LETTER TO THE ANN ARBOR NEWS FROM
THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF BLACK LAWYERS (NCBL)
June 28, 1999
Reply to:
National Conference of Black Lawyers
Michigan Chapter
c/o Jeffrey Edison, Esq.
2100 Cadillac Tower
Detroit, Michigan 48226
313-964-0400
Letters, The Ann Arbor News
P.O. Box 1147
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106
To the Editor:
The Michigan chapter of the National Conference of Black Lawyers (NCBL) is
appalled by the decision of the Washtenaw County Prosecuting Attorney to
pursue prosecutions of anti-racist protesters who demonstrated against the Ku
Klux Klan in Ann Arbor.
Since its founding in 1968, NCBL has gone to war on behalf of victims of
police violence, racist violence, profile stops, employment discrimination,
politically-motivated criminal convictions, and countless other offensive acts
that bring misery into the lives of Black and other oppressed people in
America. because crimes against the oppressed are frequently ignored by law
enforcement officials and prosecutors nationwide, we are particularly alarmed
that officials in Ann Arbor have chose to use time and resources to pursue
citizens who apparently have done little more than exercise their First
Amendment Rights.
The state has tremendous power that must be used wisely. A jury in the
first trial of an anti-racist protester understood that such power should not
be used to bully a 16-year-old child. Likewise, it should not be used to
punish others who demonstrated the courage to publicly object to a racist
organization. Members of NCBL, the National Lawyers Guild and other
progressive lawyers have their hands full with the many genuine problems that
plague our society. It is shameful that our time and resources must be used to
speak out in defense of conscientious Ann Arbor citizens who should not have
been charged with criminal offenses in the first place. We join the chorus of
voices that calls on Prosecuting Attorney Brian Mackie to drop these charges.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey L. Edison
Mark P. Fancher
Desiree Ferguson
Lorray Brown
Regina Jemison
Dr. Jerome Reide