By: Kirsten West Savali, Your Black World
Funeral services for Troy Davis will be held Saturday morning, 11:00 a.m. at Jonesville Baptist Church in Savannah, Georgia.
In the days preceding Troy’s execution by the state of Georgia on September, 21 by lethal injection, supporters protested around the globe in the face of overwhelming evidence that he was in fact innocent of the 1989 murder of police officer Mark MacPhail.
Despite the loud outcry and the support from activists, entertainers, prison officials, politicians, and hundreds of thousands of people who sent letters, and even protested in front of the White House, the state of Georgia denied Troy clemency in the last hours before his death. In a last ditch attempt at saving his life, his defense team took his case to the United States Supreme Court, who then deliberated for over 5 hours. After eating his last meal and saying good-bye to his family, Troy lay strapped to the gurney for hours, awaiting his fate, before finally being told that the Supreme Court refused to intervene on his behalf.
October 24, 2008, Troy was spared 72 hours before his death; Sept. 23, 2008, Troy was spared with less than 90 minutes to go before his death; July 16, 2007, he was saved 24 hours before his death.
Ben Jealous, CEO and president of the NAACP, and Amnesty International USA executive director, Larry Cox, will speak at Troy’s funeral. Rev. Raphael Warnock, pastor of historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, the church of Martin Luther King Jr., will deliver the eulogy.
Jealous says that Troy’s funeral will serve as more than a funeral, but the strengthening of a movement:
“Troy, one of the things that he asked all of us to do was to keep on fighting. He said, ‘This movement started before I was born and it must grow stronger, no matter what happens.”
“I don’t know the details of their financial situation but I know Troy Davis was in prison 22 years. I suspect he did not have life insurance, is my guess … and many were surprised to discover that after the state executes you they turn you over to your family to be buried, so we are his extended family and we thought we should help.”
Amnesty International is calling for Saturday to be a “Day of Remembrance” for Davis, and is asking people to either wear T-shirts reading “I Am Troy Davis” or black armbands reading “Not in my name,” or to change their Facebook profile picture to the “I Am Troy Davis” image circulated by Amnesty International on its website.
Celebrities are expected to turn out in full force for Troy’s funeral. Several high-profile entertainers and activists will serve as honorary pallbearers — including Hip-Hop label owner Russell Simmons, fashion mogul, Kimora Lee Simmons, Hip-Hop artist, Big Boi, Civil Rights leader, Rep. John Lewis, (D-Ga.), and activist Dick Gregory.
For those who can not be there physically, remember Troy’s last words, and know that the fight does not end with his burial:
“Despite the situation that you’re in. I’m not the one who did it. The incident that night was not my fault. I did not have a gun. I am sorry for your loss, but I did not personally kill your son, father, brother, I am innocent. To my friends, I urge you to continue to fight, look deeper into this case to find the truth. For those about to take my life, may God have mercy on your souls; may God bless your souls.”
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Kirsten West Savali is a Senior Editor and writer at Your Black World. Connect with her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter: @KWestSavali
