A delegation from the Hip Hop activist community will serve as Ambassadors for Common Peace at the September 20th, 2007 protest rally of the Jena 6 trial in Jena, Louisiana. Mr. J. Michael Carr Jr. of the Fathers for the Future Foundation (FFF) and Troy Nkrumah of the National Hip Hop Political Convention (NHHPC) will lead a delegation of young people to Jena to monitor, mediate, and demonstrate for the justice of the six young youth who are on trial and unless justice is served could spend the decades in prison. This delegation will also include over 10 young lawyers from around the country who will work as legal observers to ensure that the constitutional rights of the demonstrators are not violated by law enforcement.
Invited by the "Friends of Justice", the actual organization to first break the Jena 6 story to the Chicago Tribune and BBC in December 2006, the Ambassadors For Common Peace will work to promote civility and goodwill at the mobilization in Jena, LA. It is the belief of the Hip Hop community that this is one of the most salient racial trials since the Rodney King verdict in 1992 and has the potential to repeat the disastrous outcome if justice is not met for the defendants. This one trail has the potential to set back race relations and delegitimize the current strides made in the fight for racial justice, thus furthering the heightened racial tensions.
Just as with the 1964 deaths of the three civil rights workers in Neshoba County, Mississippi, the six black youth facing attempted murder and aggravated assault charges in Jena, Louisiana are bringing the national climate of racial injustice to another tipping point. The hip hop generation has taken a stand to voice their objection to the circumstances around this trial, because the impact will have such long term ramifications on American society, thus silence is not an option.
The Ambassadors For Common Peace understand that it is the proclivity of both sides to interpret the case based on their own perceptions; however, we would like to state that it is our intention and objective to remain true to the philosophy of nonviolent direct action. Therefore, our focus is to be advocates for a peaceful, but vocal demonstration and to discourage those who seek to agitate through the call for violence at the September 20th rally. We encourage all who are concerned with this matter to come out and participate in a safe, constitutional and effective mobilization for the justice for the Jena 6. for more info click here
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