JACKSON, Miss.—Jackson City Councilman Kenneth Stokes was driving home from his bank on Friday, Sept. 11, when he saw a group of about 30 armed people marching down California Avenue, he recounted at the Jackson City Council meeting on Sept. 22.
The group of people Stokes saw were members of the Fred Hampton Gun Club and the Black Panther Party who traveled from across the United States to march in response to what they believe are potential lynchings in the South and throughout the country, Jackson Police Chief RaShall Brackney said.
This comes after the deaths of 29-year-old Tasia Fortune, 18-year-old Nolan Wells and 1-year-old Kohen Wiley brought national scrutiny to Mississippi this year. Fortune’s death has been ruled a homicide, with three men now in custody in connection with her murder. The investigation into Wiley’s death is ongoing. Wells’ cause of death is undetermined…