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Guess what we are over here fighting one another,black americans and white americans, forget all the other ethinic groups here and this may one day be the united states down fall.We cannot continue to preach in other countries what we don't practice,surely you know that the world is looking and laughing at this country.Here we are and when i say we,i mean white americans like our leaders trying to go in another country to set up a government and we don't even have equal government for the very people who really sweated and built this country,black people. You must know that we are the ones everybody is laughing at now.

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The main thing is action and not reaction and although i do not know throughly how to go about achieving this, we cannot surrender to FEAR. We must boldy continue to announce to the universe that we are indeed children of GOD, that we will continue to resist oppression and annihilation, that our cause is a righteous cause, and that no matter what, because our cause is righteous, WE WILL WIN!

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These women were Black, as Black as the Jena 6 Boys, regardless of their sexual orientation, they were railroaded by a system that wants to see us behind bars, and you , None of us are expendable, our people should be treated fairly, not by their skin tone, size, sex, or sexuality! And God tells us not to judge,and rather you agree with their lifestyle or not has nothing to do with the legality of what was done to them,We are all God's children and we all deserve to be treated fairly in a court of law.... We all can but a story up of blatant rasism that happened in our town, And all of them deserve attention, and our support, our anger, our voice.....
Once again my post... Their Story
I believe injustice is wrong, but what saddens me is how we pick and choose which of "our" children are worth a rally or a march, I know of a case involving young black women, who were over charged and convicted. But they were lesbains and it seems if our own prejudice against same sex people, or things we don't understand did not allow us as a people to care for these young girls like we did the Jena 6, are they not "our" children because of there sexual orientation?
Here is their story
Their crime? Defending themselves from a physical attack by a man who held them down and choked them, ripped hair from their scalps, spat on them, and threatened to sexually assault them—all because they are lesbians.

The mere fact that any victim of a bigoted attack would be arrested, jailed and then convicted for self-defense is an outrage. But the length of prison time given further demonstrates the highly political nature of this case and just how racist, misogynistic, anti-gay, anti-youth and anti-worker the so-called U.S. justice system truly is.

The description of the events, reported below, is based on written statements by a community organization (FIERCE) that has made a call to action to defend the four women, verbal accounts from court observers and evidence from a surveillance camera.

The attack

On Aug. 16, 2006, seven young, African-American, lesbian-identified friends were walking in the West Village. The Village is a historic center for lesbian, gay, bi and trans (LGBT) communities, and is seen as a safe haven for working-class LGBT youth, especially youth of color.

As they passed the Independent Film Cinema, 29-year-old Dwayne Buckle, an African-American vendor selling DVDs, sexually propositioned one of the women. They rebuffed his advances and kept walking.

“I’ll f— you straight, sweetheart!” Buckle shouted. A video camera from a nearby store shows the women walking away. He followed them, all the while hurling anti-lesbian slurs, grabbing his genitals and making explicitly obscene remarks. The women finally stopped and confronted him. A heated argument ensued. Buckle spat in the face of one of the women and threw his lit cigarette at them, escalating the verbal attack into a physical one.

Buckle is seen on the video grabbing and pulling out large patches of hair from one of the young women. When Buckle ended up on top of one of the women, choking her, Johnson pulled a small steak knife out of her purse. She aimed for his arm to stop him from killing her friend.

The video captures two men finally running over to help the women and beating Buckle. At some point he was stabbed in the abdomen. The women were already walking away across the street by the time the police arrived.

Buckle was hospitalized for five days after surgery for a lacerated liver and stomach. When asked at the hospital, he responded at least twice that men had attacked him.

There was no evidence that Johnson’s kitchen knife was the weapon that penetrated his abdomen, nor was there any blood visible on it. In fact, there
was never any forensics testing done on her knife. On the night they were arrested, the police told the women that there would be a search by the New
York Police Department for the two men—which to date has not happened.

After almost a year of trial, four of the seven were convicted in April. Johnson was sentenced to 11 years on June 14.

Even with Buckle’s admission and the video footage proving that he instigated this anti-gay attack, the women were relentlessly demonized in the press, had trumped-up felony charges levied against them, and were subsequently given long
sentences in order to send a clear resounding message—that self-defense is a crime and no one should dare to fight back.

