The Unity Revival

NAACP Response to the Vance-Aycock Dinner Issue

2007-10-03T08:38:00.000-07:00

By Rev. William J. Barber, President State Conference NAACP

Durham, October 2, 2007

The violent overthrow of the bi-racial government of Wilmington in 1898 was a social and economic catastrophe for the State of North Carolina, and indeed for the African Americans throughout the country. Charles B. Aycock's role in this illegal terrorist attack can not be denied. This ugly history must be confronted, and the pain it has caused must be healed.

But the discussion is broader than what we do and say about a dinner. It is broader than whether to change the Democratic Party Vance-Aycock Dinner's name. Of course it should be changed. But far beyond that, Republicans and Democrats must come together to implement changes in public policy to repair and redress the catastrophe of Wilmington, 1898.

Symbolic sorrow is not enough. Democrats must do more than change the name of a dinner. Republicans must do more than criticize the name of a Democratic function when they are still unwilling to join with our broad People’s Coalition to pass public policy legislation to deal with racial injustices of the past and present.

In a real sense what we all must do, if we are serious about answering the ugliness and the dispossession of the Wilmington violence, is to stop dinner table discussions and start implementing the recommendations of the State Commission Report, deal with the issue of reparations, and fully the Fourteen Points of The Historic Thousands on Jones Street People's Agenda. We must ensure that every county in southeast NC is covered under the Voting Rights Act. We must fight resegregation in our public schools. We must seriously address the continuing legacy of minority contract disparity and economic injustice which yet plague our public life. We must stand against attempts by our courts to take back majority/minority legislative districts.

This was the NAACP's position while the legislature was talking about apologizing for slavery. It is our position now. And it will be our position at the NAACP National Symposium on the Wilmington Riots at our State Convention on Friday at the Riverside Hilton Hotel in Wilmington at 2 p.m. on October 12, 2007.

Symbolism at the dinner table is not enough when it comes to righting wrong and turning the page on historic injustice. In fact, too much symbolism becomes disgusting and upsetting to those truly interested in change. We must have real public policy change to fill the void and to overcome the disorder caused by the Wilmington Riots. Anything less leaves us hungry for justice. It leaves our democracy craving for equality. It leaves our society starved for true reconciliation.

Supporters attend rally

2007-09-18T14:10:00.000-07:00

By Matt Shaw Daily Times Staff Writer

The cry rose in Trinity AME Zion Church Sunday night, growing louder and louder until it became almost deafening.

"Free James Johnson!

"Free James Johnson!"

Johnson's friends and family hope the sound carries a few miles down Nash Street to the Wilson County Courthouse where Johnson is scheduled to go on trial next week for the 2004 murder and rape of Brittany Willis.

Prosecutors contend that Johnson, now 21, and Kenneth Meeks raped and murdered the 17-year-old Hunt High School graduate. Meeks has already been convicted of the murder and is serving a life sentence.

But some people believe that Johnson is innocent.

Sunday night's rally brought together more than 100 people, including Johnson's parents, Arthur and Beverly Johnson, and the Rev. William J. Barber, president of the N.C. Chapter of the NAACP.

People calling for Johnson's freedom are not insensitive to the Willis family's loss, Barber said. "Many of us have children. Some of us have experienced murder or death."

But people shouldn't confuse a desire for revenge as being justice, he said.

"We're here because there has been a murder and there has been a conviction. Now we must prevent a lynching," Barber said to "Amens!" from the crowd.

District Attorney Howard Boney's office is pursuing the charges against Johnson despite the fact that no DNA or other evidence ties Johnson to the murder scene, Barber said.

The NAACP gathered 300 signatures on a petition that asks the N.C. Bar Association to investigate Boney's office for prosecutorial misconduct, such as was done in the Duke rape accusations. The petition calls for Assistant District Attorney Bill Wolfe to be removed from the case.

Barber also plans to give a copy of the complaint to Gov. Mike Easley this week.

Willis was abducted on June 28, 2004, from a Wilson shopping center. Her body was found at a construction site a half mile away. She had been shot twice.

Meeks told police that Johnson had been involved but later recanted those statements in court.

