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:
The t-shirt of LaTara Hart, cousin of Carwin Jones and
Robert Bailey, two of the Jena Six.
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.
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.
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:
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