May we never forget the day- September 21 2011. May we never forget that cold and soul-less hour 11:08pm. Jackson, Georgia a small town in "Beautiful Butts" county, witnessed a major travesty of justice in the 21st Century. Troy Anthony Davis, a man on death row, was "legally lynched" by the state of GA, the Supreme Court, the bigwig politicians from the Governor to the President, and every one else who decided to keep silent or remain indifferent about this issue. Mr. Davis's guilt was not proven, seven out of nine witnesses recanted testimony, there was no physical evidence, and reports of police coercion, simply stated there was just "Too Much Doubt!". Yet a possibly innocent man was murdered by the state! Where is the justice in this world?
Will and I were in Jackson yesterday. There were around 500 protestors (maybe more or less). We went to the little church (Towaliga County Line Baptist Church), where messages of hope, solidarity and a call to action were emphasized as the need of the hour. It reminded me of watching some of the "Eyes on the Prize" videos. Leaders in the church told activists to be disciplined, not to carry signs with sticks and not to antagonize the police because they would tear gas us! I never heard a media report about how we were trying to organize non violently but I did hear one report call us an "unruly crowd".
Jackson,GA looked like what I think a police state may look like. There were armored guards, SAWT teams (whatever you call them) dressed in full gear, carrying batons, guns and tear gas. They looked imposing and intimidating. They would ever so often shuffle a few steps closer to the protestors. Oh and did I mention, there were two helicopters circling the area. What a waste of money, did any one of those crony capitalists remember that we are in a recession. People stated that a young man was beaten, kicked and tazed. At one time, they told our group that we were flashing a light at them, and that we were sitting too close to the street. Also on a couple of occasions, there was a true show of force as about 20 cops cars blazed down the road with their bright blue lights flickering and sirens raging. Was the state expecting a riot? Why was the state expecting a riot? Racism? Did the state forget that Martin Luther King Jr led a non violent movement?
People have been calling out for Truth, people have been demanding justice, people have been trying to participate in democracy. A pastor chained himself to a post near the GA State Capitol in Downtown Atlanta only to be arrested three hours later by the police. People raised their voices in chants, some cried tears, some read from the Bible, some prayed, some sangs hymns- such as "Amazing Grace", "This little light of mine", "Kumbaya", "We Shall Overcome", some played the drums and some lit candles, some carried signs which said "Not in My Name" or "I am Troy Davis" or "God is Watching" or "Injustice anywhere threatens Justice everywhere" We were a scary sight in comparison to the SWAT team . Ridiculous! Just seemed like there was a travesty of justice everywhere. Not to forget the media, who did a decent enough analysis but only picked and chose what they decided to be newsworthy. For instance when we first got to Jackson, we and a small group were trying to stand on the GA right of way and hold up our signs, only to be shooed away like cattle by the SWAT team who wanted us to keep walking. Will told one of the media guys about this and he said that if this were a larger group he would cover the story. How many true stories are not reported in the media because they have to make way for "fluff news".
Needless to say, I am really sad and a little bit disillusioned as well. An innocent man has been murdered, people who have power like the Governor or the President decided to act like Pontius Pilate. They wiped their hands off the matter, but guess what they have blood on their hands, we all have blood on our hands. Imagine for instance how cool it would have been, if Mr. Deal had shown come courage and tried to cross over to the other side and if the police arrested him. Well, he did not do any of that- so I guess he just remains a shameful coward.
Shame on Georgia and Shame on the United States. We have let an innocent man die. Are we so blind that we do not realize that this could happen to any one us? As we were reminded by movement leaders in Jackson, Troy may be dead physically, but his spirit soars and is alive. We have to honor his memory, honor his courage. It is imperative that we continue to work relentlessly against the injustices in our legal system and all the other systems in general. God is watching our every action. We know He is the ultimate judge. Now is the time for all of us to pick up our crosses and listen to our conscience. We have to provide witness that there can be a society where Truth, Justice, Democracy and Love reign supreme. We are all Troy Davis!
No comments:
Post a Comment