Political backdrop of the case

Why were these young women used as an example? At stake are the billions of dollars in tourism and real estate development involved in the continued
gentrification of the West Village. This particular incident happened near the Washington Square area—home of New York University, one of most expensive private colleges in the country and one of the biggest employers and landlords
in New York City. The New York Times reported that Justice Edward J. McLaughlin used his sentencing speech to comment on “how New York welcomes tourists.” (June 17)

The Village is also the home of the Stonewall Rebellion, the three-day street battle against the NYPD that, along with the Compton Cafeteria “Riots” in California, helped launch the modern-day LGBT liberation movement in 1969. The
Manhattan LGBT Pride march, one of the biggest demonstrations of LGBT peoples in the world, ends near the Christopher Street Piers in the Village, which have been the historical “hangout” and home for working-class trans and LGBT youth in New York City for decades.

Because of growing gentrification in recent years, young people of color, homeless and transgender communities, LGBT and straight, have faced curfews and brutality by police sanctioned by the West Village community board and politicians. On Oct. 31, 2006, police officers from the NYPD’s 6th Precinct indiscriminately beat and arrested several people of color in sweeps on Christopher Street after the Halloween parade.

Since the 1980s there has been a steady increase in anti-LGBT violence in the area, with bashers going there with that purpose in mind.

For trans people and LGBT youth of color, who statistically experience higher amounts of bigoted violence, the impact of the gentrification has been severe. As their once-safe haven is encroached on by real estate developers, the new
white and majority heterosexual residents of the West Village then call in the state to brutalize them.

For the last six years the political LGBT youth group FIERCE has been at the forefront of mobilizing young people “to counter the displacement and criminalization of LGBTSTQ [lesbian, gay, bi, two spirit, trans, and queer]
youth of color and homeless youth at the Christopher Street Pier and in Manhattan’s West Village.” (www.fiercenyc.org) FIERCE has also been the lead organization supporting the Jersey Seven and their families.

The trial and the media

Deemed a so-called “hate crime” against a straight man, every possible racist,
anti-woman, anti-LGBT and anti-youth tactic was used by the entire state
apparatus and media. Everything from the fact that they lived outside of New
York, in the working-class majority Black city of Newark, N.J., to their gender
expressions and body structures were twisted and dehumanized in the public eye
and to the jury.

According to court observers, McLaughlin stated throughout the trial that he had
no sympathy for these women. The jury, although they were all women, were all
white. All witnesses for the district attorney were white men, except for one
Black male who had several felony charges.

Court observers report that the defense attorneys had to put enormous effort
into simply convincing the jury that they were “average women” who had planned
to just hang out together that night. Some jurists asked why they were in the
Village if they were from New Jersey. The DA brought up whether they could
afford to hang out there—raising the issue of who has the right to be there in
the first place.

The Daily News reporting was relentless in its racist anti-lesbian misogyny,
portraying Buckle as a “filmmaker” and “sound engineer” preyed upon by a
“lesbian wolf pack” (April 19) and a “gang of angry lesbians.” (April 13)

Everyone has been socialized by cultural archetypes of what it means to be a
“man” or “masculine” and “woman” or “feminine.” Gender identity/expression is
the way each indivdual chooses or not to express gender in their everyday
lives, including how they dress, walk, talk, etc. Transgender people and other
gender non-conforming people face oppression based on their gender
expression/identity.

The only pictures shown in the Daily News were of the more masculine-appearing
women. One of the most despiciable headlines in the Daily News, “‘I’m a man!’
lesbian growled during fight,” (April 13) was targeted against Renata Hill, who
was taunted by Buckle because of her masculinity.

Ironically, Johnson, who was singled out by the judge as the “ringleader,” is
the more feminine of the four. According to the New York Times, in his
sentencing remarks, “Justice McLaughlin scoffed at the assertion made by …
Johnson, that she carried a knife because she was just 4-foot-11 and 95 pounds,
worked nights and lived in a dangerous neighborhood.” He quoted the nursery
rhyme, “Sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me.”
(June 15)

All of the seven women knew and went to school with Sakia Gunn, a 19-year-old
butch lesbian who was stabbed to death in Newark, N.J., in May 2003.
Paralleling the present case, Gunn was out with three of her friends when a man
made sexual advances to one of the women. When she replied that she was a
lesbian and not interested, he attacked them. Gunn fought back and was stabbed
to death.

“You can’t help but wonder that if Sakia Gunn had a weapon, would she be in jail
right now?” Bran Fenner, a founding member and co-executive director of FIERCE,
told Workers World. “If we don’t have the right to self-defense, how are we
supposed to survive?”

National call to action

While racist killer cops continue to go without indictment and anti-immigrant
paramilitary groups like the Minutemen are on the rise in the U.S., The Jersey
Four sit behind bars for simply defending themselves against a bigot who
attacked them in the Village.

