execution bill, a bill that says if you don’t have forensic evidence, you cannot execute. . . . “ [Applause.]

He also announced that on November 19th busloads of people will be traveling to Palmdale to support a girls whose wrist was fractured.

Toni, the next speaker, contextualized the Jena issue with other oppression in this country, including ICE raids.

“What we’re dealing with is not just a group of red necks who are going around hanging nooses from trees, we’re dealing with a system," she said. "This system is no damn good, and it needs to be brought down. We need a revolution, no voting, no waiting around. . . . They talk about democracy, there aint no fucking democracy. This is a fascist agenda. We need to drive out the Bush regime! We need to resist! Resist! Resist! We need to resist every day. We need to start acting like we’re in Nazi Germany. We need to be bringing out not only the people here today, we need to bring out thousands and millions of others to join with us.”