Do you guys remember the story of Hurricane? Mr. Rubin Carter? I know a lot of you have prob seen the movie (w/ Denzel). I’ve never seen the movie. I know the story b/c I’m a big Dylan fan. One of my fave songs is “Hurricane”; if you’ve never heard it, please do yourself a favor & listen to it. It will give you chills; it still gives me chills & I listen to it all the time.

Here’s a synopsis: Rubin Carter was unjustly imprisoned for 2 consecutive life terms by an all-white jury. He was charged w/ a triple murder; one of the victims, on his death bed told the police that Carter was not the right man. But 2 robbers, who were also in a lot of heat testified against him. That year was 1967.

1967 folks. 1967.

Dylan wrote “Hurricane” to raise awareness for Rubin Carter (in ’75, after Carter had sent him a copy of his autobio, The Sixteenth Round which he wrote while locked up). On February 9th, 1976, Carter was sentence to 2 consecutive life terms (this was his 2nd trial; which they had fought for). Dylan never performed Hurricane live since that happened (last live performance of the song was January 25th 1976 in Houston). It wasn’t until November 1985 that he was released on parole, & 1988 that the original indictments were dismissed.

Why am I bringing this up?

Because it’s 2007, ppl, & we should NOT be dealing with stuff like this in 2007. Or, at all in my lifetime, & I’ve been around for a lil bit now.

But if you haven’t heard about Jena 6, please go to the Color of Change website & read about it. Print the letter to fax or email it. They also give you the option of writing out your own note. I did opt to do that b/c I figured (hopefully) they’re gonna get thousands of letters from everywhere. There is HUGE media coverage about what’s going on in Jena, LA globally (China, France, England). It’s unfortunate that the national coverage isn’t as much as it is overseas. What the world must think of the big, bad, ole US of A, huh?

To read more, you should also check out Aquababie’s and/or V’s sites. They’ve put up very thoughtful, in-depth posts; much more so than I have.

So, please go to the ColorOfChange.org website, & send a letter. You can also sign up to stand with the families if you will be in the area from July 31st to mid-August.

Again:
Sign the letter – Color of Change.org
Sign the online petition asking for the US Department of Justice to get involved

There is also a man named Michael David Murphy who went to Jena, LA & took pictures & has a photo journal; he’s got two sites w/ pics & links: www.michaeldavidmurphy.com/jena/ & While Seated.

I’ve also posted the lyrics to Hurricane below in it’s own special post.