The RaceDoctor Speaks!

There is a great deal of credit to be shared for this tremendous effort at galvanizing public attention on a very apparent injustice. Internet organizers, nationally syndicated radio hosts, and national civil rights leaders and celebrities should all be very proud of what took place on Thursday.

As these folks and all involve celebrate this success on behalf of the Jena 6, it is important to talk about the most important lessons in this for adapting civil rights era tactics for a 21st century movement towards racial justice and reconciliation. Some lessons important lessons can be learned about how to update these protests.

Proper Linkage to the Underlying Case of Injustice
It was smart of organizers to continue with the rally even after the conviction was overturned. Yet, the day after the rally, a court proceeding about Mr. Bell took place, he was denied bail, and early media reports suggest that no response to this was anticipated by the rally organizers. A prayer vigil with Mr. Bell’s family might have garnered further public attention to this unjust development.

Creativity of Message
A few creative actions by the marchers could have had the effect of communicating important messages to both the town of Jena and the national media. Some potential examples of actions that would might update the message communicated by the rally:

• Putting ribbons representing interracial cooperation at strategic places in Jena
• Sweeping the courthouse steps or the entire downtown to represent getting rid of racism and as a act of service
• Planting a tree of reconciliation to replace the tree that was the original precipitating incident

Improving Media Discourse about Race
Repeatedly, media covering the Jena 6 rally ask town residents and marchers unproductive yes/no questions like: “Is this town racist?” Or “Is the prosecutor racist?” Rally spokespeople and participants need to be trained to leverage this public moment to educate the media about how to deal better with racial issues. Specifically, media asking such questions should be told that this “Racism: Yes or NO?”  question is counterproductive, and spokespeople should teach media to instead ask: How do racial tensions affect this situation?

Educating and Empowering Participants
While the Jena 6 case is particularly egregious, there are sentencing disparities all over this nation. If the march will have maximum impact, the rally should help people become more vibrant members of a network of people and institutions concerned about this issue. So we must ask:  Did the participants leave the march more informed about most compelling facts about disparities, or more capable of raising these issues back home? Are participants more connected to a national communications network of people who can expose other examples of inappropriate police and prosecutorial behavior?