Capitalism at its very core is a racist, sexist, anti-LGBT system, sanctioning
state violence through cops, courts and its so-called laws. The case of the
Jersey Four gives more legal precedence for bigoted violence to go
unchallenged. The ruling class saw this case as a political one; FIERCE and
other groups believe the entire progressive movement should as well.

Fenner said, “We are organizing in the hope that this wakes up all oppressed
people and sparks a huge, broad campaign to demand freedom for the Jersey
Four.”

FIERCE is asking for assistance for these young women, including pro-bono legal
support, media contacts and writers, pen pals, financial support, and diverse
organizational support. For details, visit www.fiercenyc.org._________________________________________________________________________

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Oh stop whining. News outlets are NEVER going to do the right thing by blacks; why don't you get it? YOU'VE got to own your own news outlets. But what happens when you do? You fill your time up with bulls.. and garbage. Look at BET which is now owned by Viacom. Bob Johnson sold it and took his money. He feels no obligation to upgrade the image of black people, why should anyone else? It doesn't matter that you were given a raw deal in life...everybody catches hell on earth. When are you going to "get it?" Your rappers have no idea that the images they send out over the world impact the problems that black males have in this country? The Cosby Show was the most beloved in the whole country at one time; why? Because everyone could RELATE to the message. I'm sick and tired of hoodlums hijacking the image of black people. I'm almost happy when the thugs are jacked up and their butts are whupped by the white cops because black cops stand by and let it happen Black men are wusses and all of you need to take time out to REFLECT upon the images that you're sending out across the world. C. Dolores Tucker tried to improve the images of blacks by getting on the backs of media but one person can't do it; you've got to realize how messed up your race is due to your own divisiveness and due to the inability of black men to join forces and FIGHT together to create safe environments for their women and children. This is a man's world and your men are whiney little wussies.

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My people, my people, let us start by cleaning our own house first. Let us start to love ourselves out loud for the world to see that we stand united as one. I feel with this show of unity and strength no one would dare degrade us in any form or fashion.

maryjoe

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#15, I could stoop to your ignorant level, but that would only add fuel to the fire. Apparently, you haven't been reading or listening to anything that has been said or written. One thing that I have noticed, when any culture has been harmed or injustice has occured. Someone always try to find something wrong in their culture, which you are overlooking the real issue. Do you realize how ignorant that looks on your part. "Nooses were hung,and yes a young man was badly beaten. Now, ask yourself how did it get to this
point? See, it is people like you that has to keep the ignorance flowing. These are black and white men, and everyone is accountalbe for their own actions. My suggestion to you, if you can't say anything to help educate our children. Just keep your comments to y0urself.

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Queen B, you go girl.. Concerned european american.. Do your homework.. YOU NEED the education you blasted us to get in you statement.. Hip Hop only exists because of white america's money. 70% of it is bought by YOUR people and 100% is manufactured and distributed by YOUR people. The baby making thing is not blacks, it's hasidic jews and there's nothing wrong with having children.. And when was taxes for education or anything else only coming from white peoples pockets.. I pay taxes everday just like you.. Further more, nooses, swastikas, burning crosses and all other symbols created for acts of genocide are NOT PRANKS.. The same way you would of felt if someone beat your child that would drive you to KILL..??.. is the same way we feel when we are beaten up emtionally everyday by a society that demoralize our people and heritage everyday.. God Bless

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AS A PRODUCT OF THE 60'S I THINK WE ALL KNOW THAT THIS NOOSE ONLY MEANS 1 THING. HAVING GROWN UP N ATLANTA,GA WEW WERE USE TO SEEIN G THSES SORT OF THINGS. BUT LET ME SAY THIS "WE ARE NKOW LONGER STRANGE FRUIT" AND HAVING TO DEAL WITH SORT OF IGHORANCE WILL NOT BE TOLORATED,NOT THIS TIME :IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY TO THE BLACK PEOPLE OF THIS COUNTRY SAY IT, DON'T HIDE BEHIND YOUR NOOSE,WE ARE RIGHT HERE.

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Before we jump to judgement, remmeber that were more HOAX hate crimes over the 15 yrs on college campuses than there were real hate crimes. Also, remember the Duke case as well. ANYONE could hang a noose and then oint fingers... it happened at PENN State in the 90's. A black frat hung a black manaquin and blamed a white frat for it. After the Duke case.. we now that ANYTHING is possible.

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