Johnson, who had no criminal record, has taken polygraph tests that show that he played no role in the murder or rape, Barber said. If he was guilty of anything, it was waiting to tell police what he knew, Barber said. For that, he has now been in jail for 39 months, unable to pay $1 million bail."Three years for three days?" Barber shouted.

"The facts say no, the evidence says no, but the system keeps saying yes!" Barber said."Justice isn't blind in North Carolina. She has her eyes wide open. She sees races, she sees color, she sees class, she sees power and she see money, and all too often she renders cases based on biases.

"Richard A. Rosen, a law professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, compared Johnson to the Duke students who were falsely accused of rape."People seemed to care about those boys spending even an hour in prison," Rosen said. "Justice was served in Durham because people demanded it. Justice will be served in this county because of you.

"Johnson's parents, Arthur and Beverly Johnson, said they are hopeful that justice will be served."We don't even know whether there's going to be a trial," Arthur Johnson said. "But that being said, if there is, keep it fair and I'll see you in two weeks victorious.

" James Johnson is remaining upbeat in jail, his father said. "He has grown into a great man. He understands what's happened and he's ready for a fight." Beverly Johnson said, "James' strength has given me the strength to endure." Johnson's trial is set to begin next Monday in Wilson Superior Court.

The Jena 6 Conviction Overturned

2007-09-14T19:57:00.000-07:00

The Louisianna Third Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the aggravated second degree battery conviction of Mychal Bell, the youth that had been tried improperly as an adult. The fight is not over though. Where would these young people be without the supporters that rallied around them?

Read the stories here:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-070914jena,1,4665752.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

The Official JENA 6 Site http://www.freethejena6.org/

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-jena_wittjun26,1,3186370.story?coll=chi-news-hed&ctrack=2&cset=true

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/07/10/1413220

Sign the petition here

http://www.colorofchange.org/jena/

We Live In Violent Times

2007-09-12T07:52:00.000-07:00

Press Statement May 2, 2007
Issued by: Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II

The events that happened last week were not only violent but public, personal and penetrating to the very core of our community. We cannot allow this incident or others to define, confine, or forever malign the future of our community. And so as faith leaders who understand that the role of the church is not only to preach and preside over death but to speak life and transformation, we are collectively calling for a Stop the Funeral: Hope Restoration, and Spiritual Warfare Unity Revival. According to Luke 7:11-17, we must participate in ways that deal with the reality of death by choosing to act in ways that bring hope and possibility out of unusual and unacceptable situations of death. Therefore, the purpose of the Stop the Funeral: Hope Restoration, and Spiritual Warfare Unity Revival is to be a first step in uniting the faith community and other community based groups in a common agenda against violence and death. Our imperative is to:

I. Call together the Faith Community -

Each church will hold a two night STOP The Funeral: Hope Restoration, and Spiritual Warfare Unity Revival at their local church which will focus on overcoming the fear that violence can bring and reclaiming the hope that things can change. The birth of this initiative comes out of a perilous situation but it has been entombed within the hearts of the faith community for time and eternity. This calling together of community will enliven our goal of organizing a consortium mindset that supports the plans spearheaded by different counterparts. Now, our road map is in place and thus we move forward.

II. Pray for our Community in a unified way

Each participating pastor will ask their membership to join us for a prayer gathering on Saturday, May 12, 2007. Several types of prayer will be lifted by unified congregations and community leaders. The types of prayer include: Petionary, Intercessory, Healing, Authoritative, and Radical.

III. Connect our Community

On Saturday May 12, 2007, each participant will receive special paraphernalia donning the STOP the Funeral: Hope, Restoration, and Spiritual Warfare Unity Revival Logo and will be asked to engage in 60 specific days of prayer and fasting for hope, healing and peace. At the conclusion of this sixty days a follow-up gathering will be held to engage our ultimate plan, a Drug Dealer and Gang Member Redemption Conference.

IV. Inform our Community

At the community prayer gathering, the Plan of Engagement that will be imitated by the clergy will be unveiled as components of consistent efforts to curtail violence, narcissism and self-destruction in our community.

V. Empower our Community

By having a specific Plan of Engagement with multiple projects, pastors and parishioners can prayerfully and selectively unify in ways that empower the community towards a common goal.