A Call to Action (Memory of Bernard Cantrell Burden)

[OKULAJA]

Serious and commited members of this board are asked to read the ENTIRE thread. (Especially those written by whatever Staff person posts the Call to Action)

New posts contain new directives and actions that are being added to this call of action.

Drum Collective Calls to Action are used to mobilize on a local, regional, national and global level. We need your help now! This is urgent!!! We need a minimum of 200 board members to act on this post!!!


Peace Y'all,

I drove down to the event last week and it was a very powerful event. Ms. Pless is a sistah who opened up the nite discussing the lynching of her 21 year old son Bernard C. Burden. He hung out with a white crowd since high school. He eventually begin dating one of the white girls in the circle and on Oct. 13, 2004, Bro. Bernard was found hung in a tree in the yard of one of his white friends. He was approx. 6'2, 6'3 and his feet were touching the ground with his knees bent. Sis. Pless did not see her son until Oct. 21, 2004. The so called authorities told Sis. Pless that she could not see her son b/c they have identified him, therefore there was no need for her to do so. Not only did she have to fight to see her son, but she also had to fight for an autopsy, which was at first denied as well. Sis. Pless could barely recognize her child b/c he was cut so badly during the autopsy. Now, they have denied her an investigation, but she is not taking no for an answer. She has tried to reach anyone she knew to, but to no avail. Even the local churches will not help Sis. Pless. Please read the attachment and reach out to Sis. Pless. I have more information for those who want to unite with this sistah's struggle for justice.

Free the Land!!
Stiff Resistance!!

camelliahm

Greetings everyone. First of all, I would like to
thank everyone who came to "A Lynch'n at West
Georgia", the event was a great success. The mother
of Bernard Cantrell Burden, Tamathy Pless, came to
tell her son's story. Bernard was hanged on October
13, 2004 in Grantville, GA (Coweta Co). The sheriff
dept has denied any investigation and the GBI and FBI
has used intimidation tactics to make her angry so
that they have an excuse not to speak to her. This
strong woman has made it her life so that those who
did this to her son will be brought to justice. We as
citizens need to stand up, fight, and let our voices
be heard. This is our plan...

Please call these people, who have been a hindrance to
the process, to let them know that we want a fair and
just investigation to this case

Wimp Pierce-Coroner: 770-254-4297
District Attorney Pete Skandalakis: 706-845-4270
Grantville Police Chief Jerry Ramos: 770-583-2266
GBI Investigator Larry Duren: 706-665-5842
GBI Area Supervisor J.T. Ricketson: 706-655-5845

Second, we will start a petition to deliver to the
Grantville Sheriff Dept demanding that this case will
be investigated and that the perpetrators will be
brought to justice. We will be out in front of the
UCC, Starting Tuesday, Feb 22 from 11-2 PM collecting
signatures. Please stop by and sign. We want to show
these people that there are a lot of people who care!

Please forward this e-mail to everyone you know!!! We
have to get the word out. It’s obvious that the local
and national media haven't done a good job getting the
word out, so we as citizens must do so ourselves.

Sincerely,

Keaton Henry
President
Black Student Alliance

[nattyreb]

Ona Move, Strong Bro.,

Thanks so much for posting this call to action!! i just want to clarify if Bro. Henry is with the BSU at Georgia State Univ.? And is that the UCC they will be standing out in front of? Also, is there an e-mail contact for him for folx who want more info? Finally, is there a copy of the petition text, that you can retype here for e-mailing purposes? i'll definitely check back so i can start circulating this important info!

Also, i just want to thank you for being you. You are such a tremendous resource and so very valuable to us all.

[OKULAJA]

Ona Move, Strong Bro.,

Thanks so much for posting this call to action!! i just want to clarify if Bro. Henry is with the BSU at Georgia State Univ.? And is that the UCC they will be standing out in front of? Also, is there an e-mail contact for him for folx who want more info? Finally, is there a copy of the petition text, that you can retype here for e-mailing purposes? i'll definitely check back so i can start circulating this important info!

Also, i just want to thank you for being you. You are such a tremendous resource and so very valuable to us all.

I just got this in an email and pasted it here. I sent an email to the sender address for more info but haven't heard anything. I don't know what BSU he's with or what the UCC is. Do you?

Here's the email addresses I have:
khenry1983@yahoo.com
camelliahm@aol.com

I'm waiting to hear back so we can move on this.

And thanks for the love Nattyreb, I feel the same way about you.

