I am sitting in my hotel room in Memphis after the exhausting day I spent marching for Heather Ellis, the 24-year-old college student now facing up to 15 years in prison after cutting a line at Wal-Mart. If you were to be picky about it, you could argue that Heather is technically not being charged for cutting the line. Had the Wal-Mart employee not mistreated Heather after accusing her of cutting the line, the entire incident would not have taken place.

When the black folks rolled into Kennett, Mo., for our rally, the entire town stopped. The police showed up in massive force and there were even snipers on the rooftops. I assume the snipers were there for our protection, but after visiting the Lorraine Hotel, where Dr. Martin L. King Jr. was murdered, I was honestly a wee bit nervous. There were people standing on the side of the road, taking pictures, and some holding up flags with swastikas and confederate flags on them. It was very interesting.

I've put together some random thoughts about the case, the rally and everything in between. I have to be blunt and honest, since you know that's how I operate:

1) The fight is not over: Heather's trial begins Wednesday, and I am highly concerned about the outcome. The idea that this young woman's entire future can be stolen over such a tiny incident is simply unbelievable. Common sense tells me that this situation should have been squashed long ago, but since it hasn't, Kennett is becoming known as the racist town that destroys the lives of young black women.

2) I appreciate Al Sharpton and Michael Baisden: I spoke with Rev. Sharpton twice during the rally, and each time, he provided supportive advice. I appreciate that since I consider Sharpton to be one of the greatest mobilizers in African American history. His presence is not without controversy, but that is true for almost any prominent figure. Michael Baisden has gone above and beyond the call of duty by mentioning Heather's case nearly every day on his show. Tom Joyner interviewed me about the case, but given that Wal-Mart is one of his major corporate sponsors, I can understand why he remains somewhat disconnected. At the end of the day, however, the world has come together to help a black woman, and that makes me celebrate.

3) The Missouri NAACP confuses me: One of the reasons that our organization, the Your Black World Coalition, jumped in to help Ellis, is because no one really stood up to help her – at least not regionally or nationally. The local NAACP, led by Rev. Jesse Bonner, had been helpful, but to my knowledge, the state and national chapters hadn't done much of anything. For some reason, when the case became national, the head of the Missouri State NAACP showed up at the rally and spoke as if she'd actually done the work to put the rally together. She seemed to demand the microphone, even when no one knew her well enough to offer it to her. She did a great deal of grandstanding about how her office had been in touch with "IG Eric Holden," (I think she was trying to say "AG Eric Holder"), and all the other things that her office claimed to have done on behalf of the Ellis family that I don't believe were actually getting done effectively. I then thought about my assistant, Shauntay, the woman who actually put her name on the permit for the rally, and how she displayed the kind of quiet leadership of a Rosa Parks. She didn't want any credit or acknowledgment, but she worked 16-hours a day for several weeks, organizing the community for the rally. She shed tears for Heather and her family and even put together a benefit to raise money. The contrasting leadership styles between Shauntay and the woman from the NAACP remind me of who the true heroes are in America and the tremendous sacrifices of black women on behalf of our community.

4) Get educated and know your rights: The most dramatic moment of the day occurred during a stand-off between rally organizers and the police about the validity of the rally permit. The city and county officials were arguing that our original permit was not valid and that we could not march our given route. Our position was that the permit was valid, since it had been signed by the chief of police. I brought a team of amazing legal advisers, including Dr. Christopher Metzler of Georgetown University, King Downing of the Sean Bell Justice Project and Elliot Millner from the Your Black World Coalition. Although there was a lot of yelling by the woman from the NAACP (the one who showed up as if she owned the place), our team remained silent during the conversation. After hearing what the police had to say, we simply informed the officers and the city attorney that our permit was valid and that we were going to use it. The police adjourned for a three-minute meeting, came back and announced that we were going to be allowed to march according to our specifications. So the yelling and screaming wasn't the answer. The moral of the story: Know your rights and know the law; education is your greatest weapon.

The rally was productive. I am curious to see how things turn out. The bottom line is that the justice system is supposed to be just. The world would be no safer with Heather Ellis in prison than it is when she is free. That's the bottom line.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is a professor at Syracuse University and founder of the Your Black World Coalition. To have Dr. Boyce's commentary delivered to your e-mail, please click here.