Recognizing the case of the “Jena 6” as a clear sign of injustice impacting the entire civil rights community, HRC President Joe Solmonese took to the podium today (along with members of our staff) to express the support of the Human Rights Campaign for justice and equal treatment of the six black teenagers whose lives are on the line in Jena, La. Here is the text of his prepared remarks:

 

    My name is Joe Solmonese and I represent the

    largest gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender

    organization in the country.  Am I am here — we

    are all here from the Human Rights Campaign —

    because this injustice cannot stand.

 

    We are here because we know about bigotry. We know

    about hate. We know the pain in high school of

    standing apart. Of being taunted. Of standing up,

    only too often, to be shut down.

 

    I am here — we are here — because you have stood

    with us.  Because all of us know that one injustice

    against any of us is an injustice against all of

    us.

 

    And I am here because I remember.  I remember James

    Byrd.  James was a gentle soul, a special soul.

    Someone who struggled his whole life with

    challenges, but was filled with love and was deeply

    loved in Jasper, Texas.

 

    But James Byrd — at 49 — was savagely beaten,

    then chained to a pickup truck and literally

    dragged to his death.  He was brutally murdered

    because he was black.

 

    And then something really profound happened.

    Remember when George Bush was governor of Texas?

    Well, Governor Bush had a hate crimes bill on his

    desk. There was a lot of pressure to sign the bill

    because of what they did to James Byrd.  So, George

    Bush said he’d sign that bill, but they had to take

    the gays out.

 

    And here’s what happened.  Stella Byrd, who has

    just buried her beaten, broken, gentle James said,

    If some of us are left out, then all of us are.

    Valuing one life and not valuing another is not

    right.  And the Byrd family said No. They said No.

    And they walked away.

 

    So, I stand here today with solidarity.  I stand

    here for social justice. I stand here to free those

    young men. To say this will not stand.  It cannot

    stand. I stand here for the Jena 6. I stand here

    today for James Byrd.

 

    We will not forget. We will never walk away.

 

    Thank you very much.

 

Here are a few pictures from the rally:

 

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