NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
October 26, 2007
Contact:
KL Shannon, 206-250-5412 (cell)
Sheri Day, 206-271-6195 (cell)
Cynthia McKinney to Speak on Jena 6 in Seattle Wshington
November 10th speech comes on heels of pre-trial hearings for four of the Six: Theodore Shaw, Robert Bailey, Bryan Purvis, and Mychal Bell
Former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney will speak in Seattle at New Hope Baptist Church (124 21st Ave, Seattle) on Saturday, November 10th at 7:00 PM, on the Jena 6 case. The speech will cover both the injustice of the case itself and whatever happens at the pre-trial hearing on the 7th.
The case of the Jena 6 has garnered international attention shining a spotlight on the nature of this country's criminal justice system, and the continuing Jim Crow-type atmosphere in the South and other places. Nooses have been hung in several places recently, including Columbia University in New York City, sparking outrage.
Jena itself has been the focus of protest, and on Sept. 20, tens of thousands of people demonstrated there and in other cities around the country to demand complete freedom for the Jena 6, and the release of Mychal Bell. A week later, after 10 months in prison, his conviction was overturned and he was granted bail. Shortly afterwards, the Louisiana judge that originally tried Bell ordered him back into custody, and is sending him back to jail for 18 months for "violating probation" from an earlier conviction. Ironically, the precise violation was his arrest in the Jena 6 incident. While the white students who started this cycle of events continue to walk free, the rest of the Jena 6 still face the prospect of long prison sentences. Federal statistics show that many states continue to fail to report hate crimes.
Congresswoman McKinney is a prominent African-American who represented Georgia 4th District from 1993 to 2003. She has spoken on both national and international justice issues, and is a firm opponent of the war in Iraq. She was defeated by the combined efforts of an unsupportive Democratic Party and Republican voters who crossed over in the Democratic Primary and voted for her opponent. She is the only member of Congress to offer Articles of Impeachment against President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and Secretary of State Rice. Recent press reports say that McKinney enrolled in the Green Party earlier this month in California, where she is a Ph.D. candidate in African-American studies at the University of California at Berkeley. A draft McKinney movement is petitioning to place her on the Green Party's 2008 presidential primary ballots.
For more information, contact KL Shannon at (206) 250-5412 (cell) or Sheri Day at (206) 271-6195 (cell).
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Endorsements - Partial list:
American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) Pacific Northwest Regional Office w Coalition to Undo Racism Everywhere (CURE) w Courageous Sisters w Green Party of Washington State w Intra-Afrikan Konnection w People's Coalition for Justice (PCJ) w People's Institute Northwest (PINW) w Racial Disparity Program (RDP w Village of Hope
