‘Day of Rage’ rumors appear to be unfounded
JACKSON, Tenn. — A day after Philando Castile was buried in Minnesota and on the day family and friends said goodbye to Alton Sterling in Louisiana, rumors of a “Day of Rage” scheduled for the country are circulating.
Local law enforcement told us they had no credible information about such an event.
The Madison County Sheriff’s Office released a statement saying, “We are working jointly with other area law enforcement agencies and have a continuous line of communication between those agencies.”
The Jackson Police Department refused to comment on any preparations.
The rumors have surfaced from an online group called “Anonymous” and are similar to false rumors in 2014 that surfaced after Mike Brown was killed by police in Ferguson, Missouri.
Several cities are on the list, and places in Jackson including Lane College are rumored to be targets — something students aren’t happy about.
“Personally, I feel it would upset me and it would upset a lot of people because Lane College is a place of history,” said Ikenna Anyanwu, a senior at Lane College. “There are a lot of people who say they come here because they couldn’t get into anywhere else. This is their second chance.”
Jackson’s NAACP president Harrell Carter says he understands the frustration but that there are other ways.
“We are looking at this the wrong way,” Carter said. “We shouldn’t be confrontational. We have the opportunity to sit down and talk to one another to figure out what it is that’s wrong.”
Carter says the NAACP has been around for 107 years but that they need help from the community.
“This shouldn’t be just a black or just white thing,” Carter said. “It should be the whole community coming together trying to figure out what we can do so we don’t become the top of the news line the next day.”
The NAACP is not the only group planning to take positive action in Jackson. The Lane College chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. is also putting together an event for the community.
“We do plan on doing a black awareness or Black Lives Matter awareness where we will go out and educate people and what it is to be safe and conscious about themselves,” said Anyanwu, who is a member of the chapter.
Finally, Carter urges people to have open conversation.
“We can’t get lazy and stay home and not address the problems with the key folks we need to address it with,” Carter said. “The police chief is open for dialogue. The mayor is open for dialogue. We’re open for dialogue.”
