W.A.R.

THE JENA 6 STORY

 

 Welcome to  

The War Family Re-Union

"The Struggles Continues"

                       

Still Glorious & Even More Beautiful

"The Heart & Soul of A Nation"

WE WILL UNITE"   ”IT'S  NOT"  " AN OPTION",

"IT’S OUR ONLY, CHOICE”!

9-11-2001 Remembered "Always"

Dr. Martin L. King Jr. Remembered..

   

 

 

War Family Auto

A Jena Local, Giving Us a Look

Downtown Jena

Gee, protesting is hard work.

Mike, Currituck, NC. Made the Pilgrimage. Thanks Man..

Mr. Michael Baisden

Reverend Al Sharpton

Mike

George, from the Michael Baisden Show

A local resident, voicing their opinion. She came to her door and demanded to leave the front of her home!

The hanging tree former location.

Missing hanging tree spot, up close.

Ray Nagan

A really Cool Alexandria, La Police Captain Thomas C. Cardwell.Thanks Capt. on that ride in your P.D. Car, unless I am driving, I will pass..:)

Waterfront Bridge Alexandria, La

Waterfront Alexandria, La

Members of the Pilgrimage

Members of the Crew

Hasan out of Cali. Provided us with some Shirts. Hasan, still waiting for my little girls shirt.

Branden from Norfolk

The "Bars of Injustice".

Bosco & Louis, members of the Pilgrimage

from Norfolk, Va.

 

JENA

Jena 6 (1 of 1) (by whileseated)
 

06.27.07
 

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. (Please note, the tree above is not the tree, but a tree at Jena High School.)

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.

Yesterday, I was in Jena for the first day of the trial for Mychal Bell, one of the Jena 6. The D.A., perhaps in response to public pressure, tried to get Bell to cop a plea. Bell refused, and today, jury selection began. After today, we'll know whether or not the case will be tried in front of an all-white jury. Jena's 85-percent white, and it remains to be seen whether or not the six can get a fair trial.

Both off-the-record and on, Jena residents told me racism is alive and well in Louisiana, and this is a case where it rose above the levee, so to speak.

In the next few days, I'll be posting a few photos from Jena that are related to the case, as well as linking to a multimedia piece I'm working on. CNN began reporting on the story today, following the lead of the BBC, who crafted an excellent hour-long documentary that can be found on P2P networks.

Update: Mychal Bell, the first of the Jena Six to face trial, was
found guilty of aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy to commit the same on June 28th. A comprehensive look at the case, the trial and the verdict was published on July 2nd at friendsofjustice. Plus, Democracy Now did a full story. To send a letter to Governor Blanco, please visit Color of Change.

Welcome,
BoingBoing and Kottke readers. For more information about the Jena Six, please see this youtube video and the following links:

Youtube Video: "Jena Six: a photo story"

Links:

 

Photos:
Jena Six (2 of 6) (by whileseated)
The t-shirt of LaTara Hart, cousin of Carwin Jones and Robert Bailey, two of the Jena Six.

Jena Six (4 of 6) (by whileseated)
This is the "Gotta Go" in Jena, Louisiana. On December 2nd, 2006, one of the fights that followed
the noose incident (and the burning of Jena High School) was here. Three black teens were in the store, including two of the Jena Six, and when they left, they were confronted by a white man with a loaded shotgun. The teens wrestled the gun from him and fled. The gun was later found in a car in the backyard of one of the Jena Six.

In court documents, I found this statement, from the gun owner, who tells a very different story:

"I drove up to the Gotta Go and started to walk in the store and saw three black males and one hollered 'we've got action'. I saw them running after me so I turned and sprinted to my truck and then got my gun out. RB, RS, and TS were wrestling for the gun. After wrestling the gun away, hitting me in the face, they ran behind the store. AC & the Gotta Go owners saw."

The gun was a 12-guage Riot shotgun with a black laser sight on the side.

Jena Six (5 of 6) (by whileseated)
Melissa Bell on Monday, June 25th, outside LaSalle Parish Courthouse. Her son, Mychal Bell, was
convicted of 2nd degree aggravated battery and conspiracy to commit same today for his role in a fight at Jena High School.

Keep in mind that when one of Mychal Bell's friends (one of the Jena Six still facing trial) had his head cracked open with a beer bottle at an all-white party a few nights before the school fight on Dec. 4th, his assailant received a "simple battery" charge.

In Louisiana, simple battery is a misdemeanor. Bell, who was convicted by an all-white jury, faces 20+ years in prison.

Jena Six (6 of 6) (by whileseated)
Theodore Shaw's son has been in prison for the last six months awaiting trial because the District Attorney charged him with attempted murder for a schoolyard fight, and set bail so high that his father can't get him out. Theodore's son (Theo) will probably be the second member of the Jena Six to go on trial later this summer, unless some kind of deal is reached.

It's unclear whether or not the DA will lessen Theo's charges, as he did with Mychal Bell who was found guilty last week of 2nd degree aggravated assault and conspiracy to commit same. All told, Theo will most likely be facing 20-80 years in prison.

If you've made it this far, please click the images below. They have more news, links and updates. Thanks for reading. I disabled comments this afternoon, after the "discussion" on this page became a bit too much to bear.

Other posts on Whileseated about the Jena Six:
 

Jena Six (1 of 1) (by whileseated) Jena Six Update (by whileseated) Jena High School, Jena, Louisiana (by whileseated) Carwin Jones, the Jena Six (by whileseated) Jena Six Banner in Atlanta ishot-4
 

 

 

M.J.  from   C.J.

 

MJ

Click the photo above.......

   

 

 

 

Email: worldpeace@rememberingheroes.org

 

 


Latest News

JENA 6  On the Move

 
 
 
2007 A C.J.A.S Activity