UHURU

[OKULAJA]

Georgia mother seeks to unravel son's suspicious death being suicide
By Nisa Islam Muhammad
Staff Writer
Updated Nov 27, 2004, 06:19 pm Refer this article
Print page




The body of 21-year-old Bernard Burden was found Oct. 13 hanging from a noose on this tree in the backyard of his friend’s home. Photo: Ademah Muhammad
GRANTVILLE, Ga. (FinalCall.com) - What happened to Bernard Burden? The answer depends on whether you’re Black or White. In this small southern town in Coweta County, about an hour from Atlanta, a Black body hanging from a tree is seen with two different lenses.
The local coroner immediately ruled the death a suicide, but asked for a further investigation when Mr. Bernard’s mother, Tamathy Pless, cried foul. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), an independent statewide agency, stepped in to conduct its own investigation.

“The agent assigned to the case has followed up all the leads. He still has a few administrative things to do and we’re waiting for some additional crime lab reports to come back,� GBI Supervisor J. T. Rickerson explained to The Final Call.

This investigation has done little to change the minds of this Georgian Black community, and many around the country, that see a Black body hanging from a tree through the lens of lynching.

“It just doesn’t add up,� is how Ms. Pless summed up what happened to her 21-year-old son on Oct. 13.

His body was found hanging from a tree behind the house of his friend, Chris Ward, after a night of cards and lengthy phone conversations with his White girlfriend Hope Watson.

“A lot of what has been said has me on fire spiritually, emotionally and physically. How does any of this make sense?� the anguished mother told The Final Call in an exclusive interview.

“The rope that he supposedly used to hang himself was over the bed in the son’s (Chris Ward) room and the son didn’t wake up when Bernard came and got the rope. Something here is not right.�

Around 8:30 a.m., Mr. Burden’s body was found behind the home of Donna Young and her son, Chris Ward. The two young men were known to be best friends and Mr. Burden was temporarily living with Ms. Young, while looking for a permanent residence.

“Bernard had lived with me on and off for four years,� Ms. Young told The Final Call. “When I went to bed that night, Bernard, Chris and Hope were playing cards. Hope left but came back at 5:15 a.m. looking for Bernard, but she couldn’t find him. She had last talked to him at 4:55 a.m.�

She recalled, “That morning my son was letting the dogs out at 8:30. He called me hysterically saying, ‘Bernard hung himself, Bernard hung himself!’ I left work and raced home to see what happened.�

What she saw was Mr. Burden, the young man who had called her “mama� hanging from a tree.

“He was depressed. He had just broke up with his girlfriend,� David Odom said to The Final Call.

Mr. Odom is a friend of Mr. Ward and had known Mr. Burden for about 18 months. Standing outside of Ms. Young’s home, he pointed to the tree where Mr. Burden’s body was found.

“It (blew) my mind when I heard what happened. I had just seen him a month-and-a-half ago. He was a quiet guy who kept to himself. You never knew what he was thinking,� he said.

Stop someone Black on Rte. 29 in Grantville and ask them what happened to Bernard and the first thing they do is shake their head.

Do they believe this young man hung himself? Do they believe he was so depressed over the break-up with his girlfriend that he would take his own life?

Unanimously, the answer The Final Call received was, “no.�

An older man at a gas station from a neighboring town told The Final Call, “I don’t believe that boy just killed himself.�

An older woman sitting on her porch, who gave directions to the house where it happened, felt the same way.

“I don’t believe it happened like that.� Neither wanted to be identified for this story. “This is still the South,� another person said.

Alton Maddox, New York attorney and activist, wrote an op-ed piece in the Amsterdam News on Oct. 28.

“The Black community is still tolerant of treasonous acts. [speaking of lynchings] It is for this reason that (Bernard) Burden’s mother, a vocal and loving mother, will not receive any help in Georgia,� he wrote.

“Apparently, the wrongful imprisonment of Marcus S. Dixon, a high school student, for having sex with a white girl is not enough of a warning to Black males. Similarly, the prosecution of Kobe Bryant fails to ring a bell. The Scottsboro Boys case and Emmett Till’s lynching are simply historical antiques,� he continued.

He added, “The Atlanta media has already buried this terrorist act in their cold files and the Grantville Police Department waited more than twenty-four hours before reporting the hanging to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. This delay, for the trail to grow cold, smacks of a cover-up.�

Yet, according to Mr. Burden’s White friends, Bernard was a depressed, young man who ended his life. Ms. Young recounted several other occasions when friends found Mr. Burden very upset.

However, Ms. Pless doesn’t put much stock in the “he was depressed� theory.

“They want me to believe that he was on the phone for hours and then got so depressed that he hung himself. If he was depressed, he would want everyone to know. He would have come to me to talk about it,� she stressed.

