Human Rights Group to March for Justice Saturday

About 300 people are expected to show up on Saturday for March for Justice, a march from Cobb Civic Center to the Marietta Square, which begins at 9 a.m.

New Order, a national human rights organization, is organizing the march to address issues of inequality mostly in Cobb’s justice system.

“We are aware of what’s going on,” said New Order President Gerald Rose. “We’re concerned about police shooting and profiling.”

Rose and organizers hope the march sends the message that “enough is enough.”

Rose said a stream of recent events led to the creation of the march including:

• the August sentencing of 15 years for James Glover of Austell, who, at age 15, had been accused of beating and robbing a 94-year-old man with an 11-year-old accomplice in 2010. Both boys were charged with armed robbery, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, burglary and violation of the Georgia gang act.  Glover was acquitted of burglary, a charge of aggravated assault, aggravated battery and armed robbery. Supporters say Glover was wrongly accused and that the police meant to arrest Glover’s next-door neighbors, who are “brothers,” ages 15 and 11 at the time, with several run-ins with the law. Glover had had no prior criminal record before this incident. Supporters believe Glover has been treated unfairly because he is an African-American boy and the 94-year-old victim is white.
• the shooting of Eric Moon, 23, by Cobb Police in July. Police said officers tried to pull over Moon in his car, but he led them into an apartment complex, losing control of the vehicle and hitting a nearby tree. Moon got out of the car, ran into an apartment and hid in a bedroom closet with a gun. Police said Moon did not obey their orders and fearing for their safety, fired shots at the closet. Moon died at the scene. The incident is being investigated by the Cobb Police Department’s Internal Affairs. New Order and other groups want more information about the incident, which they said was an unjust killing.
• the shooting of . Henry pulled over to assist an officer and sheriff’s deputy in a Mableton business parking lot and shot Murdock after he saw him reaching for what he believed was a weapon.

Rose said he and his supporters want more answers about these cases and others.

“We’ve still got to ask questions about what’s happening in Cobb,” he said.

The march is only the kickoff for an initiative to address issues Rose and supporters see as injustices in Cobb County as well as a means to unify Cobb County citizens.

“Marching will not resolve the issue, but will show that we can come in large numbers. In large numbers, there’s power.”

 During the march, participants will have a moment of silence for in January, and for . Despite nine eyewitnesses recanting their statements, international protests and pleas from influential leaders like Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Davis was executed by lethal injection in September.

Rose’s father, Rev. Floyd Rose, and other community leaders are scheduled to speak at the event. Floyd Rose is the President of the Valdosta chapter of SCLC.

“We do have to be proactive, not reactive,” Rose said. “We all need to start working together and reach one goal to save our community.”

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