African-American and American Indian demonstrators protested the 400-year commemoration of Jamestown, saying the celebration whitewashes the brutality of a large Virginia slaveport and the genocide of millions of Native Americans.
About 60 militantly dressed members of the New Black Panthers and six members of the American Indian Movement stood in a pen, shouting “Shame on Jamestown,” as school bus loads of tourists drove by. The group was surrounded by about 20 police officers and 50 heavily armed reinforcements hidden around thecorner.
AIM spokesman Wabun-inini Nindiz-nikaz said the corralling of the protesters was reminiscent of “the 400-year holocaust that renders the Nazi Holocaust pale by comparison.”
He criticized Indians participating in the celebration, calling them “Uncle Tom-Toms.”
Organizer Malik Shabazz, president of Black Lawyers for Justice, said “The founding and the celebration that is going on here at Jamestown — you should be ashamed of yourselves. We find no reason here to celebrate the genocide of the Indians.”
