JENA 6: Racism in Louisiana
 

http://www.naacp.org/get-involved/ac...7-20/index.htm

THE FACTS:

In a small highly segregated rural Louisiana town of Jena in September 2006, a black student asked permission from school administrators to sit under the shade of a tree commonly reserved for the enjoyment of white students. School officials advised the black students to sit wherever they wanted and they did. The next day, three nooses, in the school colors, were hanging from the same tree. The Jena high school principal found that three white students were responsible and recommended expulsion. The white superintendent of schools over-ruled the principal and gave the students a three day suspension, saying that the nooses were “a youthful stunt.” Black students decided to resist and organized a sit-in under the tree to protest the lenient treatment given to the noose-hanging white students.

Racial tensions remained elevated throughout the fall. On Monday, December 4 2006, a white student who allegedly had been racially taunting black students in support of the students who hung the nooses got into a fight with black students. Allegedly, the white student was taken to the hospital treated, released, reportedly attended a social function later that evening.

As a result of this incident, six black Jena students were arrested and charged with attempted second degree murder. All six were expelled from school. The six charged were: 17-year-old Robert Bailey Junior whose bail was set at $138,000; 17-year-old Theo Shaw - bail $130,000; 18-year-old Carwin Jones--bail $100,000; 17-year-old Bryant Purvis--bail $70,000; 16 year old Mychal Bell, a sophomore in high school who was charged as an adult and for whom bail was set at $90,000; and a still unidentified minor.

On the morning of the trial, the District Attorney reduced the charges from attempted second degree murder to second degree aggravated battery and conspiracy. Aggravated battery in Louisiana law demands the attack be with a dangerous weapon. The prosecutor was allowed to argue to the jury that the tennis shoes worn by Bell could be considered a dangerous weapon.

When the pool of potential jurors was summoned, fifty people appeared, all white. The jury deliberated for less than three hours and found Mychal Bell guilty on the maximum possible charges of aggravated second degree battery and conspiracy. He faces up to a maximum of 22 years in prison.

The rest of the Jena 6 await similar trials. Theodore Shaw is due to go on trial shortly. Mychal Bell is scheduled to be sentenced July 31. If he gets the maximum sentence he will not be out of prison until he is nearly 40.


THE MESSAGE:

As Chairman Julian Bond stated, "This is an American outrage that demonstrates the continuing shame of racial division in our country. Join us in making it one of the last."
In light of the circumstances surrounding Mychal Bell's case, we urge all concerned citizens to support the call for a new trial.
It is unacceptable to selectively enforce the law based on race. Prosecutorial discretion should be used in a fair and equitable manner.
The Jena Six should be tried by juries that reflect the racial and ethnic demographics of Jena, Louisiana.
The hanging of nooses is not a "youthful stunt" or "prank." It is a hate crime. Such hate crimes should not be tolerated at any school. Jena High School must establish a curriculum which promotes cultural sensitivity and understanding.
The NAACP calls on Louisiana Governor Kathleen B. Blanco and Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti to thoroughly investigate and monitor the trials of Mychal Bell, Robert Bailey, Jr., Theo Shaw, Carwin Jones, Bryant Purvis and John Doe. The Governor and State Attorney General should do everything in their power to ensure that these young men's constitutional rights are protected.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS IMPORTANT MATTER!!!
If you have any questions, call Angela Ciccolo at the National Headquarters at (410) 580-5777

SIGN THE PETITION
http://www.naacp.org/get-involved/ac...na-6/index.php

Aw, I saw some students holding signs in my school's quad about the Jena 6. Didn't have the time to figure out what they were demonstrating exactly for at the time but it is nice to hear what it was all about.

Needless to say, this will put a foot in all those "racism is dead" type's mouths. Youthful stunt... fucking pricks.

I had no idea that the Klan was working on a time machine.

:confused:

WTF white shade?

Racism is very much alive.

Maybe the school should start trying to paint the noose incident as "ironic" and "a sarcastic jab at the hypocrisies of past racism" since we all know racism is dead. Also they could say that the whites-only tree was an interactive exhibit by the school's library to re-enact 60's segregation.

that's not a shocker, really.

what's amazing is the "shade of a tree commonly reserved for the enjoyment of white students".

why this hasn't been brought up as an issue since, say, 1954, I don't know.

maybe the internet commonly reserved for black people there is a lot slower than the white kind.

i'll actually be down in jena on thursday for the big protest/rally. i'm hoping that shit doesn't pop off negatively, but if it does, i'll be ready.

with that said, no, racism isn't dead, nor is it nearly as archaic as most would like to believe. in the town i spent my summers in, my cousins would tell me about the black school dances and the white ones and how the schools wouldn't do anything to stop that sort of thing.

You don't take a side even in this perfectly one sided dispute? It's not like we're talking affirmative actions here, we're talking segregation and death threats.

are you not taking sides for the sake of neutrality or are the details spotty to you?

again, the racism isn't shocking.

people have been doing it since one group of cavemen would glare at the other group of cavemen that were on the other side of the watering-hole.

I suspect that it's actually a biological mechanism based upon territorial defense that's currently called upon as a tool for the mentally inferior types to feel better about themselves at someone else's expense (personally, I have evolved). I guarantee that it will be around when there are only a handful of people left basking under a radioactive sky.

racism isn't even illegal. you can make gay black pollock jew gypsy jokes until the cows come home and it's not going to land you in jail.

what is illegal is state-sponsored segregation.

I ask you, not as a black man, but as a resident of Louisiana:

WHAT IN THE FUCK??

why haven't people been called to the carpet on this shit long ago?

white dances / black dances??? and this is a "school function"????

I have never lived ANYWHERE where I've witnessed such a thing (and I've lived a lot of places). If I had, I sure as hell wouldn't let it pass without telling every fucking person that would listen. it's not really something that I could just accept.

if you (or anyone else) truly cannot do anything to change this sad fact of life in the swamp, GET THE FUCK OUT of that shithole.


PS: I would have beat the fuck out of the smart mouthed noose-boy myself. 6 vs 1? maybe he shouldn't have popped off his mouth.

well..it was the white guys tree after all



IM KIDDING

only because weird is relative.

it may not be weird (to you), but it's wrong as all hell.

I'm going to find you one day, take you to a "BLACK DANCE" and videotape the whole thing.

THAT would be a good time.

you heard of NAIDOC week?

is that the week that you let the "abo's" out of their reprogramming camps?

hah they wish
its the week where we throw 10 more rocks at them

Didn't this happen a while ago? I'm sre I've already heard about it.

This story shows how racism is pervasive in every level of society.