Local police have declared the Black 17-year-old's death a suicide. He was found hanging from a pecan tree in his front yard June 16. But the prevailing view here is that Johnson was the victim of a racist lynching carried out as a result of his relationship with a female classmate who is white. Family members say the suicide claim just doesn't add up. The belt Johnson hung from, for example, was not his.

Many local residents of this small rural town pointed to the fact that a deputy of the local police department was the uncle of the young woman Johnson had a relationship with. According to residents, since the night of the hanging, the deputy and his family have left the Marion County area.

Melvin Hollins, head of the local NAACP chapter in McComb County, told Militant reporters that some neighbors came forward and said they "had seen trucks gathered down the road from Johnson's house three nights in a row before the hanging."

Lewis Meyers, the Johnson family attorney, told CNN in an interview July 12 that "we have some credible evidence that there is a possibility that a local law enforcement official may have been involved in what we now believe to be a murder."

The July 8 march, four miles long, was called by Jesse Jackson and the Rainbow Coalition. The action blocked traffic on both sides of a major road for several hours. The following day, an even larger march of 1,000 people hit the streets at Duckworth Park, in the nearby town of Columbia. Demonstrators came from New Orleans in two buses, Illinois, Tennessee, Alabama, and all over Mississippi. Many families waited in shady spots along the route of the march and joined as it passed. The majority of participants were Black, though there were dozens of protesters who are white present.

Throughout the march, organizers buzzed up and down the route on quad cycles handing out water to combat the blazing Mississippi sun. Umbrellas lined the streets on the road to the Johnson's house. Ebay Hampton, 22, heard about the action on the TV news. It was his first protest. "The main reason I came is to support the Johnson family. It's a shame in the year 2000 things like this keep happening." A number of people present commented that the killing was part of moves by racist forces to take working people backward toward the days of segregation. Many also pointed to the fact that unlike decades ago, acts like this are intolerable and provoke a response, and not just from Blacks.

Jason Lawrence, a shipping and receiving clerk, said, "I feel like what happened could happen to any of us. No matter how 'great' this country is, they have to answer for this. We have to show support for the family. One of my co-workers agrees that it was a suicide," said Lawrence, noting that another of his other co-workers came to the march.

Carl Galmon, 59, a longtime civil rights fighter, thought racism was behind the death. "In South Carolina we have these politicians kissing the rebel flag. But it's not part of my heritage. Romancing these racist symbols set the tone for this," he said. Residents pointed to the example of a bridge, spray-painted with "Kill all niggers, Kill all Jews," and police harassment in other counties that pushed them to participate in the day's events.

Activists fighting the cop killing of Mitchell Virgil by Gulfport police also participated in the action. Virgil lived in nearby Columbia and many family members see the two fights as one and the same. The march culminated in a rally held at the pecan tree where Johnson was found hanging. At the rally, his brother and sister spoke, demanding justice for their slain brother.

One of the speakers was Mamie Mobley, mother of Emmett Till, a teenager who was killed in Mississippi in 1955 for supposedly whistling at a white woman. Mobley offered her support to Johnson's mother, Maria.

Democratic Party politician Jesse Jackson also spoke, calling for a federal investigation into the death of Johnson. Jackson decried several Republican candidates for their support of the death penalty and mentioned the recent fight in Texas against the execution of Gary Graham. He pointed to the need to improve working conditions in Mississippi and raise the standard of living through unionization, saying activists need to join the Rainbow Coalition as the vehicle that would accomplish this.

The next day protesters marched from Duckworth Park in nearby Columbia to the Marion County courthouse. This two-mile stretch was made up of 1,000 people, many of whom were youth. Rasaan Powell, a 16-year-old high school student in Columbia, explained why she and other young people joined the march. "Today we're taking a stand. This is for everybody who has been lynched. We must be heard. It is important for us to show solidarity in order to make sure justice is served."

Justin Hovey, a member of the Young Socialists in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, contributed to this article.  
 
 
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