I find it hard to believe that Black men in seven figures would attend the Million Man March but not a single bus will be leaving New York City for Jena.
[I Write What I Like]
During the past month, I have been under the weather but I have been concerned about the “Jena 6.”
Wednesday night, I urged persons attending the United Africa Movement (UAM) forum to make arrangements to attend the sentencing of Mychal Bell on September 20 in Jena, LA.
It would never occur to a reasonable person that no bus was leaving from New York City like buses will be leaving from Philadelphia, Washington, DC and Chicago, and other places to Jena. New York City has the largest Black population in the United States.
I find it hard to believe that Black men in seven figures would attend the Million Man March but not a single bus will be leaving New York City for Jena. A similar response would occur, I suspect, if a call were made for Black men from New York City to appear in Charleston, WV.
This apathy can be reversed. Churches could collect a side offering this Sunday to defray transportation and lodging costs to Jena. By Tuesday, September 18, a bus or buses could be assembled and people could be headed to Louisiana. It would simply mean that churches would have to be contacted on Friday, September 14.
At this stage, we need volunteers who will contact at least one hundred willing congregations in New York City. I have heard that buses are charging from $10,000 to $14,000 per bus. We hopefully will be able to get a bus for $7,500. A bus will require two drivers.
This is chump change for a city with thousands of churches. Overnight lodging and food will amount to another $5,000 if the riders are not making any financial contributions for the bus trip comprising roughly five days.
Our best approach may be to collect the money and identify the riders by Sunday. This would require a grassroots effort by the Internet and by telephone. Five hundred donors at Twenty-five Dollar apiece will get one bus. UAM will make an initial donation of Five Hundred Dollars.
It will be impossible for me to get this message on commercial radio. For this proposal to succeed, the deadline must be Monday, September 17. Black leaders must have already planned not to truly support the “Jena 6.” Donors and bus volunteers must be identified early and often.
Checks and money orders must be sent or delivered to United African Movement, 16 Court Street, Suite 1901, Brooklyn, NY 11241. The negotiable instruments must be made payable to “UAM – Special Project.” Return addresses should be legible. If this project is unable to be launched, all checks and money orders will be returned to the senders.
All e-mail inquiries are preferable over the weekend. The e-mail address is [email protected]. If volunteers can be assembled over the weekend, inquires can be answered by calling 718-834-9034 before Monday. Nonetheless all monies must be received by Monday to enter into a bus contract. Saturday mail deposits normally will be received on Monday.
Support For Megan Williams
Wednesday night, UAM asked everyone in attendance to send words of encouragement to Megan Williams in Charleston, WV. Six whites have been arrested for, what should have been, crimes against humanity. Unfortunately, law enforcement officials have concluded that this is not a “hate crime.”
Low bail is the first clue. If this had been a white woman and the suspects were Black, they may still be looking for the key to the jail. More than likely, there would be six Black bodies hanging from trees. When white women are raped, Black men are targeted.
There are two Bibles in Christianity. For whites, it is “an eye for an eye” and a “tooth for a tooth.” If a Black person is caught practicing out of the white man’s Bible, there is hell to pay. The Black preacher will be in front of the white lynch mob.
Every Sunday, we are required to finance our oppression. Several plates are passed around during worship services. When the Black preacher is not siccing the white man on us, he is out frolicking. See, for example, Sean Bell. On Sundays, the congregations must listen to tired sermons about good times when we get to heaven. The white man is already living in heaven.
Last month, a Black female and a Black male were observed in the area surrounding the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport fighting like cats and dogs. Hotel personnel had to separate them. They were also prominent, high-profile preachers. Like boxers going back to their respective corners, they both went back to their respective congregations. This is the good life. They both received the “sacraments.”
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