‘March for Justice’ set for April 21
16th April 2012 · 0 Comments
By Edmund W. Lewis
Editor
The New Orleans branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is putting the finishing touches on its March for Justice, which will take place in downtown New Orleans on Saturday, April 21.
The March for Justice is intended to raise awareness about the fatal shootings of Justin Sipp and Wendell Allen, both 20, last month in New Orleans. Sipp was killed by police and his brother, Earl Sipp, 23, was wounded by NOPD officers as the elder Sipp attempted to drive his brother to work at a Burger King restaurant near City Park at 5:30 a.m. on March 1. Less than a week later, an unarmed Wendell Allen was killed by a single shot to the chest from an NOPD officer as Allen stood on the staircase of his Gentilly home.
One of the officers involved in the Justin Sipp shooting recently resigned after making racially offensive blogs about Trayvon Martin on WWL-TV’s website. “Act like a thug die like a thug,” Officer Jason Giroir wrote. He resigned two days after posting several blogs.
The NAACP says the march will also focus on control of the public school system, affordable housing, adequate health care, Black-on-Black violence and economic injustice and expanding opportunities for young people to be safe and productive.
The march will begin on Saturday, April 21, at 10:00 a.m. in front of Louisiana Armstrong Park and end at Duncan Plaza, across from City Hall.
Danatus King, president of the New Orleans branch of the NAACP, says the civil rights organization has utilized social media to publicize the march and its goals, particularly among young people. “It’s been a huge benefit in terms of getting the word out,” King told The Louisiana Weekly. “There are a lot of people in that 13- to 25-year-old age group that are becoming physically aware, particularly with all of the publicity that there has been with the Trayvon Martin case. That’s something that they can identify with — they look at it and they can see themselves. They’re understanding how important it is to them to get out and become active physically.
“We’re making sure to reach out to young people so that they can put it on their FaceBook pages, put it on their email contacts and help us to spread the message.”
King said that the “March for Justice” flyer contains images of young people on the front lines demanding justice. That’s not an accident or coincidence, he said. “”That’s bringing home that this is not just an old-folks, old-time civil rights issue, that this is something that is relevant to (young people) right now,” King explained. “That’s the excitement about it, getting our young people energized and getting them involved.”
King said a number of local high schools, middle schools and university chapters of the NAACP have joined the effort to spread the word among young people about the importance of the march. “They’re driving home the point that this is not an old-folks event or an old-folks issue — it’s an issue for the entire community,” King said. “That’s what’s exciting about this.”
Parents of school-age youth will be asked to sign releases for them to participate in the march.
The NAACP is providing a list of “Do’s and Don’ts” for march participants of all ages. “They are going to be made acquainted with those ‘do’s and don’ts,’” King said. “One thing that you will not see is ‘dropping it like it’s hot.’ You will not see ‘the boogie’ and the rest of that. This is a serious, solemn event. There will be no beads or cups being thrown — none of that.”
The march will include marshals that will assist participants and maintain order.
While a scheduling conflict will prevent NAACP national president Ben Jealous from attending the March for Justice, NAACP State Conference President Ernest Johnson is expected to attend along with NAACP members from various branches and chapters across the state. The march is also expected to receive widespread support from grassroots community organizations like the United New Orleans Front and the Louisiana Justice Institute.
Another organization that will lend its support during the March for Justice is the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which was founded in New Orleans in 1957. “Both the NAACP and SCLC are historic organizations that have been fighting for equality and justice for all people for many, many years,” the Rev. J.C. Dyson Sr., Louisiana State President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, told The Louisiana Weekly Friday. “We will not fail at this most important time to support the NAACP as we continue to work together, as we have on many occasions, to bring about a positive outcome. To that end, we will be supporting the NAACP during this March for Justice.”
King said he reached out to Nolan Rollins, president of the Urban League of Greater New Orleans, but had not heard back from Rollins at press time. The NAACP branch president said Friday that he also plans to reach out to other active community groups like Silence Is Violence but had not done so before The Louisiana Weekly went to press.
