Please read the latest Jena Six post here.
If you don’t know about the Jena Six, read this first: The Jena 6: Since When Do Teenage Boys Watch Lonesome Dove?. Charges have been reduced for one of the Jena 6.
JENA, La. (AP) – Attempted murder and conspiracy charges against a black high school student accused in the December beating of a white student escalating racial tensions were reduced Monday to less serious charges that could mean far less time in prison if he is convicted.
Mychale Bell still faces trial Tuesday on charges stemming from the Dec. 4 beating. But instead of facing sentences totalling 80 years, he now faces maximum sentences totalling 22 years if convicted.
Bell was one of five black Jena High School students charged in the beating, which occurred about three months after three white students were suspended for hanging nooses from a school yard tree.
Another juvenile, whose identity and charges were not released because of his age, was also accused. They were dubbed the “Jena Six” by supporters who say the attempted murder charges resulted from racism by authorities and were far out of proportion to the seriousness of the crime.
However, charges being reduced doesn’t get anyone out of jail. And these charges ARE ridiculous. This was a high school fight, in which the student who was assaulted was brought to the ER and quickly released. Do I wish the fight hadn’t occurred? Certainly, along with everyone else. But let’s recall what led to the fight – here’s the summary by Friends of Justice, with my emphasis and notes in brackets.
• On Thursday, August 31, 2006, a small group of black students asked if they could sit under a tree on the traditionally white side of the Jena High School square. [They felt it necessary to ASK. What does that say?]
• The students were informed by the Vice Principal that they could sit wherever they pleased.
• The following day, September 1, 2006, three nooses were found hanging from the tree in question. Two of the nooses were black and one was gold: the Jena High School colors.
• On Tuesday night, September 5, 2006, a group of black parents convened at the L&A Missionary Baptist Church in Jena to discuss their response to what they considered a hate crime and an act of intimidation. [No laws were broken by hanging these nooses, nor should we have laws for motive instead of action. But it certainly fell under the school disciplinary category.]
• When black students staged an impromptu protest under the tree on Wednesday, September 6, 2006, a school assembly was hastily convened. Flanked by police officers, District Attorney Reed Walters warned black students that additional unrest would be treated as a criminal matter. According to multiple witnesses, Walters warned the black student protestors that, “I can make your lives disappear with a stroke of my pen.” This was widely interpreted as a reference to the filing of charges carrying a maximum sentence of life in prison. [An assembly basically convened to tell the black students to "simmah down, boy."]
• On Thursday, September 7th, police officers patrolled the halls of Jena High School and on Friday, September 8th, the school was placed on full lockdown. Most students, black and white, either stayed home, or were picked up by parents shortly after the lockdown was imposed. The Jena Times suggested that black parents were to blame for the unrest at the school because their September 5th gathering had attracted media attention. [What would you do if your child was threatened?]
• Principal Scott Windham recommended to an expulsion hearing committee that the three white boys responsible for hanging the nooses in the tree should be expelled from school. [Very wise.]
• On Thursday September 7, 2006, asserting that the noose were merely a silly prank inspired by a hanging scene in the television min-series ‘Lonesome Dove’, the committee opted for a few days of in-school suspension. The names of the three students were not released to the public for reasons of confidentiality. [Teenage boys watch MTV, not Hallmark channel mini-series. Give me a freaking break.]
• According to press accounts, on September 10, 2006, several dozen black parents attempted to address a meeting of the school board but were refused an opportunity to speak.
• At a second September meeting of the school board, September 18, 2006, a representative of the black families was allowed to give a five-minute statement, but school board refused to discuss the “noose issue” because the matter had been fully addressed and resolved.
• Although few major disciplinary issues emerged during the fall semester at Jena High School, there is strong evidence that several black male students remained unusually agitated throughout the semester and that disciplinary referrals on these students spiked sharply.
• On Thursday, November 30, 2006, the academic wing of the Jena High School was largely destroyed by a massive fire. Officials strongly suspect arson.
• Throughout the following weekend, Jena was engulfed by a wave of racially tinged violence.
• In one incident, a black student was assaulted by a white adult as he entered a predominantly white partly held at the Fair Barn (a large metal building reserved for social events). After being struck in the face without warning, the young black student was assaulted by white students wielding beer bottles and was punched and kicked before adults broke up the fight. It has been reported that the white assailant who threw the first punch was subsequently charged with simple battery (a misdemeanor), but there is no documentary evidence that anyone was charged.
• In a second major incident, a white high school graduate who had been involved in the assault the night before pulled a pump-action shotgun on three black high school students as they exited the Gotta-Go, a local convenience store. After a brief struggle for possession of the firearm, the black students exited the scene with the weapon. [According to Mother Jones, the black students were charged with aggravated battery and theft.]
• The Jena Times has reported that, in light of these racially-tinged incidents, several high school teachers begged school administrators to postpone the resumption of classes until the wave of hysteria had dissipated. This request was ignored and classes resumed the morning of Monday, December 4, 2006.
• Shortly after the lunch hour of Monday, December 4, 2006, a fight between a white student and a black student reportedly ended with the white student [Justin Barker, later arrested for having a rifle with 13 bullets in his truck in the school parking lot.] being knocked to the floor. Several black students reportedly attacked the white student as he lay unconscious. Because the incident took place in a crowded area and was over in a matter of seconds eye witness accounts vary widely. Written statements from students closest to the scene (in space and time) suggest that the incident was sparked by an angry exchange in the gymnasium moments before in which the black student assaulted at the Fair Barn was taunted for having his “ass whipped”.
• The victim of the attack is close friends of the boys who have admitted to hanging the nooses in September of 2006.
• Within an hour of the fight, six black students were arrested and charged with aggravated battery. [According to the Chicago Trib it was originally "attempted second-degree murder and other offenses, for which they could face a maximum of 100 years in prison if convicted."] According to The Jena Times, at least a dozen teachers subsequently threatened a “sick-out” if discipline was not restored to the school. According to the Alexandria Town Talk, District Attorney Reed Walters responded to the teacher’s threat by upping the charges on the six boys to attempted second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit second-degree murder—charges carrying a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Where was that swift justice for the student assaulted at the Fair Barn? Why was the man with the shotgun not arrested but the students he threatened at gunpoint charged? Those events occurred long before Jena D.A. Reed Walters wrote in the Jena Times,
“I will not tolerate this type of behavior,” Walters wrote. “To those who act in this manner, I tell you that you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and with the harshest crimes that the facts justify. When you are convicted, I will seek the maximum penalty allowed by law. I will see to it that you never again menace the students at any school in this parish.”
The white boy who threw the first punch at the black student [Robert Bailey Jr.] at the Fair Barn was charged with simple battery – others who took part in the beating were not charged at all. The white adult (a Jena high school graduate) who threatened three black Jena students with a shotgun was not charged with a crime. Evidently behavior worse than high school students beating another high school student is, in fact, tolerable and not prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, because the Fair Barn beating was a mirror incident to the Jena High School beating. There’s no comparison to the shotgun threat – unless you count the noose threat, also by whites against blacks. And make no mistake – it was a threat. This is the south, and anyone from here understands the symbolism of a noose. In this circumstance, it was unmistakable.
Now two of these kids [Mychale Bell and Theodore Shaw] have sat in jail (due to the lack of a $90,000 bond – $90k for a high school fight!!) since December 4th. So far, nearly seven months in jail for a high school fight. The charges have been reduced to aggravated assault, instead of attempted 2nd degree murder. This is the game they’re playing in Jena – set the bond ridiculously high to keep them in jail, and keep delaying the trial. If the case is dismissed tomorrow, they’ve still spent more than six months in jail for a high school fight. They were not able to graduate. One of the students, Carwin Jones, is a promising athlete who had college scholarships waiting for him. The scholarships are now withdrawn. The kids’ lawyers have been asking for a speedy trial, which they have the right to. But the prosecutor just can’t seem to get his witnesses together… in this tiny little town of about 3,000 people, where folks know each other. Convenient, that. The students should have been expelled for fighting. There’s no excuse for it, even though they were sorely provoked. But six months – so far – in jail for a high school fight in which no one was seriously hurt is a disgrace. The discrepancy between how the whites were treated and how the blacks were treated is painfully obvious.
As the expression goes, just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean someone isn’t out to get you. The stopped clocks of the ACLU, Mother Jones, a Daily Kos diarist, Pravda and Al Sharpton may still be right twice a day, and this is one of those times.
At this point – since they’re not going to get the nearly seven months back, and the scholarships may also be gone forever, as will their reputations, I’m rooting for the Jena Six, or at minimum the two who have spent half a year in jail, to end up with a whopping big settlement that all but bankrupts the town of Jena.
Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, The Virtuous Republic, Perri Nelson’s Website, Azamatteroprinciple, Big Dog’s Weblog, Right Truth, DragonLady’s World, Stuck On Stupid, Leaning Straight Up, The Amboy Times, , Rightlinx, third world county, Wake Up America, Nuke’s news and views, Pirate’s Cove, The Pink Flamingo, Dumb Ox Daily News, Right Voices, Right Pundits, Committees of Correspondence, DeMediacratic Nation, Maggie’s Notebook, , Webloggin, The Bullwinkle Blog, Conservative Cat, The World According to Carl, Blue Star Chronicles, Gulf Coast Hurricane Tracker, High Desert Wanderer, and The Yankee Sailor, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
I’ll have to read up on Jenna-6, I don’t think I’ve heard about it.
Thanks for the link as always, I’ll return the favor.
Screw you and your partisiam opinions. I don’t care what color the boys are…they still committed a violent crime and need to go to jail. End of story. Black, white, Asian…who cares? Nobody is over the judicial system. The nooses have nothing to do with the crime at hand…yes, the may have provoked it, but are no reason these boys shouldn’t be prosecuted. And newsflash: country kids don’t watch MTV, they actually do watch Lonesome Dove. I’ve seen it..and I’m 21 years old and from Jena. You got a problem with the type of entertainment people in Jena choose? Now you’re insulting OUR lifestyle. Get your shit straight.
They have nothing to do with the crime at hand – other than provoking it. Niiiice. Okay, what do you think should be done to Justin Barker for having a rifle on campus, or to the white guy who pulled a shotgun on the black students, or the white kids who beat the black kid at the Fair Barn? Are you ready for them to be charged with felonies/federal crimes?
Added: And incidentally, I’ve lived in the country and still have plenty of family in the country. They have cable and the kids watch MTV.
I’m from Jena. It’s very sad how the media has created a frenzy over this incident, riding on the coattails of racism. People in Jena are going about their daily lives as we speak, as if little is going on. There aren’t white folks lined up on one side of the line and black folks lined up on the other. This town has its racist issues, like MANY towns in this area of the country. Most people in this town have friends across racial boundaries. Yes, there are some very racist people around, on BOTH sides of the fence. Some black citizens are as racist as some white citizens. Being from this town, I have several clarifications that need to be made that will paint a more vivid, less media-hungry picture:
1.) Today, the prosecution had up to 20 witnesses, many witnessed one of the defendants coming up from behind Michael Barker and punching him in the back of the head, rendering him unconscious. The others proceeded to kick and stomp him while he was unconscious. One of the teachers that arrived at the scene thought he might be dead because his eyes were rolled to the back of his head. Black or white, this TRANSCENDS a typical “schoolhouse fight.” These 6 guys attacked and put a student in the hospital. I DO believe attempted murder is taking it too far. But they do deserve some punishment for what they did. Just because this guy was a friend of some of the students that hung the nooses didn’t give the others a right to resort to violence. By the way, for the Mychale Bell trial, not one person showed up as a witness in his defense.
2.) Despite the media frenzy, Jena is not a bad town to live in. Like mentioned before, business is going on as usual here. I saw a black man that I went to school with today and we both waved at each other and smiled. Most people in this town have friends (even close friends) across racial boundaries.
3.) The media is pretending as if these 6 students were model citizens just trying to stick up for their right to be in a fair society. Most of these 6 have been in trouble several times with the school and the law. These aren’t straight A students whose lives have been ruined by a town of racist white people. Unfortunately one student had a football scholarship for college. It’s sad that this happened to him. But shouldn’t people be responsible for their own actions? He should have considered his future before doing what he did.
4.) The guys that hung those nooses deserve to be punished. Their actions were clearly wrong. But the actions that followed took a much more violent path. Over the next several months after this happened…there was several black kids (possibly the ones in trouble here) who were going around town trying to pick fights with white teenagers who were country-acting. Matter of fact, this was the case when the guy pulled the gun on the black guys. There were several of them about to start a fight. This is why he pulled out the gun. Whether or not you agree with his actions (pulling the gun), he was still trying to protect himself from getting in a fight with 4 or 5 people. The black student that got beat up by the white student was ONE of the guys that tried to “jump” that guy that night. The media portrays the gun incident as if they were going about their daily business when this white guy suddenly whips out a gun and aims it at them. That wasn’t the case. The town has been uneasy about this situation for several months and he felt a need to protect himself when 4 or 5 guys are approaching him with questionable intentions.
5.) The comment saying “Teenage boys watch MTV, not Lonesome Dove.” I agree with the person above. This article doesn’t understand the culture we live in down here in the south. Teenagers listen to ’70′s country and older rock; they watch older movies; and most people (including teenagers) have watched Lonesome Dove. So think twice before you assume that every teenager is like the ones YOU are familiar with.
6.) This article also doesn’t mention something else: many of the white females at Jena High School were complaining about this particular group of black guys who were being overly flirtatious w/ them (pinching their butts). These black guys sat under this tree to get close to the girls so they could flirt with them some more.
7.) I’m sure this article makes it sounds like the school is racially segregated, where whites are on one side and blacks are on another. The recess area IS segregated, but only by choice. Some white students talk to the black students and vice versa. No trouble ever occurs unless somebody starts trying to cause it. It’s strange how no one says anything about New York, where every ethnicity has it’s own part of town (SEGREGATED), but for this small town’s high school to be segregated, it is racist and unjust.
I now realize the harsh realities of the American media. Take a story and put the spin on it that makes people feel passionate (even angry) about something. Racism is a sensitive issue and should be treated like it. This town is NOT the way the media has portrayed it, and most of the actions these articles and stories mention that the white people do in this town have a horrible bias.
In closing, racism is alive and well in this town, but across both sides of the train tracks. These series of events were provoked by both sides. Both were at fault, and all who have broken the law should be punished. End of story.
[Added by Laura - I responded to this comment in a post: Jena 6: Response to Jena Commenter]
If F.O.J. would print both sides of the story instead of trying to twist one side to much I thinks things would be better…..
I agree, John. They have an agenda of their own and I don’t agree with every item on it. However, I think they are “more” right than the D.A. is in this case.
In response to me and jena person let me start off by saying that I have family there and had the opportunity of visiting every other summer as a child growing up and lived there for almost a year. I’m 36 years old and I can say that Jena is the most racist places that I have ever been. I have been in some and the difference between them and Jena is that at least they attempt to diguise their racistness, Jena is out in the open with hers. All of the black people stay in two parts of the town, and those parts are not even considered Jena, but Goodpine and 10th Ward. Two (2) black families live in Jena and they just moved there less than six years ago. Black people were not allowed to live in Jena only outside of it. Yeah Jena is a good place to live as long you know if you are black you have a role in this town. That role is to keep your mouth shut and do what Mr Charlie tell ya. As long as you stay in your place you’ll do fine in Jena. Robert got out of place when he went to that party and they beat him to put him back in his place. You hate to say this in the year 2007 but he shouldn’t have took his tail to that party whether he was invited or not. None of the other few black kids that were invited went, they had better sense. It’s sad to say that in this 21st century but thats the way it is in Jena 50 years in the past. It will stay like that until the black residents of Jena get fed up enough and decide to stop being a bunch of Uncle Tom’s and actually do something about their sorry, miserible plight in life in the ‘lovely town of Jena’.
To Laura: To your question as to what should be done to Barker about having his gun in his truck? He should be punished too. He committed a crime, and should pay the price for it. I don’t disagree on this. But this has NOTHING to do with the trial at hand. It happened after the fight, therefore the boys that beat him up had no clue he had a gun when they beat him to a pulp. What should happen to the kids that beat up the boy at the fair barn? They should be punished too, if the boy who was beat up presses charges (which, might I add, has NOT pressed charges as far as I know…Barker and his family did.) As far as an opinion on what happened at the gas station, I’ll choose not to comment on that. I’ve heard many different versions of that story, a few in which the boys who had a gun pulled on them were armed too. But my point is that I’m a firm believer in the justice system, and when people commit a crime, they should be punished, no matter who they are. Nobody is above the judicial system. I would also like to add that Justin Barker may not have been near the brink of death because of his injuries, but this is mainly because the fight was broken up by school faculty before it went any further. Do you really think that the boys who obvioulsy wanted to cause harm to him would have stopped after he had sustained only those injuries? Please, they would have kept going. I really don’t care what color they are. If you flip the situation around and had 6 white boys beating a black boy, I would hope they receive the same charges too. And you know just as well as I do that the parents of the Jena 6 would want a group of boys to be sent to jail if it had been their son in Barker’s shoes. By the way…my mistake…country kids do watch MTV…but they also watch Lonesome Dove. My point in that comment (which I mistakenly did not make clear) was for you not to generalize a whole group of people.
Also, by my comment about the nooses in the tree, I meant that these boys being offended by this action does not justify what they did on that day at all. I’m sorry they were offended, the nooses should have never been there, but it’s illegal to take the law into your own hands, and that’s exactly what they tried to do. We all can’t try to inflict harm upon someone else when we’re offended by someone else’s stupid actions. Especially upon someone who had nothing to do with what we were offended by (EX: Justin Barker and the nooses).
And for your closing comment on your blog above: thanks for wishing bankruptcy on a town full of good people. Have you ever been to Jena? Probably not. The media and people like you have portrayed us to be a big bunch of racist bigots, when that is completely not true. We’re good people. Hardworking people. Christian people. Jena is not a terrible place. And if you lived here, you would see that too. I am not a racist, and I cannot speak for all that live in Jena (because yes, there are racist people here), but there are many non-racist people here too. I no longer reside permanently in Jena because I am in college elsewhere, but I see no greater racism problem in Jena than I see anywhere else in the south.
Me: YES, I absolutely do believe the Jena Six would have stopped. Do you really think they would have deliberately killed him in front of a crowd? I don’t. Plus, the witnesses who said they were “stomping and kicking as hard as they could” are either mistaken (which eyewitnesses are notorious for) or lying. We’re talking about football players; athletes. Look at this video, about halfway through, for a glimpse of Barker’s hospital discharge papers. NO WAY is that consistent with “stomping and kicking as hard as they could.”
I can appreciate what you’re saying about vigilantism, but that’s really not how this played out. The black community tried to work within the system. A peaceful protest led to the students being threatened by the D.A. They were blocked from complaining about the too-light punishment of the noose boys except for an eventual five minute statement by one spokesman. Various undescribed school discipline infractions occurred over the next six weeks, until the school was burned on 11/30. I’m assuming that a black person did that in protest against the whites, although no evidence has been presented about the fire. In any event, it was the next major escalation, but obviously not directed against an individual person like the attack on Barker.
The next thing that happened was Robert Bailey being attacked at the Fair Barn by a group of whites. Next, one of those whites pulled the shotgun. Finally, back at school, after “an extended trash-talking session” in the gym where Bailey was taunted for having his ass whipped, Justin Barker was jumped and beaten. While Barker as far as I’ve ever heard had nothing to do with the nooses other than being friends with the boys who hung them, he certainly seems to have taken part in this whole saga. Nothing makes beating him right or appropriate, and I do think the Jena Six should have been punished in some way. Just not with these inequitable charges, followed by almost seven months in jail, for a high school fight. This wasn’t vigilantism, it was a violent temper tantrum. Lots of high school kids resort to violence. Poor impulse control is typical of people that age. Most of the time the punishment is appropriate to the crime and they are given the chance to mature and lead normal lives.
It’s not up to Bailey to press charges for the Fair Barn beating. The state does that, and calls Bailey as a witness. This is a decision made by the D.A. Factors that influence whether the state presses charges include the amount of evidence and the cooperation of the victim, but the decision is not the victim’s to make.
And yes, wishing bankruptcy on the entire town is over the top. I retract that. But good grief, why don’t they step up and stop this thing!
Thanks to both sides for posting your comments. I saw the story earlier today on CNN and I cannot believe we are still dealing with this type of ignorance in 2007. I was looking for more information on the story so I could read as many point of views as possible and I found this site.
I agree that the Jena 6 should be punished, but so should everybody else who broke the law as well as school rules. Justin Barber should be cited for having a firearm on school grounds. Where I am from, Justin would have been sent to an “alternative school” if he had been caught with a weapon on school grounds because my local schools have a zero tolerance policy in place. The dumbass 3 who hung nooses from the tree would have been sent to alternative school too. And what about these hoodlums? Are they being shunned publicly? Can they be charged with inciting a riot? Reckless disregard? They started this whole ugly affair and they should be held accountable socially if not criminally.
It always amazes me when white people minimize the meaning of nooses and burning crosses. White people created these symbols of violence against black people. How should I take it if you hang a noose outside of my door given the historical precedent that has been set? Thats just like saying that you are just joking when you point a gun at somebody.
The symbol of hanging a noose in our sorted historical past has had the same affect as aiming a gun at someone…..people have ended up dead. Yes, I have seen Lonesome Dove, both the mini series and the television series. I listen to 70′s classic rock too. The historical precedent of the noose supercedes popular culture in my opinion. Now, the dumbass 3 who hung the noose may have been referencing something they saw in pop culture, but they are still culpable for what happened because they caused the offense and thats bottom line. Just because something is not offensive to you does not mean that its not offensive.
The town should have been outraged by the actions of the Dumbass 3. The white and black citizens should have held rallies to show that they don’t put up with that kind of crap. Did this happen? If it didn’t then its a shame that good people did not stand up for the right thing in the first place.
Lastly, just because racism is everywhere does not mean its right. We don’t stop fighting crime just because its everywhere so why should we stop calling out racism when we see it or if we think people are being treated unfair?
I agree the people who beat Justin Barker should be punished – and there’s some dispute about who did what; it may be that not every one of the “Jena Six” is guilty. But I say punish them in proportion to what happened. Punish them in proportion to what whites received for the same office. I agree the town – white and black alike – should have been outraged and protesting. The church community did try to do that:
Jena Person,
Your narrative of the events in Jena is a ridiculous twist on stereotypes and fantasies. Not every Black man lusts after white women. Get over yourself.
I can’t speak for Jena Person, but his comments on this particular group of boys and their sexual advances is correct. I was in school with these boys 2 years ago and they were notorious for this then. If I can recall correctly, they even causes trouble for a staff member in this sense. I promise you, these boys are not innocent victims in this. They even cause trouble for members of the black community from what I have heard, by stealing from good people within that community. They are troublemakers…and don’t try to think that I’m trying to justify the actions of the boys who humg the nooses or other whites involved in this situation. They’re not model citizens themselves. I just think we’re all too wrapped up in pointing fingers at everybody else that has done wrong in this situation to actually see what happened during that particualar incident day.
And Laura, seriously, you’re lying to yourself if you think those boys would have stopped beating Barker about the same time the brawl was broken up. If that’s all they wanted to do to him, they wouldn’t have had such a well planned out ordeal that day. Gimme a break, no large group of kids jumps on another just to barely hurt him. I assure you, their intentions were less than innocent that day, and though they probably weren’t trying to kill him, they surely were trying to injure him worse that they had the chance to. I went to school with these boys for 2 years. One of them tried to date a girl that I know. They’re trouble, I promise. And honestly, do you really think that all the witnesses were wrong? Please, I understand that witnesses are often mistaken, but thats the evidence that the prosecution has to go on. You, me, or anybody else that was not there that day has no clue as to what happened. Those people are the only ones who saw it…and you can’t just throw out what they say they saw because it MIGHT be wrong. That’s absurd.
Andrew, Jena person said “This article also doesn’t mention something else: many of the white females at Jena High School were complaining about this particular group of black guys who were being overly flirtatious w/ them (pinching their butts). These black guys sat under this tree to get close to the girls so they could flirt with them some more.” …
Then you say “Not every black man lusts after white women”….
Clearly neither of your statements imply the falsity of the other. Of course your statement is correct. But it has nothing to do with what she said, which was that girls were complaining about a particular group of guys. The fact that you read that yet still came out with the idea that she thinks “every black man lusts after white women” is ridiculous.
The real trial here isn’t whether or not someone had the crap beaten out of them. No, the real crime here is racism. If the victim was potentially a “racist”, then all charges must be dropped and the victim should be put on trial. The physical attack must be forgotten about and we must focus on the thought crime of the victim. Put the victim in jail. Same thing with the OJ Simpson trial. The real trial wasn’t whether or not OJ killed the 2 victims. The real trial was whether or not Mark Fuhrman was a racist and if he was a racist, the whole trial is voided. Same thing here with the Jenna 6 trial. Racism is on trial, not a beating.
Me: Actually, I’ve never contended the Jena Six are innocent victims or that all of this sprung out of a battle for civil rights. In my opinion, they – like most teenagers – have poor impulse control and they lost their tempers when sorely provoked. I’ve said repeatedly that they should be punished for the fight.
As to “well planned out” there has been exactly zero evidence that anything was planned. Certainly Walters included nothing like that in his prosecution. On the contrary, the beating occurred after a “trash talking session” in the gym where Bailey was taunted for having his ass whipped by a group of whites. Who have not been prosecuted for it, unlike the Jena Six. It’s the inequity of all this that makes me so angry.
You say “all of the witnesses” – haven’t you read summaries of their testimony and how conflicted it was? And the attempt at dating some girl you know – I’m sorry, I’m just not understanding the issue here. How again is that relevant, a crime, or offensive in any way?
Steve, I hope you’re being sarcastic. Of course racism isn’t on trial. It’s not a crime, nor should it be. The whole concept of punishing someone for what they think as opposed to what they actually do is offensive. I absolutely do not approve of the fact that Justin Barker was beaten. But I don’t have to approve of it to say that the charges are WAY out of proportion to the crime, AND to take note of the fact that whites guilty of the same offense were not even charged, except one who got a misdemeanor charge of simple battery.
I walk by faith and not by sight.. I am Bryant Purvis’s brother and I serve GOD almighty. I have surrendered my prayers to the one that matter!
For all those who are incredulous to seeing racism in 2007, I have to just sit back and smile. Actually I have to ask, are you serious? We’re talking about a country that was founded on one of it’s main principles being racism (unwritten, of course). “Freedom for all mankind (smallprint: but I buy a group of people from their land and enslave them or better yet, I actually rob and wipe out an entire group of people). Oh I understand how it would be hard for people to visualize racism without the chains, segregated facilities, or people hanging by ropes, but it’s there. It’s called institutionalize racism and it’s a lot scarier than the small town of Jena and these occurances. It’s an entire system of hatred that aims at keeping specific ethnic groups oppressed throught incarceration, unemployment, ecomic deprivation, and the list goes on. Because it’s systematic, it’s not physically visible so it forces the people to beleive it doesn’t exist.
So why is Jena getting hit so hard? Well you’ve done it. You’ve managed to bring up people’s perception of what racism is and gave a clear visual reference to a time we thought was only history. With the nooses, the protests, racially motivated flights, and even school fires. Now the world and American can see it and they remember. They equate the occurences in Jena with slaves, Jim Crow, and a time where black did not have rights in this country.
I don’t blame the whole town of Jena just like I don’t think all white people are racist, but I do beleive in instutionalized racism which unfortunately is a plague in the small town of Jena.
The three were not punished for the nooses. Ok, fair enough, minor prank. I don’t agree with it, but as was stated earlier, they didn’t committ a real crime. What law in Jena forbids students from protesting injustice? Why were the organizers of the protest threatened with having their lives taken from them with the “stroke of a pen” by the D.A? He seems like he carries a lot of weight around there. You want to continue to talk about the law. Where was law and justice when Robert Bailey was assaulted? When did we start sending our students to jail for a fight? Seriously? Jail? Those guys lives are ruined! I’ll give the D.A. this much credit, he kept his promise. He managed to ruin those young men’s lives.
Yes, the 6 guys should be punished, the white guy at Fair Barn could be punished, Justin should be punished, and the noose hangers should be punished, but the punishment as extreme as 20-50 years in jail…well I guess you can be the judge. And guess what, for some strange reason the only people who really got hurt out of all this are well…the black people. Humm, that’s not odd. Well I guess we can add Robert to 50% of incarcerated black men instead of the 20% of college educated ones.
Jena if you want the world to stop criticizing, then you need to get your act together. Instead of defending “the great town of Jena” you need to prove that the people of that town are great by standing up for what is right. The Jena 6 do not deserve to be in jail, expelled yes, but not in jail. You be the judge.
Hello,
I am in Washington DC, a Communications Intern for Advancement Project.
This case is simply appalling.
I have recently written a blog on the Jena 6 which should be up on the Advancement Project website come early next week. I walked away from work yesterday feeling sick. I sorted through so many photos of lynching and burnings from Jena that stayed with me and just couldnt shake off a feeling of disgust and sickness of what is unfolding in Jena today.
I feel like I have stepped back in time.
The events blew me away. I am also suprised by the lack of domestic media coverage on this story.
WHERE IS OUR MEDIA?
Although the BBC did a expose, where is the outcry on US media outlets? I am proud to be a blogger right now- it seems much of the media hits for Jena 6 are from people taking this into their own hands and spreading the word.
I am still trying to find the best way to get involved. I have called NBC and the ACLU and emailed The Jena 6 Defense Committee. I want to be as active as I can in this critical moment in Civil Rights and American history. If anyone klnows of any good organizations that are taking volunteers, let us know. I am going to take this as far as I can. I am planning on flying to Jena for the trial. I feel too sickened by these injustices to let this play out. The LAACLU does not have a link on their splash page to the Jena 6 case the last time I checked. I have emailed them and am awaiting response.
From my research I found some helpful links:
Get Involved:
An Excellent Timeline of Events for Reference:
http://friendsofjustice.files.wordpress.com/2007/06/responding_to_the_crisis_in_jena1.doc
Sign this Online Petition
http://www.petitiononline.com/aZ51CqmR/petition.html
The Jena 6 Defense Committee
PO Box 2798, Jena, LA 71342
jena6defense@gmail.com
Friends of Justice
507 North Donley Avenue
Tulia, TX 79088
http://www.fojtulia.org
ACLU of Louisiana
PO Box 56157
New Orleans, LA 70156
http://www.laaclu.org
417.350.0536.
BBC Article
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/this_world/6685441.stm
Jeep Spreading the Word!
Our Civil Rights is not Over Yet!
-Clare Bakota
Advancement Project
Your comment is awaiting moderation.
Greetings, Children of the Creator
of ALL things great and small,
Sadly, violence is a direct inheritance from
being “human”. MEN have perpetuated it all over the world, much to the detriment of women, children, and the enviornment.
Here is the ghost of our history right in our faces once again. For many millinea humans have found irrational reasons to victimize one another. I would like to direct everyone’s attention to a very stark, vivid and upsetting book.
The name of this book is “Without Sanctuary”.
This book is a collection of photographs which depict the history of lynching in the
United States of America. After viewing the web site, or the actual book, I want each and everyone of you to imagine yourself, or someone you love having been killed in this terrible grisly way. Lynching, or any semblance that represents this heinous practice is unacceptable, and to say it is not a “real crime” to make nooses to send a message to Black Youth is far from being a prank. Young self proclaimed “skin heads” were charged in several instances when thier vandalizing and symbology came in the form of a swastica that was used to frighten and intimidate Jewish people. That symbol means alot more to Jews than to Germans when it comes to intimidation and agression, which is always accompanied by murder. Lynching is something that strikes fear and rage in African people for a reason. We were and still are the intended victims, be it real or a so called “joke”. The disparity in the way the violence was responded to by the “authorities” between the white and black youth in these incidents is obvious and sharply biased. The D.A. has lost his mind. Even the reduced sentances are unacceptable. He should be personally sued by the family of the boy who lost his scholarship behind being jailed over what should have been dealt with as a school problem. If the black youth are expelled, then so should those who performed the hate crime by placing the nooses in the tree.
These young men have already paid a dear price in freedom and opportunity. They should all be released immediately with time served (over served!).
I feel that a direct intervention by qualified organizations to force a revision of this case in in order. Jena, you should be the ones at the forefront. It’s your town, so help correct these behaviours in a way that is beneficial rather than detrimental.
Side note, the only non immigrants in this country are NATIVE Americans. We are the only group who were forced here against our will. Our gruelling history in this country deserves some alleiviation, especially after having endured it for so very long!!!
Love is Lovely, and Ignorance is UGLY,
and GOD DON”T LIKE UGLY!!!
One Heart
Racism is no longer an opinion….it is an institution…it is the mechanism that PUT these black teenagers behind bars as well as KEEPS them behind bars. After the fact, yes…these kids were wrong for what they did. However, forget the reasons, yes….the noose and EVERYTHING….lets look at their trial..their right to due process….EMBEDDED with racism. Jena is a horrible town, and if white people choose not to own up to the problem that racism truly is…Just think, these 6 black kids got tired of it….imagine when the whole population does. I dont care bout criminal records of the kids, it is OBVIOUS that the D.A. had a racial bias and imposed that on this trial…and not just to him, all high ranking authorities in the town do. Last thing you want is to stir up the black community…it is the STRONGEST, UNITED, AND YES…THE MOST BEAUTIFUL COMMUNITY IN THE WORLD…..and when this story really comes to light and hits home….u will see
Truth…. May I ask you a question? What do you think should happen to these boys for their actions? Do you think that they should be set free because they feel like they have been discriminated against??!? My opinion: hell no. Everyone in the wrong in this situation should be sent to jail. This is rediculous. Forget racial stuff…just talking about this makes me sick…and only makes the situation worse. The fact is that these boys beat up another boy for NO REASON. This boy had nothing to do with anything that may have offended these African American students.. and they just choose to beat him up. How is THAT not racist. I don’t hate black people, I have black friends….all I’m saying is that I’m sick of people, black and white, turning this into a racial situation when it can be simplified down into one thing: an attack on another human….”not black, not white…human”. Haven’t we all heard that before? I believe it…but do you?
The people in this town should be ashamed to called themselves American. History is repeating itself here! I’ve never heard of such a ridiculous thing as a tree that can only be accessed by white students! Have your brains got to shit or what? As for the school burning,, too bad it didnt burn down. It certainly is not a place of higher education but a grounds to breed racism. I guess this is the result of poor white folks trying to rule their corner of the world. It surely wouldnt fly up here in Washington state.
Hello,
we are a group of filmmakers in Philadelphia producing a weekly newsshow. Our latest episode is about the Jena 6 and can be viewed at http://www.collateral.blip.tv
If you find the show worthy and believe spreading it might help the Jena 6 please do so (we do not belong to a newsnetwork nor do we make any money with our show).
If you go to http://www.collateral.blip.tv after coming Monday you have to click on the show dated 07.09.07
[Update from Laura - the show was very well done - watch it here in the latest Jena 6 post.]
I first learned about the Jena 6 last week, while listening to a local free speech radio station, KPFA The program is Democracy Now with Amy Goodman. Here is the link that will take you directly to the program, which was on July 10th. Regardless of blame, fault, etc., we, the public, will never know what actually happened in each incident, because we were not eyewitnesses, BUT the punishment does not fit the crime. This type of unfair treatment is happening all over the United States. They have to fill these prisons that they are spending money to build. As you know, it is an industry and keeps people employed.
http://kpfa.org/archives/index.php?arch=21169
b. wallace, thanks for your comment. I linked to that same program in another post, I thought that it was very good. I agree with you that we’ll never know exactly what happened, not having been there, but I have to disagree when you suggest that people are being deliberately incarcerated for money. That makes no economic sense whatsoever because crime and incarceration are actually very expensive. It also disregards the fact that thousands of actual crimes are committed every single day. While I’m perfectly willing to accept the idea that there are unfair prosecutions on a regular basis – lately the much publicized Duke rape/Nifong incident, for example, and that few of them are reported, I simply do not believe that the majority or even a sizeable plurality of those convicted of crimes are either not guilty or are over-sentenced simply to keep other people employed.
this whole case is a testament of the deep-seeded racism that exist today among some white people…it’s absolutely sickening! I stumbled upon your blog while looking for more information on the Jena 6 after hearing one of the mothers on XM RAdio’s black talk station-”The Power.” I appreciate the summary and forum that you have created. For the Jena resident who mentioned “racial boundaries”….you sound like a racist yourself! I feel sorry for the blacks who haven’t had the means or will-power to leave your sad town. I am a black physician in Maryland and will be encouraging ALL of my peers to support (financially and otherwise) the Jena 6! Thank you, too, to the gentleman with the collateral TV spot.
kia, as a physician, do you have any comments on Justin Barker’s discharge papers, displayed in this video, and the extent of his injuries?
I am just now hearing about this incident. And I agree that it is disturbing that this incident hasn’t and isn’t getting more media attention! This charges are just ridiculous and the prosecuting attorney should be stripped of his license to practice law for having these boys indicted on such crazy and outrageous charges. Hopefully, the Supreme Court will step in and rectify the situation. There is always going to be people that try to downplay racism or act as though those offended are just blowing things out of proportion, but all the arguing in the world with these types of people will not change anything. Those who are truly against racism need to make a point to everyday in their life combat this with the hopes that once the ignorant racist people in society die off we can finally have a society where people can actually appreciate each other’s differences.
Racism in Jena Louisiana
Listen to my interview with Alan Bean, an activist who was in the courtroom during the trial
http://www.letstalkhonestly.com/raceinamerica.html
On June 28 2007 a young black defendant Mychal Bell was found guilty of aggravated assault against a young white man by an all white jury despite conflicting testimony from witnesses. Alan Bean talks about the things below:
The weekend before the assault took place nooses were hung on a tree.
The Prosecutor threatened black students about protesting the nooses
A black man was assaulted, no charges were brought up.
During the trial the public defender put up no defense after the prosecution rested it’s case.
Listen to the interview and read about the case hear: http://www.letstalkhonestly.com/raceinamerica.html
this is to “me”. You’re saying that you KNOW that these kids molested white girls (that is what ur saying correct?) and that you went to school with them for 2 years,so does that makes you an expert about these children? no, it doesnt. You may “think” you “know” what these kids did but you werent there so how the hell could you? It is a race issue and you saying that putting up the nooses wasn’t a crime… wtf? it was a hate crime and you know it! Dont give me: there is no law against putting up nooses :”A hate crime (bias crime), loosely defined, is a crime committed because of the perpetrator’s prejudices. This is a controversial political issue within the US. The US Congress (HR 4797 – 1992) defined a hate crime as: “[a crime in which] the defendant’s conduct was motivated by hatred, bias, or prejudice, based on the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or gender identity of another individual or group of individuals…” still think there is no law? The students were supposedly trying to “protect” their white girls from those black guys… race wasn’t an issue? it was and its ignorant of you to say otherwise….
and you cant throw out what they say because it MIGHT be wrong? YES YOU CAN! thats called reasonable doubt! something that this case was full of….. conflicting testimony means that someone or all of them were committing perjury (another crime)….. the DA didn’t do his job…. please think before you post please (not to sound mean but you have to realize that some of the stuff you wrote was stupid)
To Jena Person:
posted by#
minty
July 1st, 2007 at 5:22 pm
4
“
Couldn’t have said it better myself…
and i have to amend my earlier comment “me” because you didn’t say “for 2 years” you said “2 years AGO which makes your entire statement even more worthless…
One of the biggest problems in this country is that despite the fact that racism, bigotry, and prejudice are still viruses that infect our culture, so many people are opposed to discuss it. When an incident like this happens, sooo many people cry “leave race out of this”, “oh, they’re playing the race card”, “we don’t want to discuss the issue if racism is part of the discussion.” It’s interesting that so many people (including those “with black friends”) deny that racism exists in this country, and yet don’t understand that the very denial of racism is racist.
It’s no less tragic than the people that deny the Holocaust ever happened. Just because you say it doesn’t exist doesn’t make it true. Just because you say hanging nooses from a tree was a harmless prank doesn’t make it harmless. Just because you think the “justice” system is color blind doesn’t mean it is.
Every time African-American speak of discrimination or unfair treatment, some cries “oh they are playing the race card.” Well, in case you didn’t know, the race card is in the deck (and it was not African-Americans who created the deck). If the race card is dealt, then the race card will hit the table. Just because you have blinded yourself to what institutional racism is, and choose not to recognize it, doesn’t mean that it isn’t there.
Just because the emperor thinks he’s wearing finery doesn’t cause the rest of us to see it. Naked is naked no matter what the emperor believes. Racism is racism whether you want to acknowledge or not.
This country will never be whole and healed until it atones for sin of slavery, the ramifications of racism, and comes to understand that all our problems are not solved just because people want to declare that they are gone.
Please give a practical example of just how we might atone for the sin of slavery. Seriously. I’m interested in your view on this.
Nate, I never said they molested anyone, thank you. You read entirely too far into something to find the racist part in it. No, those fcuking nooses were not a hate crime, they were a prank. And I never said anything about protection of anyone else. I never claimed to be an expert at this, or even personally know the boys, but I do know a little about the character of the accused in this situation, and you obviously do not. I don’t claim to know what happened that day either. Stop trying to read into what I said and make me look stupid. May I ask you a question? What would the difference be in there were 6 white kids beating a black kid? Civil rights advocates everywhere would be screaming to lock those boys up forever and you know it. I’m sorry that the nooses offended the blacks, they should have never been there, and that has been established. But the fact that these 6 boys were offended by nooses in trees in no way justifies what they did that day to Barker. Most of your comments in your post were completely wrong regarding what I said, you’re the one who looks stupid in my eyes. I’m not arguing here anymore, you people only like to point at racism, which I agree is a problem, but cannot justify the fact that 6 boys attacked another boy.
How could this country atone for slavery? One way to start is to first acknowledge that it was not only the south that benefitted. Northern companies benefitted from the exporting of cotton. Insurance companies benefitted from payments to cover property losses (that property included slaves). Anywhere business prospers, the states and their people prosper.
If we could acknowledge that the country as a whole benefitted from slavery, then perhaps the conversation doesn’t have to be centered around the evil south, and instead could be discussed by the nation as a whole entity.
In that discussion, we should included the fact that the ramifications of slavery, racism, bigotry, prejudice, segregation, and Jim Crow laws did not end in the 60s. There are still cultural, legal, financial, educational, psychological vestiges that must be addressed and remedied. The way in which wealth was accumulated, invested, and passed down from one generation to the next stem from opportunities that were restricted to only a few. So given that, how could we say that we are all now on an even playing field, when advantages from the past are handed down.
If property and wealth are gained through the enforced captivity and labor of slaves, and that property and wealth are handed down one generation to the next, how can the descendants of the slaves be on equal ground with the descendants of the slave holders?
Atonement must start with acknowledgement. People in this time in our history are fond of saying “I had nothing to do with slavery”, “My family were not slave owners”, so why is this my debt – my problem — collectively it is the debt and problem of this nation that benefitted from the work of our African-American ancestors.
Even those immigrants who came after slavery benefitted from a system of things that was in place in no small part to the wealth this nation built on the backs of African slaves.
Firstly “me” molest is a verb which means:
1. to bother, interfere with, or annoy.
2. to make indecent sexual advances to.
3. to assault sexually.
The bolded 2 are the ones that i am referring to and that IS EXACTLY what you are saying! And a prank you say? Did you even read the definition of hate crime? re-read my post if you need a refresher. Using and example from my earlier post: if I had not liked jewish people it had been jews instead of blacks who sat under the tree and instead of putting up nooses I put up wooden swastikas or a huge mass of armbands with the symbol etched into them would it then be a hate crime or a prank? And obviously civil rights activists wouldn’t in Jena because that scenario already happened!! A black kid got the shit beat out of him by more than 6 people already…BEFORE THIS… Or haven’t you been reading up on the issue and are in here just spewing ignorance? I said that it was a reason why they did what they did: they jumped a kid and put him in the hospital just long enuff so that he could go out to party that day… They should be punished but the punishment is extreme and the School system that facilitated the racist spectacle should bear the brunt of it. And if people like yourself would simply accept that it is alive and that it did play a factor in this event and stop hiding behind some b/s like “we as a country have grown past all that” then maybe this wouldn’t have happened….
The way to atone for salvery is to participate in and actively teach antiracism and antislavery, and to stand in solidarity with the suffering and the poor.
Fin, what does “standing in solidarity with the suffering and the poor” actually mean? I can appreciate the value of rhetoric, but the rhetoric demands action – WHAT action? Be specific, otherwise it’s all sound and fury, signifying nothing.
Stella, thank you for your response. You’ve given me plenty to think about. I’m going to mull it over and probably post something in a few weeks, if you’re interested.
This absolutely appalling case has just come to my attention today. Its mind boggling how a major news show can do a segment on the “Barbie Bandits’ but never mention the Jena 6. I live in Atlanta and the evening news will report every fire, every water main break, every un-newsworthy mess going on in the Metro Atlanta area but, never anything that would make us doubt that we live in the “land of the free and home of the brave”.
Anytime you are forbidden to voice your opinion in a public forum or protest an obvious wrong, you are not truly free. It is extremely cowardice to use authority (the DA) to eliminate a threat a to your backwoods way of life. This is an abuse of power and needs to be dealt with as such. Classifying tennis shoes as weapons is a major stretch that should have been laughed out of court.
Whether or not the young men charged had problems in their past is not the issue. The issue for the DA and at least 50 other people (the jurors that found Mychal guilty) in Jena is that these young men we no longer willing to accept the status quo. They are no longer willing to accept the long overdue end of segregation and discrimination.
As for the nooses being a prank…that’s one the most self-serving things I have ever heard. There is no one in the U.S., who has been here more than 10 years (especially in the south) that doesn’t know what a “noose” infers. As a matter of fact, what does it say about the school and the community if the black kids even had to ask to sit under a tree on school property? It probably would never have gotten this far out of hand if the appropriate action had been taken when the nooses were first put in the tree. It’s scary the lack of insight involved in making the decision for the young men who hung the nooses to have a few days of in-house suspension. Anyone over the age of 21 (and quite a few under) should have been able to see the potential for things to escalate if the situation was dealt with appropriately.
One last thing: Be careful Jena, your “sheet” is showing.
Has any one ever wondered why it looks like the so-called “race” problem is actually a “Black” problem? Why other races can get alone well with the Whites? Perhaps the Blacks should do a good check on themselves.
You know, Alan, if you typed that and regretted it when you realized that the white hood slipped a little further than you liked, just comment again requesting it be deleted and I’ll take care of it. That’s a serious offer. Tell you what – just sit back, take a breather, and have a nice hot cup of STFU while you consider your next comment.
The truth is that there is all kinds of racism in this country, against all races, yes, even including whites. But racism against blacks is the one that is most common and most “socially acceptable.” Probably because when I was a baby, it was legal – we had whites-only water fountains, bathrooms, entrances to buildings and everything. Those laws were struck down and things have been gradually getting better, but the problem of racism that motivated those laws still exists. But then, that’s here and maybe things are different up in Ottawa. Maybe “your” blacks are different, and maybe they are wholly at fault for any race issues that exist. Or maybe not. Perhaps you Canadians should do a good check on yourselves. Just a thought…
It is my thought that you all are displaying ignorance–ignorance based on lack of…lack of knowledge; lack of intelligence; lack of understanding; lack of common sense; and especially lack of The United States Constitution. What you are displaying is the town of Jena, Louisiana’s own code of law which is based on the race color code meaning White-Black-Yellow-Tan ooooops I got it wrong it should be White-Yellow-Tan-Black. And remember children practise what they hear and learn from home and the friends they keep.
I just recently heard of the “Jena 6″ incident and I am not surprised that a small Louisiana town that creates, motivates and institutes racial boundaries reacts in this way. Racism is not only a African American problem it is a every race that is not white/Caucasian problem and racism is more openly discussed among the African American community. I know plenty of Chinese Americans, Latinos, Indians, Mexicans, Canadians, Germans, even British American citizens who laugh and ridicule the mentality especially when it comes to the southern small racist town thoughts and ways of life. These people have experienced racism themselves and they speak on it but they hit you Small town Southern racially biased white caucasians where it really hurts…in your pockets….we have taken your gas stations, we own your grocery stores, we buy your land, we own all of your McDonald’s, we also own your Burger Kings, we own your shopping malls and we marry your daughters.
Don’t Hate…..I’m Bi-racial–Asian/African American and White, just like Tiger Woods. And I laugh at the ignorance you people display too.
What is really the topic here with the Jena 6 is it actually a school fight among kids who attend the same high school—is it a fight over a tree that has been deemed and designated for white kids only on the so called white side of the high school–is it because some black kids went to and was assaulted by a white adult as he entered a predominantly white party held at the Fair Barn–is it because some white girls feel that some black boys are being overly flirtacious towards them–is it because a grown supposedly adult white male pulled a gun on a group of black kids they took the gun from him called the police and they were charged and he wasn’t he must be the town drunk–is it because the Jena, Louisiana African American community is sick and tired of being held hostage and told when, where, how high to jump, where they can/cannot go, who they can/cannot speak to and where they can/cannot live and how their kids can/should/will act or else the Jena, Louisiana DA will put them away with a stroke of his pen.
Sounds like the Jena, Louisiana African American community has let the Jena, Louisiana code of law go too far for too long—I’m sick and tired of hearing the stupidity of the whole thing.
Get it together Jena–it’s a new era!!!!
I I am not suggesting that one runs from the community they live but…. if African Americans live subservient lives like in this community then you either make a significant change during and after this incident or move out. I say subservient because in one of the articles I read one person said “…we don’t have any problems with our blacks…” I personally would not trust justice for either of my sons to live in a community like this. Another article states the victim went to a social function that night after being released from the hospital…How that ever became second degree attempted murder. The caucasian youths deserve their just fair also. If that was the case this would not have gone this far. I am a northerner. I used to ask my mother “mom how could people live like that in the 60′s?” Come to find out they are living like that now. As of today if I were a youth being harassed by caucasians I know that it WOULD TAKE IT QUITE PERSONALLY
I PRAY TO GOD HE HAS MERCY ON JENA, LA. RACISM IS STILL VERY PREVELANT THERE AND IT’S SO UNFORTUNANT. PLEASE GET IT TOGETHER THERE IN JENA.
This comment is for ME…I originally wanted to tell you off on here but I prayed about it and realized you can’t respond to ignorance with ignorance. Your main thing is “stop throwing up the RACE issue” when in reality it seems to me that you are racist. First off let me say use the word African American not Blacks! Thank You. Secondly here are your words
“but I do know a little about the character of the accused in this situation, and you obviously do not.”
*Really so you know the boy’s personally?? Yeah I don’t think so…so therefore you do not know their character! Have you lived with them? Attended school with them? Met their families? Your going off of hearsay correct? Please do let me know.Because quite frankly your making an ass of yourself. Please do excuse my language.
Next,
I don’t hate black people, I have black friends…
If this isn’t the lamest line I ever heard…so having African American friends doesn’t mean you hate African Americans…is that the new rule to “Im Not Racist 101″ If this is move to make you feel that you are not racist….its sad think about it. Hmmm…I wonder how your African American friends feel about this…and yes please do answer!
Next,
“I’m sick of people, black and white, turning this into a racial situation when it can be simplified down into one thing: an attack on another human….”not black, not white…human”. Haven’t we all heard that before? I believe it…but do you?”
This could of been simplified into just “an attack on another individual” If these boys were put in jail for 6months! Unbelieveable….have you ever heard of someone getting into a fight in high school and staying in jail for 6months and possibly obtaining a charge that could change your entire life….please THINK ABOUT IT
THIS IS FOR EVERYONE!
TAKE THE TIME TO PUT YOURSELF IN THE SHOES OF THESE BOYS AND THEIR FAMILIES…THIS IS MORE THAN WHAT PEOPLE ARE MAKING IT SEEM! THESE BOYS ARE FACING 20 YEARS IN PRISON OR MORE FOR A FIGHT…BUT YET NO CHARGES ARE PRESENTED FOR THE OTHERS INVOLVED IN THE CASE. YOU CAN SAY WHAT YOU WANT ABOUT THE CASE…THAT IS TRULY YOUR OPINION, BUT THIS JUST SAID FOR ALL OF THOSE WHO FEEL THAT IS NOTHING…JUST WAIT BECAUSE JUSTICE WILL BE GIVEN. THERE IS NO REASON IN HELL THESE BOYS SHOULD BE GOING THROUGH WHAT THEY ARE GOING THROUGH BECAUSE OF A FIGHT…NO NEED TO WORRY BECAUSE JUSTICE WILL HAPPEN. I HAVE HEARD THAT THE INITIAL ACT OF IGNORANCE WAS NOT A “RACIST” MOVE OR A HATE CRIME BUT A PRANK….SAYS WHO? DO YOU KNOW THE INTENTIONS BEHIND THIS ACT? A PRANK OF SUCH MAGNITUDE IS A HATE CRIME….PLEASE LOOK UP HATE CRIME” I COULD WRITE FOR DAYS ON THE ISSUE BUT IM NOT BUT I WILL TAKE ACTION…FOR ALL OF THOSE WHO TAKE THIS LIGHTLY…WATCH OUT FOR THE MOVEMENT BECAUSE THE DREAM IS STILL ALIVE! AND THESE BOYS WILL AND I REPEAT WILL BE TREATED WITH JUSTICE. TO THE FAMILIES OF THE ACCUSED PLEASE STAY STRONG AND JUST PRAY BECAUSE EVERYTHING WILL BE ALL RIGHT. I WILL DO EVERYTHING IN MY POWER TO MAKE SURE THAT THESE BOYS ARE TREATED FAIRLY. GIVE TO GOD AND LET GO, LET GO OF ALL THE HATRED BEING BROUGHT AGAINST YOU, LET GO OF ALL THE IGNORANCE, LET GO LET GO LET GO! MUCH LOVE TO ALL OF YOU AND MAY GOD BLESS YOU
THE MOVEMENT!
Excellent post and I am linking to it from a post I’n working on now after getting an update from the NAACP about a meeting held last night with the US Attorney for the Western District of Louisianna and the FBI.
http://oneblackmansblog.blogspot.com
I hope to have it posted by 10 pm tonight if not sooner.
Thanks, Scotty, I’ll link it as soon as it’s up.
WEll, i think that there should of been punishment from the start (noose hanging from the tree) After that, you can tell that it becomes judicial system( all white jury ) vs. the black students. It’s preety sad how our country is still in the racism chains that should have been broken years ago but all we can do is wait and give support to the Jena 6.
Ruben..WRONG, I totally agree with everything that you stated in your post except that “all we can do is wait” NO that is what they want us to do we must take action and protest, rally do whatever possible to get the word out. it is up to US to make a change so please don’t just sit back and wait because you have a VOICE…use it!
I am so glad to see the discussion and hence attention this case is getting. I won’t be long, as many of my sentiments have already been expressed. But I do want to emphasize a couple of points:
The fact that we are talking about black and white and race is a screaming indicator that race is the underlying problem
Racism is so inherent to the culture of our society that it is like the air we breathe: we don’t even realize it. I don’t want to make a blanket statement without proof, so don’t just take it from me, go to http://www.uwm.edu/~gjay/Whiteness/Underst_White_Priv.pdf
and this article was written by a WHITE person, by the way…
Please, all of you who have been involved in this discussion, read this article and I am interested in what you think.
I believe someone asked HOW does the atonement for the sin of slavery work? Well, I’d have to say it is working now when blacks and whites can have a honest dialogue about the state of race relations and what our personal viewppoints are. Both sides need to be open to hear things that may be uncomfortable, unfair even, and respond with honesty, truth, and a sincere effort to educate. But that’s just my humble opinon
Last, and I don’t mean to be facetious, however it may come across: Please stop using the argument of having “black friends” as an example of not being a racist. To be colorblind is not the answer; to be able to respect people as people, color included, is the solution we seek. I thank you for listening!
I will say this – you’re absolutely right, it’s extremely uncomfortable, because there are plenty of ways to offend someone without even trying. I think most people would rather ignore it than tiptoe around it. And – I’m sorry if this is offensive, but I’m being frank because I’m interested in provoking more discussion – I’m not really interested in atoning for slavery because it was generations ago. Atoning for current conditions, yes indeed. As I’ve pointed out, Jim Crow laws were in effect during my lifetime. Not only is dealing with current conditions helpful and practical, it’s achievable. We’re never going to reach a perfect balance of justice. No other country on the planet has ever “atoned” for slavery. For the most part, they stopped it, and moved on. Well, except in places where it’s currently going on, but that’s another story. I think the difference here is that even after slavery stopped, black folks were never treated as equals and given the same opportunities even several generations down the line. That’s the problem, in my opinion, that we should be dealing with. Well, that’s my 2 cents. But I’m interested in any response, even a (thoughtful and civil) smackdown.
Thank you for commenting, and I’ll read that paper soon. (It’s not that I’m uninterested – I’m moving clients to a new server and need to get it done by Tuesday.)
great, I look forward to maybe seeing a blog from you about the article in the future. As for the “atonement”, I left out something important (my brain was clicking so fast!), that I don’t believe there is can be “atonement” or even that it would make everything better. I meant just as you said, that we have a responsibility to clean up the mess of racism for the future. For example, we as a generation didn’t destroy the environment, but it is our resposibility to change the habits we have inherited that have led to the continuing destruction of the Earth’s environement,right? You know what they say about the sins of the fathers… so, yes, I agree with you that there doesn’t need to be atonement but consciousness, future fairness versus past blame. Besides, what good is an apology without action?
Looking forward to continued discussion on this issue of the Jena 6 and race relations as a whole.
I think these kids are being railroaded in broad daylight. Black people,my brothers and sisters please wake up. I’m from Abbeville,La the deep south so I know what I’m talking about. This is going to be the beginning of the end of Black folks in Jena if justice isn’t served in this case. I was born here and went to school here,and we all had our share of schoolyard fights, but to think to go to prison for schoolyard fights that is unheard of. I believe your “D.A.” may have an ax to grind and is using these kids to get it sharp. What kind of country is this when you have a guy fighting dogs with more media attention than six Black teens being railroaded.
this goes out to everybody who says the jena 6 should get what they deserve. how about the white kids who put the three nooses on the tree….(to tell you the truth black people don’t see this as a prank). thats a hate crime and the ones who did that got a slap on the wrist. how about what happen when Bailey jr. was beat up at the fair barn party (only on person out of many was single out and once again was given a slap on the wrist). what about the white man the next day after the barn fight pulled a double barrel sawed of short gun at a couple of black kids at a food market, they got the gun away from him, ran and told the police and they was arrested and brought up on charges against the white man who ran to his car and pulled out this gun (nothing happen to this white man at all). you see whats going on here. where is the justice, it looks like their is none Jena, LA… And whats IS the job of a D.A
(A D.A SUPPOSE TO LOOK AT WHAT HAPPEN GATHER INFORMATION GATHER WITNESSES ETC). I NEVER HEARD OF A D.A GOING DOWN TO A SCHOOL AND TELLING A GROUP OF BLACK KIDS “I COULD CHANGE YOU LIFE WITH A STROKE OF A PEN) AND THAT WAS SAID AFTER A GROUP OF BLACK SCHOOL KIDS STUD UNDER A TREE THAT WAS ON SCHOOL PROPERTY IN PROTEST.) ARE WE STILL LIVING IN THE 60′S. SO THE D.A IS TELLING THEM TO STAY IN THERE PLACE REMEMBER WHERE YOU AT (THE DEEP SOUTH). WE RUN THIS.
SO THIS GOES TO THE LADY BY THE NAME OF LAURA.
YOU NEED TO WAKE UP AND SMELL YOURSELF BECAUSE YOU SMELL ROTTEN.
SORRY LAURA
MY LAST REMARK GOES TO THE PERSON NAME
ME
No problem, thanks for clarifying that.
Also contact Jena mayor Murphy McMillan as neither he nor the City Council of Jena has lifted a finger of protest against this travesty of justice that we are aware of:
Murphy McMillan, Mayor
P.O. Box 26
Jena, La. 71342
Phone (318) 992-2148
To contact District Attorney Reed Walters directly:
Parish of LaSalle: District Attorney’s Office
1050 Courthouse Sq
Jena, LA 71342
(318) 992-8282
Thanks.
Well spoken Steve…..OJ got off because of Mark Fermans racism, this case is no different. Racism is the crime here.
This is my first time fearing of this particular incident, but it doesn’t surprise me at all. I’m actually from a parish that’s very close to Jena and incidents like this happens all the time. It sad that even in 2007 racism like this still occur. African Americans in this area have been discriminated against for decades, but nothing has ever been done about it. So naturally violence will always escalate and WE are always the center of the problem. I pray that justice is served in this situation because the people in that town will never change ( people are still blind to the fact that people are people no matter the color of there skin). And I pray that these boys lives are restored and that they get out of that town because they will never prosper there……they won’t allow you too.
Sad that students in 2007 would have even thought of hanging
nooses from a tree. The non racist white in Jena should have been the first to codemn the act, and the students should have been punished severely. Adults are to blame for passing racism to yet another generation. After 400 years we should be ashamed, Mississippi in
particular
Take a look at the 1948 ballot protesting anti-lynching laws.
http://mshistory.k12.ms.us/features/feature7/ms_demo_ballot.html
Agreed. I don’t see how anyone can buy into the idea that it was a “prank.” Anybody who grows up in the south knows a) what the noose means and b) that it’s not funny.
I consider myself a southern lady. I can not believe that I am reading this. I lived in the SOUTH for 47 years. If we would quit going back in history and bringing it back to the front and just treat everyone with dignity and respect, the simple term, “WHAT WOULD JESUS DO”. I have a bi-racial daughter that called me and asked me if I knew about this story. I did not. She was crying as she read part of it. She was using this as a project at USM. She has bi-racial children and knows first hand on how she is treated.
The District Attorney is voted in and can be voted OUT…….let me re-phrase, SHOULD be voted out. That type of behavior should not be tolerated by anyone, white, black, green, yellow, orange. He should have been a leader and could have with a stroke of his pen, put it all to rest with the proper actions instead of reactions…
The school board should be ashamed of themselves allowing this to go this far. So I guess JENA needed a little media attention. YOU GOT IT!
I’ve only just heard about this case today, so forgive me for not being so clinically removed from the issue..
The first article I read was written by one Jesse Muhammad, and was presented in such a way as to enflame racial tension. The school principal’s name and race (who favored expulsion for the noose boys) was never mentioned, but it did specifically name the superindendant and the DA as well as the skin color of the two men. Also missing from this particular article was any mention of past behaviors of the 6 men on trial, but did refer to their “bright futures” as if to say these were good kids being held down by “The Man.”
At this point, the waters have been so muddied that true justice can never be carried out. A full expulsion of the three boys was too much, and a 3-day “vacation” from school was too little. Certainly there could have been some middle ground where the boys would have learned a real lesson they could grow from, and the offended parties could have been reasonably satisfied that justice was carried out.
As for DA Reed Walters, if he did indeed say “I can wipe you out with the stroke of a pen” then he has no business being a DA or any type of “public servant.” At the very least, he should be recused from prosecuting this case. At best, he should be disbarred and thus excluded from being a district attorney, much like what Mike Nifong got.
A lot of posts and articles on a lot of websites have hyped this story – but quite a few have been pretty factual. It’s been my intention to make sure this blog is in the latter category. First of all, these were not “men.” They are boys. I call them that for the same reason that I call out anti-war folks for referring to the troops as “boys” or “children.” The Jena Six are all minors. While minors are sometimes charged as adults, and the Jena Six are unfortunately included in that category, they are still minors, thus children.
At this point, a thorough investigation by the DOJ Civil Rights division would be extremely helpful. I haven’t dwelled much on what an appropriate penalty for the noose-hangers would be, and I also don’t believe they ever expected all of this to happen. But things sometimes take on a life of their own. Although some people are rumor-mongering about the Jena Six and hinting at past behavioral problems, the media has consistently reported that several were honor students, they were athletes, and that none had a prior record. That’s part of why these charges are so ridiculous – these kids had good records until now. It is not too late for justice to be done, but at this point it’s going to take a lot of intervention – both legally and most importantly, through prayer.
To Jena Person: this is OBVIOUSLY not your real name…. Either you are not really from this town or for “some reason” do not want to be identified…Maybe it’s because you are trying to use a persuasive argument, but unfortunately it’s full of gossip, slander and hearsay, so you really have NO leg to stand on…You are So biased towards the white people in this town, your anger and hatred you can not hide…
Well here is what one of the mother’s said:
JACQUIE SOOHEN: A series of incidents followed throughout the fall. In October, a black student was beaten for entering a private all-white party. Later that month, a white student pulled a gun on a group of black students at a gas station, claiming self-defense. The black students wrestled the gun away and reported the incident to police. They were charged with assault and robbery of the gun. No charges were ever filed against the white students in either incident. Then, in late November, someone tried to burn down the high school, creating even more tension.
Four days later, a white student was allegedly attacked in a school fight. The victim was taken to hospital and released shortly with a concussion. He attended a school function that evening. Six black students were charged with attempted second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder, on charges that leave them facing between twenty and one hundred years in jail. The defendants, ranging in age from fifteen to seventeen, had their bonds set at between $70,000 and $138,000. The attack was written up in the local paper as fact, and DA Reed Walters published a statement in which he said, “When you are convicted, I will seek the maximum penalty allowed by law.”
It’s funny how the boy who was “supposedly” stomped and kicked as hard as these “football players” could do so, went to a school function, the SAME NIGHT THIS INCIDENT TOOK PLACE….
Based on THAT FACT ALONE, it’s obvious they did not hurt him like 6 football players could have hurt him, if they really were trying their hardest….
And you also mentioned that the black people are racist, well I wonder why? The dang laws are still in favor of white people in this town, the black kids at the school are still told they can not sit where white kids sit, the black kids are taught a lesson when they try to attend an all white party, so on and so forth…
Your whole post is BS. Don’t blame the media. Blame the white people in this town who have allowed this injustice to get out of hand and now blame the black kids that it’s gotten to this point…
Racism is against the law and it’s time that Jena, LA uses this fact to stop the injustice in this town………
Well said, Laura and XOC
I propose a ban on the words “you people”.
Heh, not a bad idea.
To that person above who lives in Jena: Do black families that live in Jena pay taxes? If so there kids have a right to sit under a tree on tax payer paid school property. Adults in Jena that allow a “Whites Only Tree” on public property and allow Justin and the other teenagers to enfocre it with an implied death threat against those that broke their godawful rule started the ruckus. I suppose it is allowed by law to have a “Whites Only” barber shop in the town of Jena. In order for a fight to be considered “aggravated assualt” a weapon has to be used. Beer bottles thrown at the “black” kid could be the criteria used for “aggravated assualt” but none of the white kids were charged. Mychal’s tennis shoe was the “weapon” that got him a charge out of bounds with the incident. An eyewitness adult was not brought into court, the couch that could have proved Mr. Bell’s innocence on the charge that he caused the kid who was so hurt he partied later that night to lose consciousness.
The message from Jena is clear: white makes right.
To Jena Person: If it were ‘white’ boys sitting under the “Whites Only” tree, trying to get close to the girls, would you feel those boys should be lynched? “Colored” and “Negoes” and “Whites Only” signs were banned with the ending of Jim Crow laws that were created to keep black (and to the person who does not like the word “negro” means “black” and not all persons of color are Africian/Americans, some consider themselves Cuba/Americans, etal) and white people separate but equal. Those laws kept blacks and whites separate, but blacks did not have equal access. Sammy Davis Junior could perform in a hotel club in Florida, but had to enter through a kitchen door and was not allowed a room in the hotel.
Of course you take the ‘white’ kids story to be the truth over the ‘black’ kids story of the same incident. The 3 were coming out of a store when he aimed his shotgun at them. Shotguns are for hunting animals and I do not know Jena’s Game Hunting seasons, but he aimed it at other human beings. One of thsoe 3 was the one that he helped beat up at the party the night before. That boy was invited to the party and it does seem like that was a conspiracy to beat him up.
It is not the media’s fault that that the white adults in Jena allow white teenagers to hang nooses on school property to enforce a “Whites Only” tree rule. That they allowed that tradition to go on shows they are bigots. Skin color comes from pigmentation. It is absolutely no different than color of hair or eyes. Your own bigotry shows by your horror that one of the “black” kids asked your friend to go out with him. Big deal.
It truely is amazing that in 2007 this discussion is still necassary. It is also amazing that some people insist on cherry picking the information that suits their particular view point. There were so many disgustingly foul miscarriges of justice in this entire set of events, that one wonders how this country became a world leader. It is truely astounding that we still consider it taboo, in certain communities, for black men to flirt with white women. LOL. It truley takes a mind of exstensive narrowness to believe that we are somehow better or worse than our human couterparts. We are all part of this thing called humanity, floating on a rock amongst millions of rocks in this galaxy, amongst millions of galaxy’s in this universe. For those those of you reading this with those narrow minds I mentioned before, you may need a more simple explanation. Interpreting complex sentence structure may be out side your skill set.
Simple Explanation:
The justice handed out, or in some cases not handed out, in this set of events was not even-handed. Several of the crimes committed were equal in offense, but un-equal in there judicial dispensations.(oh sorry, did it again) For the ignorant racist reading this, white folks have screwed the black man once again. And the shame is that we are all in this together. I guess in Jena, if two white men drag a black man behind their truck unitil his heads comes off, (like in Texas), the black man would be charged with littering on a public highway. Atleast I know what American City to stay away from.
I second that proposal Steve~:)
Alyce,
How right you are….
This might have been the most disturbing thing I have read. It made me sick. This town needs to be put under marshal law and that DA and entire police department needs to be thrown out of office. Hell, if all of the South is seriously that bad still, serious action needs to be taken. I mean this sounds like a story out of nightmare. This country prides itself on freedom and democracy… yet a whole region of it is operating under fascism. Well if the South want Fascism fine. Let’s give it them… send in the national guard to lock their towns down and make sure their nazi asses don’t step out of line.
To the Southern people who were trying to defend this event, but still remained neutral I get that you like your lives and not all of you are bad people, I think you need to get a reality check… if your towns really are as you say they are. No where else in industrialized world do normal guys carry around sawnoffs… An “unwritten rule that blacks don’t sit under a tree”????!?! If you do not think that statement is seriously F-ed up you need really need to get with the times. The federal government of the united states made it quite clear in the 1960s that segregation and racism are simply put, wrong and immoral.
oh and the black guys flirting with white girls… better call the swat team.
are you kidding me? I’m white, and my brother in law is black. And you cannot seriously tell me that you think that ‘flirting’ with someone of another race counts as “harassing the town”
I was shocked and even cried when I read this, as a mother of three two of which are boys it scares me to death. I knew racism was still alive I guess we just want to believe it is not this blatant. As usual there are comments by people always trying to justify racism, always an acceptable excuse. I never heard of someone being beaten near death going to an event hours later. The fact that people from Jena try to justify the charges proves even further that the youth believe in the same racism their parents do and probably have taught. I can not sit and not worry that these could be my son’s they could be attacked by a gang of white kids and receive no justice but if they attack someone they have their lives torn apart forever. That is why I am going to Jena in sept along with many from all over the country to stand in protest. If you live in the Atlanta area and you are interested in going we need to band together to go I am hoping to get together at least 200 people. If interested email me a kingdaddy2006@yahoo.com.
I googled the “Jena 6″ and this was one of about 567,000 links posted. I read EVERY comment and I couldn’t leave without posting one myself. Especially since I should be asleep right now.
In response to people that are saying “I can’t believe in 2007 that we are still dealing with this!” Well NEWSFLASH: consider the WORLD we live in! Things will only continue to get worse! Justice will NEVER be served until people realize that its about the times we are living in. The times are critical (2 Tim 3:1-5) do yourself a favor and read it and realize that we must await the promise found at Daniel 2:44. Justice belongs to God.
Normally I don’t get involved posting comments on blogs etc but since I stayed up reading all these other comments I might as well.
I really wish that people would stop saying that the nooses were not a crime! They were a hate CRIME, emphasis on the word crime! Please people, a simple google search will show you some examples of hate crimes and the punishments that ensued! Again, those nooses were a crime and should be handled as such and the three guys should be punished for it as well!
A word on the alleged harrassment of the white girls, one of the claims made was that the black kid who was beat up did not press charges, well where are the charges that these women pressed for sexual harassment? If they were being harassed for two years according to that idiot Jena Person then why wouldn’t something have been done about it? You cannot honestly expect people to believe white women were being harrassed for years in that racist town, and nothing was done about it!!!! Me is saying that these “boys” were delinquents already, well where is the proof? criminal records are public knowledge! While ME does make some good points on everyone being punished for their actions, you cannot get past the fact that these punishments do not fit the crime!
OMG to Alan who said other races get along with white people so it is a black problem! You are an idiot please do your research, racial make up of prisons, disadvantaged neighborhoods…Not just blacks!! I would go further in explaining how dumb you are, but that would take all day!!!
And another thing, whether or not Jena is 85% white there is still 15%! I can honestly say I do not know any of my black, asian, or latin friends family or coworkers who have had jury duty even once. I can however say, I have plenty of white friends, family, and coworkers who have had jury duty more than once!! I know a few who have had it four times!!!!
Brian good point about it not being normal to carry a gun around. In some states the age requirement to even be licensed to carry a gun is 21!!!
Ruth, Brian, you have to be licensed to carry a concealed weapon, but if the shotgun was not concealed, no problem. And FWIW, I often carry a gun; more people do than you might expect.
I think that if you are going to say something about others and not even know the full story then don’t talk about it. And many of you where talking about how a group of black boys were flirting with the white girls, what if it also goes both ways and the girls just aren’t talking about it. I think that both parties are wrong. How the white boys put that nooses on the tree and how the black boys reacted to it. Also how the media is protraying the boys. I think that this town still have time to change, they just need to do fast. I also believe that people should be able to get second chances. Those boys need a chance to at least explain themselves. I don’t think that those boys are trouble, because they have tried very hard to get where they are to just throw it all away. So when you all say that those boys are trouble how do you know. Maybe something happened at home or the story just got twisted and someone is making them sound like they are all trouble. I just think they need time to explain themselves and get that second chance. Thank you for allowing me to explain myself.
I’m sending this message to every single person on this board who feels that the Jena 6 young men should go to prison. You have got to be most delusional and racist idiots I’ve ever heard of in my life. First of all, the librarian who was stupid enough to say that she didn’t know what the nooses were for should be fired for never opening a book in her life. There’s no way in the world she doesn’t know the symbolic message that a noose leaves, especially during the Jim Crow era. Three days suspension versus a school assembly for people STANDING under a tree, and you think that’s fair? The DA is racist, the judge is racist, even the jurors are racist. I’m disgusted that this is going on in 2007, and anybody who thinks that these guys are somehow disgusting for asking a white woman out really needs to visit this century. News flash: Black people have the same rights you do, and if you can’t get that through your thick head, MOVE! Because we’re growing more and more in America, and no matter what you do, we’re here to stay. If you want to know my full thoughts on the subject, feel free to visit the article I wrote, and I dare you to justify these young men being in jail on my message board. I’ll shut your “rationale” down quickly. I welcome you to come. Let’s go!
<p>I’m white and I say f*** all 3 of the white students that hung those nooses and the one who got his a** beat. Why are the people that attacked the black student at the Fair Barn not being charged on the “same things” that the black students are? And why would the black students who were held at gunpoint charged with anything at the gas station? “Racism’s still alive they just be concealing it” Absolutely sad, I can’t believe this….this needs to be nationally addressed, this is ridiculous and I am nearly in tears of how wrong this is….f*** Jena High School</p>
[Edited: I edited the profanity - the plugin hides it in the comment section, but still displays it on the home page. - Laura]
It hurts me to deepest depth of my heart and soul to hear of something like this still happening even now. First and foremost, we need to realize that irregardless of skin color, race or ethnicity we are all human beigns and no one absolutely NO ONE was created above anyone else. I would like to thank the editor of this page for producing day to day accounts of incidents leading to and after the fight. Now with that said, if one was to go by the facts those kids “jena 6″ should not have to face jail time at all for something as trivial as regular high school fighting. Its a shame that the white kids who committed far worse atrocities were not charged with the least of crime but in turn the black kids who did nothing but stand up and defend themselves are left in jail and charged with far worse. For anyone who has a heart, regardless of race, knows that these charges are unfair and I pray that they be dropped. If not, far worse things are only bound to come out of this.
I was so so sad a reading this. Ok, I don’t condone violence but in this instance I can’t say that I would not have reacted the same way as the black students. For the people who do not consider what the white students did a crime, you’re really stupid. This was a threat!!Anyone who knows history knows that this was a warning to the black students. There was most likely a white adult who told these white kids that it was ok to do this. That’s the way “they work”. Secondly, how come the young black men could not have just wanted to sit under the tree and chill? Why did it have to be because the white girls were in the same area and they were trying to hit on them. White girls need to realize that just becasue you have polite black males who speak and have manners,( that is the way we are raised) does not mean that they want them. Not every black man wants a silly white woman.
These young men need just-us, but we have to face the reality that they will be in jail for a long time, because they (whites) run the court system. This is the best way for them to get at our men, put them in jail.
I don’t care if the brothers were not model citizens, they do not deserve this type of punishment.
Let the punishment fit the crime. Both CRIMES!!
Maybe someone addressed this, but if the white guy went to his truck to get the shotgun is that not premeditated. Which would be a crime right? I know every state has different laws, but when you have time to think about it or walk away and don’t that’s when the crime is committed. Also I don’t think it’s rasist to want to be around people who look like you do, but when you stop those who do not look like you from being around you.
Vince, good point. A quick Google search revealed that other people have been arrested with threatening people with a gun. His defense, of course, was that he was in fear for his own life. He said, they said, and the cops/DA decided to take his word for it. Part of that whole selective prosecution thing that the DOJ ought to be investigating. In Islam, the testimony of a man is worth twice that of a woman. Evidently in LaSalle parish, a similar rule is in force with regard to whites’ testimony vs. blacks.
I am from a small town in Mississippi and it is definately a racist place. Just because you have black friends and you speak to black people don’t mean your not racist. Every story that I have read defines a Blatant Racist Place. I am a person that keeps up with the latest news and updates and Friday 8-17-07 was the very first time I had ever heard of this. So today I dedicated my time to informing everyone that I knew to spread the news and help out these young kids who are being robbed of their lives over ignorance. Yes I said it the D.A. especially, has to be an ingorant SOB if he thought he would get away with such a tainting act. All the thoughts and response I’ve read on this blog sure does point out some “RACIST” to me. Of course you don’t think so because you don’t know what it feels like to be put in a situation where your treated differently because God made you a different color than others. I have fought in several racial fights (school fights) sometimes being the only female, but if I had to fight for my respect I will. Even though many lives have been lost so that there could be unity and equality in this world. We still have to fight for our rights. These kids do not deserve the maximum sentences and charges for a school fight. I hope something is done for the better for these kids, white and blacks because who in this time is still teaching their kids to hate one another. God created us all and no one person is better than the other regardless of color. At the end of this whole disgrace I hope we can all see who has the power…God is Control!!!!
True they were wrong for they, its also Tru that they were punished and non of the white in people that played a role in this case were punished the point is 22 years is to much for a high school fight that resulted nothing but a bunch of grown people deciding to consider race as the reason the should be charged. Question for you Laura if you say that they were wrong and Mr. Barker didnt participate in what happened with the tree, and I’m pretty sure you know who was involved why didnt you do your part and speak up on who was involved. Every one has opininion but from what I see non of had balls to open your mouth unless its anonimously on some website which is really sad, Im not even from Jena but my heart go’s out to all of those kids; the white that aren’t educated enough to know that we are one color when you turn out the lights and the black kids that should know that fighting didn’t solve anything it just made it worse. Point Blank I think that they lighten that sentence and try to mediate it between those kids.
I’m in Louisiana, but not Jena. I don’t believe the names of the noose-hangers were made public. By all accounts, Justin Barker did not hang the nooses, but he is friends with the boys who did, and it’s been reported that they were with him in the gym mocking Robert Bailey right before Justin was beaten. Both the school and the FBI know who the noose hangers are. They got three days suspension, and the FBI decided that it was not a hate crime. I haven’t got any inside info on this case, unfortunately, but I’ve linked to, summarized, and commented on other reports, figuring that any additional publicity, even on this small blog, would help. I agree with you, fighting didn’t solve anything and they were wrong for doing it, and I agree 22 years is too much. I’m not sure if “Every one has opininion but from what I see non of had balls to open your mouth unless its anonimously on some website which is really sad,” was directed at me or at commenters, but Laura Curtis really is my name. I chose a long time ago not to post anonymously because I stand by my opinions if I’m right, and if I’m persuaded that I’m wrong, I’ll gladly admit it.
Go Girl!!!
ok, yes i agree that the punishment doesn’t fit the crime of the jena 6 but at the same time I do agree that they should be in some way punished. I also believe that any one involved in any of the incidents starting in september should also be punished regardless of race. It is a shame how the media is taking this story and making any one side look to be all right and the other being all wrong. but is it just me or did the qoutes from the DA to the students seem to be inapropriat and just flat out uncalled for and a little bit racist?????
but thats really all have i have to say but if those kids have been in jail for seven months that is long enough for a damn high school fight! It is to my understanding that a few of the jena six have crimal records or other problems that being said let everyone be looked at on a individual basis because i’m 100% sure that not all 6 are bad kids and some were just sticking up for themselves..also at the same time if they were trying to pick fight with the whites THEN THEY WERE WRONG!!! JUst as much so at the whites if they were picking a fight with the blacks they WERE WRONG TOO!!! so no one side is right and we prob wont ever know the whole truth to the events.
I live in the south (plano,tx suburb of dallas) and i’m bi-racial black/white, and a Senior in high school
Wow….it’s kinda disheartening that in 2007, this type of prejudice and hatred still exists. And it’s understandable that there are some whites who think that that three neuses hanging from a tree had nothing to do with the crimes that were committed because as history goes, blacks were the ones to see their fathers and grandfathers and brothers hanged side by side in trees…at the hands of people that thought that they were superior to us. Bottom line, this is not typical, and the justice system is not only flawed, but non-existent in some parts of the country because clearly these “law enforcers” in Jena are biased and there is no way that the Jena 6 will be treated fairly. And the fact that there is a “white” tree says it all.
And if anyone has anything that they would like to direct toward me, PLEASE contact me via yahoo instant messenger. My ID is benaiah_barnes
Me! where are you. I want to talk.
Andre, I agree, they were wrong for jumping Justin Barker. There have been anonymous accusations about some in the Jena 6 having a prior criminal history, but nothing credible, so I tend to believe they did not. If they did, the DA would have it in every media outlet he could, to explain himself for these ridiculous charges. I also agree with you about the media slant. Whether is just laziness or wanting to stick to their narrative, they never fail to mention the all-white jury – but the fact is that the town is 85% white and an all-white jury was pretty much a statistical certainty. The real problem was the people ON the 6 person jury – an old friend of DA Reed Walters, the mother of one of the prosecution witnesses, and a good friend of the victim’s mother. There’s no excuse for that – Bell’s attorney should have been screaming bloody murder about it right from the off.
I am at a total loss for words. I am in utter shock by the comments that justify the actions of drawing a weapon and the punishment for a school fight.
I think it is important to think about what we are saying and what type of message it conveys. I agree that the media tends to hype things up to make for a better story. However, the story of the Jena 6 needs no hype. The facts of the story will have you in awe.
My thoughts and prayers go out to all invloved in these unnecessary, uncalled for set of circumstances. I pray that the young men who sit in jail unfairly will be free soon and that they will have prosperous and purposeful lives. I pray that the other young men that yet to be charged will have the same. I pray that the others involved, specifically those who placed the nooses on trees, the young man that had a gun in his truck on school campus, and those who beat up the innocent young man at the barn, can find someway to remove that hate that they seem to have in their hearts because one day they will have to answer to higher power.
Why the hell does this town have a white tree, for just white students.
Here’s my response:
Lee: I’m not sure if you’re accurate about only two black families living in Jena. It’s a shame if that’s true. I don’t think Robert “got out of place” when he was beat up. He and several of his friends teamed up on the guy’s close friend and beat him up a weekend or two before he showed up to that party. The guy saw him by himself and decided to fight to help his friend get revenge. You’re right, the white guy instigated a fight and should have been arrested, but if Robert was in jail from his previous fight with the other guy, maybe this would have never happened? I’ve been to many parties where some black high schoolers were there and everybody got along great.
Andrew: I never said every black man lusted after white women. All I said was some people in high school have complained about these particular guys making harassing sexual gestures towards them. I didn’t say I was a female white Jena high school student. All I said was what I heard. Maybe you should get over yourself. Your comments are ignorant. You may argue that, if this harassment did exist, why wasn’t a police report filed? Well I ask you the same, why wasn’t a police report filed when the black student was hit over the head with a beer bottle? Because charges were never pressed.
Laura: I appreciate your diligent research on this issue. You seem to have a well-balanced view on the situation, even though our opinions differ in several respects. You present a good argument. You may hear me refuting some things you say, but in the end we are both against racism. Also, I don’t buy into the idea that the nooses were a prank either. They knew very well what the acts would be taken as.
Watkins: I think someone is Communist because they live in China Town. I also think someone is a mafia hitman because they are Italian. Your narrow-minded view is entertaining. This tree was not a tree “only accessed by white students”. When I was in high school, that very tree was where MANY of the black and white students gathered to cut up during recess. About the school burning down: many teacher’s careers were in that class. Teachers who wanted to make a difference in people’s lives. You are brushing all that aside because of your anger.
…and maybe I should accept your narrow-minded point of view. All people from Washington have the intelligence of a rubber tire, just like you.
Minty Nate: This vile little paragraph is dripping with comments high school girls have made about the situation. Let’s break this down:
Implicit approval of racial segregation – I approve of people VOLUNTARILY hanging around people they feel most comfortable with; I totally disagree with forced segregation OR forced DEsegregation.
Racial stereotyping of young kids – I stereotyped no one, I simply made a statement based on what I’ve heard by several Jena High School girls; its one thing to ask a girl out but it’s another to pinch them on the ass, whether you are white, black, or Somoan.
Justification of the nooses – The hanging of the nooses was completely wrong. This is my opinion, and this is the strong consensus in town (including the white people).
Thank you for sticking words in my mouth. YOU ma’am, are a worthless piece of shit.
Scotty Reid:
The FBI has already investigated this incident. In a forum full of citizens from Jena, an African – American FBI agent named Donald Washington said the following: “We have examined all of their actions and I’m not saying I agree with what they’ve done but I can say that we could find no violation in the way they handled each event. All of their procedures were ‘regular’ and not ‘irregular.”
The FBI has access to records that we have no access to. I’ll trust them in this one, surely since one of the FBI agents who investigated the incident was a member of the minority potentially being targeted from the investigated acts.
Ruben:
I agree, those guys who hung the nooses should have been expelled from school. The “all white jury” was an all-white jury because no black potential juror showed up for jury duty. Racism does still exist in this country and it exists in Jena, just not to the extent the media is portraying. It’s something that should be corrected. Maybe this will help people of all races join hands and fight it together.
Dee:
What is worse? The taking of a human life or racism? Both are wrong, but to which degree are each?
Xoc:
Reed Walters made the “stroke of the pen” comment to the entire school, not just a select audience.
Sarah:
Jena Person is not my real name. And thank you for clarifying your name. I guess you are the only Sarah in the United States. Black kids are NOT told to sit in other places. They choose to do so. Many of the black and white students roam through social clicks from other races and socialize during recess (I went to school there). For you to assume this separation is forced is ignorant. My whole post is not BS. I apologize for not hovering over every incident to experience every minute detail of these issues myself. I will tell you this: my information that I get from people who are involved first-hand or second-hand is certainly a lot more accurate than the information you get from the media. You and me agree that racism is wrong, but after that the road forks….”Sarah”.