Keith Beauchamps is producing a documentary about the death of 14-year-old Emmit Till who was brutally murdered in 1955 after allegedly whistling at a White woman

He told The Final Call, “There have been 89 lynchings in the last five years in Georgia and across the nation; in the prison system and in the streets. All have been ruled suicides.�

He went on to say, “We still have the problem of sex and race, (Kobe Bryant case) and people are afraid to stand up against those who do the lynching. Nothing has changed in the South. We wonder why these things are still happening; it is because the issue is not on the front burner. What is really aggravating is that nobody is speaking out. Where are the civil rights leaders?�

Malik Zulu Shabazz, head of the New Black Panther Party, told The Final Call, “I don’t believe all of these cases were suicides. In reference to Bernard Burden, we cannot blame the victim, but we must re-examine how liberal we are going to be by allowing our youth to continue interracial dating.�

“We are still under attack,� he added. “Black organizations of every stripe need to be investigating these lynchings.�

[nattyreb]

OK, Bro., let me know when you hear back from him, i'll get an e-mail off to those addresses as well. My thought is that we can widely distribute the petition text and solicit signatures worldwide, have folx e-mail them to him or wherever he designates, and add juice to the campaign with a plethora of cities, states and even countries signing on and questioning this outrage. i think this would garner a whole lot of attention from the Pan-African world as well as *all* organizations of every stripe!

Perhaps the family can have updated interviews on progressive mags/newspapers/radio stations to help the push, as well as raise folx awareness that lynching ain't a thing of the past, it's right here, right now!! The folx already interviewed need to be contacted for updated statements and calls to action, especially if they're already slated to speak at a large gathering of whatever sort.

Besides the phone #'s, we also need fax #'s where folx can fax the petition or letter with their signatures and hopefully jam up their offices. Ona Move.

[OKULAJA]

I just heard the Mother, Tamathy Pless, on the radio station WRFG here in Atlanta at 3pm EST. There will be a Vigil on March 12th. I have some contacts. Camellia just called me an hour ago, 4:30pm. She's here in Atl. She didn't even know that Sister Pless was on the radio. Coincidence? Nah, The Ancestors and Divinities are Opening The Way for us to Organize and Mobilize on this.

Modupe Baba Ogun!!!

I will have more info tomorrow on moving forward on this.

Uhuru Movement, Atlanta
Email: uhuru_atl@yahoo.com
Phone: 404-454-5422

UHURU!!!

[nattyreb]

i'm black online, gonna send out what you so beautifully presented so far, will share any info gained, please do the same, looking forward!!

[OKULAJA]

i'm black online, gonna send out what you so beautifully presented so far, will share any info gained, please do the same, looking forward!!

I made contact and will have the Plan of Action outlined soon. Standby.

UHURU!

[OKULAJA]

ATTEND THE JUSTICE FOR BERNARD RALLY

WHERE: GRANTVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT
123 LAGRANGE ST, GRANTVILLE, GA


WHEN: MARCH 12, AND THE 2ND SATURDAY OF EVERY MONTH

@2PM

Meet at Mutana's Juicebar Parking Lot at 12pm to Carpool to the Event or just meet us down there. Let us know if you need a ride:

1388 RALPH DAVID ABERNATHY BLVD(for directions call: 404-753-5252)

On the morning of October 13, 2004 Bernard C. Burden was found hung from a tree in the yard of a white family. His feet were touching the ground with his knees bent. The Coroner Wimp Pierce ruled it a suicide. There was a house full of people that night and no Police Investigation was done. No one was charged as suspects in a possible homicide despite the numerous contradictions. Now we all know if that was a whiteman found hanging in the yard of a black family, everyone would have been taken downtown for questioning or WORSE. We know Bernard was lynched and WE DEMAND JUSTICE!!! PUT THE STATE ON TRIAL!!!

WE DEMAND:

REPARATIONS TO BERNARD'S FAMILY AND THE AFRICAN COMMUNITY!

IMPRISONMENT OF THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS DEATH!

COMMUNITY CONTROL OF POLICE!

“It has been four months since Bernard’s death and I have not yet grieved because of the fight for justice.� - states Ms. Pless, Bernard’s Mother – STAY STRONG SISTA!!!

For more information Contact:

The International Peoples Democratic Uhuru Movement

404-454-5422 uhuru_atl@yahoo.com




Self-Determination is the Highest _Expression of Democracy!
http://inpdum.org
http://burningspearuhuru.com
http://asiuhuru.org/
http://apspuhuru.org

PUT THE STATE ON TRIAL!!!
PEOPLE'S JUSTICE HEARING TO BE ANNOUNCED

[Im The Truth]

You know we'll be in effect

[OKULAJA]

JUSTICE FOR BERNARD - AFRICAN LYNCHED
MASS CALL-IN & FAX

On the morning of October 13, 2004 Bernard C. Burden was found hung from a tree in the yard of a white family. His feet were touching the ground with his knees bent. The Coroner Wimp Pierce ruled it a suicide. There was a house full of people that night and no Police Investigation was done. No one was charged as suspects in a possible homicide despite the numerous contradictions. Now we all know if that was a whiteman found hanging in the yard of a black family, everyone would have been taken downtown for questioning or WORSE. We know Bernard was lynched and
WE DEMAND JUSTICE!!! PUT THE STATE ON TRIAL!!!

