At the Site of Jordan Davis's Murder in Jacksonville
An Immediate Response to the Outrageous Mistrial
March 3, 2014 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us
From a reader:
When the mistrial was announced recently in Michael Dunn's trial for the murder of Jordan Davis, Revolution Books Atlanta pulled together a carload of people and headed straight to Jacksonville, Florida. Various people and organizations in Jacksonville had been responding to Jordan Davis’ murder since it happened. We went to strengthen their efforts and contribute to a rapid response to the outrageous non-conviction of Dunn for killing Jordan Davis. This should have been an open and shut case—but instead it was a declaration of open season for killing Black youth. (See "Statement by Carl Dix on the Mistrial in the Murder of Jordan Davis" at revcom.us.)
When we got to Jacksonville we were able to hook up with the New Jim Crow Movement and Free Marissa Alexander Coalition. (Marissa Alexander is a Black woman in Jacksonville who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for firing a warning shot in the air to stop her ex from beating on her as he did regularly.) Together we decided we needed to organize a response to the verdict the next day, at the Gate gas station where Jordan Davis was murdered. The call went out and we showed up at noon.
Protest in Jacksonville, Florida, against the mistrial in the Michael Dunn case.
Photo: Special to Revolution
The gas station is located on a very busy highway. We made a banner that said, “Justice for Jordan Davis, The Whole Damn System Is Guilty, revcom.us.” We brought glossy enlargements of the poster with Bob Avakian's "3 Strikes" quote and the Revolution newspaper cover with the picture of Trayvon Martin and the headline “A Modern American Lynching.” We also unfurled a beautiful, huge banner with Bob Avakian’s quote from BAsics 1:13, “No more generations of our youth, here and all around the world, whose life is over, whose fate has been sealed, who have been condemned to an early death or a life of misery and brutality, whom the system has destined for oppression and oblivion even before they are born. I say no more of that.” All these visuals were very much appreciated.
People showed up with outrage about the verdict and brought their homemade signs. The media came in force, broadcasting from the site live at noon. We learned that some people came to join up with the protest after seeing it on television. About 40 people came out while we were there. As people started to leave by mid-afternoon, more people took their place because they wanted to make sure there was a presence on that corner all day. We chanted, “Jordan didn’t have to die, we all know the reason why—the whole damn system is GUILTY!” and the cars passing by honked their horns continually.
The police came out too, with their squad cars lined up adjacent to the gas station. In an act of bold defiance, one young brother parked his SUV in the gas station, opened all the doors, and turned up the music LOUD from his radio. He got out of the car and walked over to join the protest, leaving the music blasting from his empty car.
One woman was wearing a T-shirt with pictures of her son who was killed by police in a nearby small town—Tasered and shot 12 times. She simply said, “This has got to stop.” Another man carried a sign that said, “The JSO [Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office] killed my uncle.” An older Black woman was carrying her baby grandson and said, “I’m out here for my grandbaby and his future.”
We distributed Carl Dix’s statement, “The Mistrial in the Murder of Jordan Davis” and the call from the Stop Mass Incarceration Network for a Day of Outrage and Remembrance for Trayvon Martin and Jordan Davis on February 26, and talked to people about what they thought about the mistrial and what needed to be done.
A Black woman in her 20s said “It’s a lack of justice. We need to educate all the youth to be aware of the racism that still exists so that they can protect themselves from injustice. This is bigger than Florida. Think about the African diaspora. We are all connected all over the world. There is a need for revolution, for change.”
A 25-year-old Black youth said, “I asked myself, this guy [Michael Dunn] is being held accountable for everything around this kid dying except for the kid who is dead. That sends a message either (a) Dunn deserved to shoot and kill the kid or (b) the kid deserved to die.”
A young white woman was frustrated that more white people weren’t outraged: “It’s crazy. He murdered a 17-year-old and didn’t get convicted. More people should be outraged. It doesn’t just affect some people, it affects all of us.”
Many people expressed anger with how the prosecution didn’t really prosecute in both Michael Dunn’s and George Zimmerman’s trials, and disgust for State's Attorney Angela Corey.
We interviewed some of the younger kids who came to the demonstration with their families. They had some incredibly insightful things to say. A 12-year-old said, “I feel there is a lack of justice in the system. You have Trayvon Martin and Emmett Till that have not been served justice for their murderers’ crimes. I feel like in the education system they teach about the advancement of Black people, but not the troubles they face today. The children of our time aren’t learning the African-American struggle for justice. They are being taught that MLK solved all racial problems in the world. That’s not true, we are still struggling and we need justice.”
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