I AM Jena 6
WE HAVE MADE HISTORY
THURSDAY, 8:45 P.M., ON THE BUS SOMEWHERE ON INTERSTATE 20, HEADING BACK TO ATLANTA
Everyone is tired, sleepy and ready to get back to Atlanta.
The day was hot and long, and the ride just to get to Interstate 20 seems to take forever. Cotton fields again dominate the constant blur in the buses' windows.
The group stops at Truckstops of America for food, drink, restroom breaks and just a plain ole break. It takes a little more than the scheduled half hour.
The buses head up Interstate 20 to Vicksburg, Ms., just inside the state line, at a McDonalds for more fast food options before making the long ride home.
Soon after, Jeremy Cormier starts another dialogue on what the group had just experienced.
"We have made history," Cormier says to the tired troops. "Let that experience be a motivation for something you can do to carry on the torch."
Darren Gregory, another man of Morehouse, says he felt like he was supposed to be on that bus.
"I felt like I actually did something today," says Gregory, a freshman. "I feel like I was supposed to be here. I feel proud. But at the same time, I know there's more work to do."
Spelman student Natasha Miller cautions everyone about the fight not being over. "This was not going to (make them say) 'We're not racist now because the black people came in and marched,'" Miller says. "They are going to continue to be racist. So we have to continue to keep on keeping on."
There were also lessons learned. Many wonder why two marches and rallies -- the NAACP led the Jena march while another was led by the Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network in the nearby town of Alexandria -- were being held when the whole idea was to show a unified front in Jena.
"That's where we come in as young leaders and being ethical," says Cormier. "That's something we all have to do."
The dialogue between students get vigorous as they talk about what they'd seen: the conditions Jena's black population lives in, how to help improve their lot in life and how to bring what the students have learned about their experience back to the Atlanta University Center.
Malcolm Williams puts a cap on the talk by suggesting a town hall meeting for Atlanta University Center students to hear about the group's experience in Jena. McKinley plans to bring students from both buses together to first discuss what they've experienced.
But for now, it's time to rest. It doesn't take long before nightfall sets in as the buses roll towards Atlanta. The movie "300" is playing, but almost everyone is deep in sleep.
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THIS HAS BEEN A LESSON ABOUT LIFE
WE HAVE MADE HISTORY
THERE'S A JENA IN EVERY STATE
TO SEE YOUNG PEOPLE STARTING TO TAKE CHARGE, IT'S WONDERFUL
WE HAVE YOUNG ADULTS STANDING UP FOR YOUNG ADULTS
OUR GENERATION MUST START THE MOVEMENT
