When I recently announced that we were going to march in Kennett, Mo., in response to the Heather Ellis case, I had to stop for a second and empathize with the family and their nightmare. Most of us find injustice intriguing and outrageous, but few of us actually remember that injustices must be rectified.

Heather Ellis is a college student on her way to medical school, who now faces 15 years in prison for allegedly cutting a line at a local Walmart. The incident took place when Heather joined her cousin in line and was accused of cutting in front of the other customers. That is when security and police were called. The rest is going to be history. CNN, Essence, MediaMatters, BlackAmericaWeb and other outlets have decided to talk about Heather's case, but media attention doesn't help her in the imbalanced justice system in a tiny little ultra-conservative (read: racist) town.

I have spoken extensively with Heather's family, since a case like this forces you to look for the other shoe to drop. You are wondering if Heather was dealing drugs, insane, lying or has a criminal history. None of this appears to be true, as she is the daughter of a Baptist minister with no criminal record. That is when I became outraged, since Heather Ellis could be the daughter of any one of us.

So I got on the phone with leadership from the NAACP, National Action Network, Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Sean Bell Foundation to try to explore ways to help Heather. That is what led to the "Journey for Justice," set to take place in Missouri on November 16 at 11 a.m. We are planning to rally at the Walmart, where the incident took place, and march to the courthouse. Heather's trial is scheduled for November 18, but we want to make our point as early as possible.

Heather's case is really just the beginning when it comes to racism in Kennett, which is part of the Bootheel area in Missouri. Not too far away from Heather, Walter Currie Jr. was set on fire by one of his classmates in what appears to be a hate crime. The 15-year-old has been told that he is now in danger of failing the 10th grade, because he missed too many days in class while being treated for his burns.

The truth is that the Heather Ellis case represents the essence of evil and the poison of racial dominance. The prosecutor, Stephen Sokoloff, has a very high conviction rate, and he is known for giving harsh punishments to African Americans. I am not sure what the outcome of Heather's case will be, but I do believe that this young lady's future will be destroyed if we do not try to help her. That is why I am marching in Kennett.

If you'd like to be a part of this movement, please visit www.SaveHeatherEllis.com. You can get more information about the case at www.TheHeatherEllisCase.com.


Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Professor at Syracuse University and founder of the Your Black World Coalition. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.