UPDATE:
THE GBI TOOK 4 MONTHS TO PERFORM THEIR INVESTIGATION AND FINALLY REVEALED THEIR REPORT. AS WE ALL EXPECTED, THEY RULED HIS DEATH A SUICIDE AS WELL, DESPITE ALL THE CONTRADICTIONS. BASED ON THIS, THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY FEELS THERE IS NO NEED TO PROSECUTE ANYONE IN THIS CASE. THIS IS AN OBVIOUS COVER-UP PEOPLE. WE MUST PUT THE PRESSURE ON THE D.A. TO BRING THE SUSPECTS THAT WERE IN THAT HOUSE THAT NIGHT TO TRIAL.

CALL DISTRICT ATTRONEY SKANDALAKIS OFFICE:
PHONE: 706-845-4270 FAX: 706-845-4269

DEMAND:
REPARATIONS TO BERNARD BURDENS' FAMILY AND THE AFRICAN COMMUNITY!

IMPRISONMENT OF THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS DEATH!

COMMUNITY CONTROL OF POLICE!
DON'T FORGET TO ATTEND THE JUSTICE FOR BERNARD RALLY

WHERE: GRANTVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT
123 LAGRANGE ST, GRANTVILLE, GA

WHEN: MARCH 12, AND THE 2ND SATURDAY OF EVERY MONTH
@2PM

Meet at Mutana's Juicebar Parking Lot at 12pm to Carpool to the Event or just meet us down there. Let us know if you need a ride:
1388 RALPH DAVID ABERNATHY BLVD(for directions call: 404-753-5252)







Self-Determination is the Highest _Expression of Democracy!
http://inpdum.org
http://burningspearuhuru.com
http://asiuhuru.org/
http://apspuhuru.org

[OKULAJA]

http://www.petitiononline.com/qd3d6789/petition.html

To: District Attorney Pete Skandalakis
On the morning of October 13, 2004 an African Man by the name of Bernard C. Burden was found hung from a tree in the yard of a white family in Grantville, GA. His feet were touching the ground with his knees bent. The Coroner Wimp Pierce ruled it a suicide. There was a house full of people that night and no Criminal Investigation was done. No one was charged as suspects in a possible homicide despite the numerous contradictions:

1) How is it possible for a person to hang himself while his feet are still touching the ground and knees bent?

2) Chris, resident of the home, says he found Bernard hung at approximately 7:00am, yet 911 was not called until 8:30am.

3) Police Chief Ramos of Grantville stated that no police investigation was necessary because the Coroner, Wimp Pierce did an investigation. Since when are Coroners trained and authorized to perform criminal investigations?

4) When Ms. Pless, the mother of the victim, requested that the Coroner perform a toxicology test to see if drugs were in Bernard's system, he rigidly refused.

These are just a few of the contradictions that warrant a full criminal investigation.

WE THE PEOPLE DEMAND:
Reparations to Bernard's family and the African Community!
Imprisonment of those responsible for his death!
Community Control of Police!

[Nandii]

Only nine signatures on the partition?

[OKULAJA]

You know we'll be in effect

UHURU COMRADE! Please help get the word out by Calling all your contacts and forwarding the email announcements. We gonna Move On Grantville like the Siafu Ants of the Serengeti!!!

[IfasehunReincarnated]

Todays' RECAP of this EMERGENCY Call to ACTION:

1. We are asking everyone to email at least 30 people with this news stories. Please include a link to the petition Ask that people use NAMES, not NICKNAMES or online usernames when siging the petition!
2. If you are in Georgia, attend the community meeting.
3. No matter where you are in the U.S. please call District Attorney Pete Skandalakis, PHONE: 706-845-4270 FAX: 706-845-4269 requesting updates, confirmation that the investigation and is proceeding.
4. If you are asked to leave a message on a machine or with a person YOU MUST ASK FOR SOMEONE TO CALL YOU BACK. If you don't they will NOT follow up with your request. YOU MUST ALSO ASK that your name be added to a list of complaintants or they will NOT generate such a list or add you to it, if it exists already. Your complaint or request is only valid if it's RECORDED.
5. Please do all of these things BEFORE the March 12 meeting.
6. INTERNATIONAL BOARD MEMBERS are asked to also participate!
7. Come back to this thread and tell us every time you do one of the actions required for this alert