During a recent appearance of WDSU News’ “Hot Seat” with Norman Robinson, King expressed disappointment about whites being less vocal about the recent fatal shootings of Justin Sipp and Wendell Allen. Shortly afterwards, he was contacted by a white minister from the Unitarian Church who expressed his support for the cause and promised to show up for the April 21 march.
King, who wrote the U.S. Department of Justice seeking help after the fatal shooting of Justin Sipp, said last week that while U.S. Attorney Jim Letten said during a recent news conference that two FBI agents have been assigned to the NOPD and its closely monitoring its activities, the DOJ needs to do more.
“That’s not enough,” King told The Louisiana Weekly. “The information that I’ve received is telling me that those two agents that are implanted at the NOPD do not conduct their own inquiries and investigations, that the only thing that they’re doing is looking at and receiving information that the investigators at the NOPD have done. That’s not sufficient. When we’re calling for investigations by the DOJ, we’re talking about the DOJ coming in themselves and doing their own independent investigations. Looking at the evidence themselves, questioning the witnesses themselves, questioning the officers themselves. That’s what we’re talking about.”
While New Orleans has witnessed a litany of scandals and controversies involving the NOPD ranging from off-duty details and supervisors instructing subordinates to racially profile Blacks in various parts of the city to fatal shootings and racially polarizing blogs posted by a member of the department, Mayor Mitch Landrieu to date has refused to even consider terminating NOPD Superintendent Ronal Serpas. King said that sends a strong message to the people of New Orleans.
“The message that it sends is that he hasn’t heard the community,” King told The Louisiana Weekly. “Everything that I’m hearing from the community — Blacks as well as whites — is that it’s time for a change.
“The Black community has been very vocal and direct with that message. But you also hear it in the white community — it’s not as direct and clear but the message is still being sent. When you see schools like Tulane and Loyola spending money to increase the size of their campus police forces and increasing the patrolling area outside of these campuses, they’re acknowledging that there is a problem and a need for change.”
Ramessu Merriamen Aha, a former congressional candidate and New Orleans businessman, said he hopes that New Orleanians continue to build upon the momentum of the past few weeks in order to bring about lasting change. “We didn’t get into this situation overnight and this is not a war that’s going to be won overnight,” he told The Louisiana Weekly. “Winning this struggle for justice is going to require discipline, sacrifice, resilience and a commitment to protracted struggle. We need to be willing to continue to fight even when we experience setbacks and slowdowns. The important thing is to keep moving in the right direction and to keep on pushing for the things we need with our eyes on the ultimate prize.”
The Rev. Raymond Brown, president and founder of National Action Now, said he supports the march and its goals. “The important thing for me is that all segments of the community put aside whatever differences there might be and come together in the spirit of cooperation and unity of purpose,” Brown told The Louisiana Weekly. “We can’t afford to let egos or our own agendas overshadow the purpose of the march or the movement.”
Brown issued a challenge to Black elected officials who say all the right things but don’t demonstrate their support for worthwhile efforts such as this one out of concern for how it might impact their political careers or their bank accounts. “It’s time for y’all to show up and show out,” he told The Louisiana Weekly. “You’ve been talking the talk when you want our votes, now it’s time for you to walk the walk and lay it all on the line. Wendell Allen and Justin Sipp could have been your son, nephew or grandson — if you can’t stand up for yourself, stand up for them. Stand up for your children and your children’s children.”
“At this point, it’s the same thing that happened down in Sanford, Florida,” King said. “The mayor just hasn’t heard it; it hasn’t been loud enough yet. Hopefully, this march will be one more step along the way of making that voice become loud enough that the mayor will finally hear it and make a change.”
“It was over three weeks before the nation opened its eyes and ears to the murder of Trayvon Martin,” King told The Louisiana Weekly. “And the only reason the nation did that is because the people in Sanford, Florida were persistent — they made noise. And it’s time for us here in New Orleans to make noise, and make noise that’s loud enough that it’s heard across the nation. One way that we can make that kind of noise and have CNN here in New Orleans with their cameras is by turning out on April 21.”
This article was originally published in the April 16, 2012 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper
