Organizers Occupy West Omaha Street Corner, Urge County Attorney to Resign

The longest-standing BLM protest in Omaha has gathered every day since June 4, organized by Ja Keen Fox (center). Photo Courtesy of Ja Keen Fox.

By Emily Chen-Newton

Protests outside of County Attorney Don Kleine’s neighborhood are moving into their third week. Ja Keen Fox, community activist and resource advocate, is the chief organizer of the demonstrations. The daily protests began June 4th, shortly after Kleine announced the release of Jake Gardner, the known shooter in the killing of young Black protestor, James Scurlock. Kleine released Gardner without pressing charges; saying the killing was in self-defense calling it, “senseless but justified ”. Protestors gathering outside of the attorney’s gated community are saying Kleine is not doing the job he was elected to do. 

Ja Keen Fox explains activists and protestors are demanding one of two options: either Don Kleine reexamines the case, or he resigns from his position as county attorney. 

Now the case will go to a grand jury; Special Prosecutor Frederick Franklin is assigned to it, and for many this feels like a victory. Attorney Justin Wayne, who represents the Scurlock family calls this “the first step in a long process.” For others, however, this is no cause for celebration; the closed-door grand jury process is inherently opaque. 

Senator Ernie Chambers is leading an effort to make the process more transparent with LB881. But currently, there is no automatic requirement in Nebraska to release the full grand jury report.  There are also concerns that when Kleine publicly showed tapes of the killing and his interpretation of them to the public, he tainted the view of the city, which is the jury pool for this case. 

Despite the heaviness of purpose, the mood at the protests occupying the usually quiet sidewalks of West Omaha has been warm, energized, and welcoming. Food and drinks are often provided and, of course, hand sanitizer, sidewalk chalk, and signs are at the ready. Fox explained part of the reason for bringing the protests to West Omaha is to create an avenue for activism that feels less risky and more accessible to those who have never participated in acts of civil disobedience before now. 

There is a training video for participants before they hit sidewalks, and Fox passes out a small booklet of resources to each new demonstrator as they cross over the main street to the sidewalk. The booklet includes details about the case and information about protesters' rights from the ACLU. The back cover art by a Lincoln artist is a colorful stylized illustration of James Scurlock with a heart tattooed on his chest, a collage of purple flowers and roses on the bottom edge, and in background written over and over again is his name, “James Scurlock.”