A.G. Gancarski
One of the most controversial protest actions in recent Jacksonville history occurred in December on the Hart Bridge one chilly afternoon, in the wake of the Ferguson verdict and the footage of the choke-out death of Eric Garner going viral and enraging protesters around the country. As happened in cities across the country, Jacksonville protesters took their grievance to the streets. And they were arrested for it.
With one exception, the “Jax 19” protesters were released from jail relatively quickly, with misdemeanor charges. Tensions locally were high for a few days after the protest. Mayor Alvin Brown and Sheriff John Rutherford issued a joint statement attempting to strike a balance between the right to protest peacefully and the need to protect public safety. As happened elsewhere in America, the protests died down. The trials, however, are still happening.
Three of the defendants (Diallo Sekou, Twala Wilkons, and Briana Odom) stand trial on Wednesday afternoon for misdemeanor charges of obstructing a highway. Tuesday evening I caught up with Sekou, an organizer of the December protests and an NAACP History Maker whose Kemetic Empire group has been a driving force in recent protests and political activism in northwest Jacksonville.
Sekou isn’t expecting jail time to come of it, “just restitution and, perhaps, probation.” When asked whether he would plead out, his response was terse: “I don’t plea.”
Sekou sees it as part of a much larger movement and vowed to continue to build programs to stabilize the community. Building on themes he, his group, and their coalition partners have addressed, “We still want body cameras, a civilian review board, and a balanced police force to properly represent the African-American community,” he said, along with diversity training for Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office members.
His group is also working toward “bloc voting” for area residents, to maximize their political clout in support of those and related goals.
In our conversation, Sekou noted the recent fatal police-involved shooting of Walter Scott in North Charleston, S.C., which has shocked the conscience of the nation, and likened it to the incident involving Devanta Jones in Cleveland Arms last week. That likely won’t come up in Wednesday afternoon’s trial, though.
The trial is in room 409 of the Duval County Courthouse at 1 p.m. We will have coverage from the event.
Photo courtesy of 1492 Productionz
