Media Mix: Jena 6 and The Rules of Engagement
after 40 years, protest looks a lot different
2007-09-24
Eric Easter
On blogs and on talk radio, the Jena 6 protest has been described as something akin to the launch of a 21st
Century Civil Rights Movement.
In many ways, it looked that way. Small town. Racism. Picket signs. Students. Passion. By all reports the rally brought more marchers to Jena than the town’s population. No matter where you fall on the larger story, anything resembling real action and mobliization in modern Black America has to be a source of encouragement.
But while the theme behind the march was that some things in America never change, the march itself proved that, at least in the shape and style of modern protest, things have changed quite a bit since the movement’s heyday in the 60s.
A list circulated on the web detailed recommended items for protesters to bring to the march. Some things on the list were standard 1963 protest issue – ID, insurance card, medicine, comfortable shoes. Other recommendations were decidedly of the new age – sunscreen, vitamin water, sun visors, cellphones, water spritzers with fans, wet wipes.
The television images were telling as well: air-conditioned buses, posing for commemorative photos, custom T-shirts, iPods ( protests need a soundtrack), live blogging, calls to Mom and Dad, ice, porta-johns, live music.
The 2007 list stands in marked contrast to protests organized by SNCC, the SCLC and dozens of local groups across the South in the early 60s. Had the march occurred 40 years ago, the protesters could have expected a very different game plan.
For starters, the snap decision many of the rally-goers made to go to Jena would have taken quite a bit more consideration of the risks in the past. Meaning the chance that you might never return home was as real and likely a possibility then as coming home with a "Free the Jena 6" T-shirt last Friday.
Further, the expectation of significant armed resistance and violent conflict with locals and police would have been a given, as would the expectation of arrest and jail. In contrast, last week’s event could have passed for an exercise in competitive non-confrontation. For example, a plan to boycott local merchants was met with an almost total shutdown of businesses in the majority white town.
The list of recommendations also would have been different, and not so much recommendations, but, rather a guide to coordinated tactical behavior that was designed not only to minimize violence but maximize the strategic impact of civil disobedience.
Then, discipline and adherence to both the spirit and the message of the protest was seen as critical to attaining the desired results. Training lists covered similar basics –comfortable clothing, medicine, identification, but also some highly specific warnings and actions, including:
- assigning group captains who could be seen clearly if a group were attacked
- leaving press interviews to assigned spokespersons who were clear on the message
- keeping the numbers of movement lawyers on your person
- practicing "rolls and drops" designed to minimize blows by nightsticks and attack dogs
- a warning about knifings, pen stabbings, chemical throwing and worse
To be fair, there is somewhat of an apples and oranges comparison here. How you prepare and plan for civil disobedience in the face of resistance is fundamentally different than plans for what was, essentially, a rally and live media event. The attention brought by Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and a slew of talk show hosts helped as well.
According to Charles E. Cobb, Jr., journalist and former field secretary of SNCC during its peak, the high visibility of the rally’s leaders helped smooth the way now and then. In his words, "The presence of nationally recognized leaders alters the dynamics of a protest." In his recollection, those dynamics were evident even in the short time between the first "Bloody Sunday" march on Selma, Alabama which was mostly made up of locals and where now Congressman John Lewis suffered a famously brutal beating, and the third, more famous Dr. King-led march just weeks later. "In the larger march, there was police protection, walkie-talkies, even water. Seeming amused at the state of progress, he added, " But, uh, porta-johns and spritzer fans… I don’t think so."
Lest this be viewed as a love letter to the "good old days of the movement" it must be emphasized that getting your head beaten by a cop is not a memory one wishes on anyone. And while the life of a protester may be easier in the new millennium, taking action to protest in a cultural environment of rampant apathy and consumerism shows a level of awareness and courage that's perhaps even more difficult to muster amidst so much distraction.
Only time will tell if Jena 6 begat a new era in civil rights. But in the meantime, those who pressed the issue early on and kept up the pressure that sparked action are to be congratulated.
Eric Easter is Chief of Digital Strategy for Johnson Publishing Company. He writes on media, tech and politics for ebonyjet.com