"There’s been obvious racial discrimination in this case," said Joe Cook, executive director of the Louisiana chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, who described Jena as a "racial powder keg" primed to ignite. "It appears the Black students were singled out and targeted in this case for some unusually harsh treatment."
In September 2006, a group of African American high school students in Jena, Louisiana, asked the school for permission to sit beneath a "whites only" shade tree. There was an unwritten rule that blacks couldn't sit beneath the tree. The school said they didn't care where students sat. The next day, students arrived at school to see three nooses (in school colors) hanging from the tree.
The boys who hung the nooses were suspended from school for a few days. The school administration chalked it up as a harmless prank, but Jena's Black population didn't take it so lightly. Fights and unrest started breaking out at school. The District Attorney, Reed Walters, was called in to directly address Black students at the school and told them all he could "end their life with a stroke of the pen."
Black students were assaulted at white parties. A white man drew a loaded rifle on three Black teens at a local convenience store. (They wrestled it from him and ran away.) Someone tried to burn down the school, and on December 4th, a fight broke out that led to six black students being charged with attempted murder. To his word, the D.A. pushed for maximum charges, which carry sentences of eighty years. Four of the six are being tried as adults (ages 17 & 18) and two are juveniles.
Click here for a Word document that gives a good case timeline and I encourage
you to view a YouTube video with some photos of the Jena High School, community and such.A few days ago, Mychal Bell, the first of the Jena Six to face trial, was found guilty of aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy. Friends of Justice blog provided a comprehensive look at the case. The local paper in Alexandria, LA shared some insights about Bell's trial. Television stations in Louisiana provided daily reports on the case.
Villagers are encouraged to sign the online petition re: the Jena Six. Any thoughts on this case from your perspective?