By the way, I choose to not put my name because many people in town have received death threats, INCLUDING some of the jury members who convicted Mychal Bell. I guess this is excusable though, since every African American in our town has been held down by the terrible horrible racist white people in Jena.
Alyce:
If it were white boys under that tree pinching white girls asses, YES, I think they should be punished. This tree is NOT whites only. None of you live in this town and have no CLUE about how it really is. You hear media facts and some of you get your panties in a wad without knowing how it really is. This tree has been a spot where blacks hang out from time to time. Apparently of recent years, it’s more of a white hangout. The implication that this was a “whites only” tree was the same type of implication that a “band geek” can’t hang out by the “jocks”. It’s not fair, but it’s how high school is. There are clicks. These guys that the white boy pointed the gun at were going around town for the past month or two trying to PICK fights with white guys. They had a list of everyone they planned to beat up. The guy felt threatened and felt a need to protect himself. His method of protecting himself was illegal and he should have been punished for it, I agree. In closing, I am not a bigot, but you are an idiot for not understanding the facts well enough to prepare a good argument.
Brian:
All I’m telling you is that harassing girls by pinching them on the ass is illegal, whether you are white or black. Are you protecting sexual harassment or the abolishment of racism? Think before you speak.
Ruth:
Criminal records are public knowledge, unless owned by a juvenile. Gets your facts straight.
Listen, I am not racist. I care about the plight of the black community. I think the fight against racism is a valid and necessary one. But for some of you to fly into these messages boards, comment on how horrible my town (and all the horrible white people are in it) is, you will be greeted with people like me who will call you and re-establish the truth. If any of you want to argue philosophy on the issue or simply act like complete idiots like Sarah and Nate, I welcome it. I will type until people’s computers freeze up when they sign onto this site. You will not put my town down any more.
Who’s next?
Now that’s not fair, Laura. I spent over two hours on that. I know this isn’t a democracy, but what is it that made my comments offensive?
[From Laura - Nothing at all. I had replied to a few comments earlier this morning, but had a long queue in moderation that I just didn't get to until now. Yours from 11:20pm was the first on the list.
]
Can someone pleas post information on how I can help/get involved? I live in a small town in Ohio and just heard about the case 2 days ago.
Sorry, I jumped the gun.
Let me clarify something to everyone in here:
Jena is not the epicenter of racism in this country. It is just like most towns in the south. The overwhelming majority of people here get along just fine. In the black and white community there are people who are racist. The black community is impacted more because they are a minority. This is unfair, and steps SHOULD be taken to help heal the situation across the south.
The principal of Jena High School recommended these 3 guys get expelled from school. The school board decided against it. Most people in Jena agree with the principal. Yes, these 3 guys are certainly racist individuals and I hope this situation helps them understand the burden they carry every day on themselves and others. But don’t let these 3 guys stand for every individual from Jena.
My point is that if this incident helps create awareness for racism then this is a good thing. But I refuse to let my town go on the chopping block because of twisted media facts and the ignoring of critical details in this story. When a sensitive topic such as racism comes up, people get inflamed very easily and tend to make quick assumptions. I ask you to think clearly. Two minds can often think clearly yet disagree with each other. God made us all different and we all think different. The beauty of living in a “free country” (that’s another topic in itself) is that people have a right to disagree with each other.
I completely agree that Jena is not the epicenter of racism. I’ve posted before that not everyone who lives in Jena is racist – one of those things that should be obvious, but bears repeating from time to time. I find it very bothersome, though, that racism is tolerated to the extent that it is. I’ve lived in small towns, and people for the most part just ignore things and get along. And that’s usually a good policy. But when an injustice is being done in your name, as I believe it is with these excessive charges, I think the people who are not racists should stand up and fight against it. If critical details are being ignored, then publicize them! Get the facts out there instead of just saying that the facts aren’t out there. And by “publicize them” I mean in a verifiable way; not just rumor, hearsay, he said-she said stuff.
In short, if you want your town off the chopping block, you should take it off.
This comment is directed for (Me) Post number 23. Your the problem,Your the reason why racism still exists.when given an opporutunity to voice opinion,you choose to go neutral and say your sick of everyone when you really mean your sick of african american people speaking out and acting towards racial injustice
oh yeah!! what the fuck is an african american????????
Okay now some of you are making since finally. These boys need another chance. Cause bet you if that was they were black boys they would of said that it was in self defense (totally lying) and they would of been off and having a great time. Instead these are black boys and a girl and two of them are spending their time in jail when they could be spending their time at home with their families.
WHEN IS THIS RACISM EVER GOING TO END!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is crazy. No child should ever have to face this and yet they are. These kids are just like every other child in America. White, black, yellow, orange, pale, asian, mexican, african, and american. They have rights too.(Right to a speedy trial) When is someone going to step up and say something about it, whats really going on. Thank you
It is a sad commentary on these United States. The fact that there is even a discussion on this is a travesty. This district attorney should be be REMOVED, my new term is “NIFONGED”. Once again the act of racism raises it’s ugly head. I suppose if a cross were burned on these kids homes, it would be concieved as a harmless prank by the ignorant folks in this obvious backwards southern town. What makes y’all ignorant is 1)standing by and watching this get blown out of proportion, 2) the school board’s failure to hear all sides, 3) A vindictive D.A., judge, and court appointed lawyer (how much payment did this “Clarence “Uncle Thomas” take ?) 4) black parents and ministers in the town failing to approach the mayor and demading action. If the parents felt helpless there were many avenues to persue. They waited until it was TOO late. Many archaic laws in this country remain to keep the poor and ignorant under contral. Getting out and voting these as*&^%$s out of power is your threat. If my child was hanged in effigy I would approach every congressional person I could reach and demand some
action. As for the FBI, the law enforcement attitude in this counrty does run along the lines of a “Mark Furman” ESPECIALLY down in the south. Have you people forgotten during Katrina, where the Sheriff of ? Jefferson (I think) threaten to shoot black folks trying to escape the flood waters in New Orleans. I, for one am glad I live in NJ, i would hate to live down south amongst you BLANTANT racists. I said it, yes I did. Remember all those Conferderate flags you still fly?? That should be a hint, at the very least!!of the attitude in the south. Yes, Jim Crow still lives, he lives in Jena, Louisiana.
B. Wallace
Most of these boys deserve another chance. The one that has already been convicted, Mychal Bell, does NOT deserve another chance. Go to whitepages.com, type in Jena, LA or 71342 and find a random person in Jena. Better yet, call a black man or woman from Jena and ask them if Mychal Bell should be released. He’s been a huge menace, moreso to the black community than to the white. The fact that he’s a star athlete doesn’t give him a right to conduct himself the way he has. A few of these boys definitely deserve second chances. One has a football scholarship that hopefully can be reinstated. I personally will be outraged if they receive lengthy prison sentences.
Mr. Wallace? Are you sitting right here trying to tell me that if six white students beat one black student, they wouldn’t have been punished? They would have placed them UNDER the jail for that. If you can’t properly place yourself in the situation, I’m sorry. I’m from Jena and they would have gotten slapped with long prison sentences.
None of the Jena 6 are girls, they are all guys.
Two of them are spending time in jail when they could be spending their time at home with their families. Yes, they could also be doing what they WERE doing before all of this happened: causing trouble in their community.
This racial tension reached a boiling point when the DA made a comment to the entire school about taking their lives away at the stroke of a pen. He warned everyone in school (including the white students) that the next people to instigate something were gonna be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The next incident was the beating of the white student. The DA followed through with what he said. These 6 boys were in the room when the DA said this, as was the entire school. They knew the consequences of their actions.
What is so funny to me is that “Me” you have so many things to say, but you have yet to put your name on here. LOL. The issues we are faced with in this situation is nothing new in the south. That does not make them right either. How the issue is kicked off and what the kids did ……………….Okay its done now where do we go from here? How do we correct the wrongs and make them right. It begins at home and with the parents. In order for those kids to hang ropes from a tree in a manner that is still hurtful to this day for people is sad to say that it comes from home. A childs behavior reflects the training he/she got from home. Then there is the case that I will follow the leader so that I can fit in with the in crowd. This is not just a open and shut case. Yes it is sad that it happen, but when you back an animal in a corner the first thing that animal does is comes out fighting. That is the same case with humans. Some of us do not know how to ignore ignorance and keep it moving. In the same when history repeats itself it makes people want to take a stand. The government officials did not want the public to take a stand, and ignored that cry for help. Everyone is entitle to change and not every black male is a hoodlum or thug. I do not justify the violence, but something needs to be done. On both ends something needs to be done. I work for the law in Georgia so I know first hand of the media’s ways. They tend to expand the truth and make situations a little worse than it seems, but so does the facts that are put forth. Those kids should not still be in jail, because I am pretty sure they are not a flight risk. Everyone look at the facts, and pay close attention. Racism is alive and thriving. Instead of looking at the situation thru white/black eyes. Look at it from a unbias stand point. A lot of rights were violated, and just as well as the accuse should have their day in court so will the law officials. If it will be a bias or unbias verdict we will not know. It is up to their same pears who live in that same town, unless they move the cases to another town. Nothing can reverse the things that took place, but a healing process needs need to begin. The hostility in the post make it evident that something needs to give. God Bless.
Laura:
Racism is tolerated here by most people. You are right. Every now and then I come across white people who use the “n” word to describe any person of color. They are normally older or the type that most call around here “white trash”. It’s disgusting but people like me who disagree with it have learned to deal with it our whole lives. You’re right, people should probably step up and say something in those instances.
You said if critical details are being ignored then publicize them. The problem is…the media is giving out UNVERIFIABLE facts about this case. Many facts that have strong counterpoints or additional details that water down their story.
For you Laura, I will do some research. I’ll pull articles I’ve found and point to you exactly what I’m talking about. What I am saying in a nutshell is that the media is only reporting “hearsay” that makes the white Jena people look racist. They never report the other hearsay on the other side because it waters down the issue.
I’ll get back to you on this in the next couple of days.
I am completely irate about the ignorance that the people of Jena and our nation show towards this situation. This seems like a prime example to the common phrase “ignorance is bliss.” A recent graduate of the class of 2007 I am. In a predominantly white community and school system, students would be placed under an in-school suspension, for the mansion of any racial slur brought to the attention of any administrator. If this incident of hanging nooses on a symbolic tree in front of the school were to happen, the students would have been justly punished. Yes, this is a country town; students may watch MTV as well as Hallmark. Since when does seeing something on the television make it acceptable to replicate in real life. This is just one of the many instances of this happening that was poorly dealt with. I cannot judge the residents of Jena or your “way of life.” What I can do is apply that of which ha happened in your town to normal justified punishments that would take place in the system that I was brought up in.
The issue of the black students fighting in the school in a violent manner is most definitely delicate situation. This is one that should have been dealt with the school board as well as the police department. In a situation such as this, the police would initially detain the students, release them into the custody of their parents and then the two organizations would proceed in making a fear punishment for what happened. I personally feel that an expulsion for fighting would have been the worse reprimand necessary. Yes it still would have put the student with the college scholarships to a disadvantage but I would not have ruined his life for a high school fight sparked by raging teenage emotions and a racist atmosphere. Again I am not judging the people of Jena; I am only basing this off of the initial comments of the white student.
The issue involving, the black student being beat up at the party and the adult pulling a shotgun on three minors should have had a more thorough investigation set forth to them. It is true the police can’t see everything but that is what Crime scene investigators and witnesses are for. From the information presented, these incidents were not dealt with with nearly the same intensity as the cases involving the black students. Is there a reason for this, lack of evidence, I don’t know. But truth is told a fair and just effort was not put forth for these happenings where the black student’s lives were endangered. Why charge someone with battery and theft for protecting themselves??? This brings us back to the days of Jim Crow laws, why are reversing in the advancement of our people. Our people being Americans! This along with the lack of punishment for the people responsible for beating the black student is despicable.
Is it true, these may have not been the greatest straight A students, how about their white counterparts, how did they do in school? What does it matter, does a history of paddy happenings reason enough to ruin an American Dream? This seems juvenile on the part of the police department, the town and its people that agree with this behavior. In addition, if US as a Nation feel strongly enough we would have spoke up about this matter. If WE as a Nation felt strongly about this issue it might have headlined CNN or NBC. These are the questions we must ask ourselves. What has happened to our values and why it is so hard to stand up for what is right. I would like to leave you with a quote from Dr. Martin Luther king’s “I have A Dream Speech.” When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070731/NEWS01/707310322
Laura and everyone else:
PLEASE read this article. This is finally the most objective piece of literature on the incident I can find. The Alexandria Town Talk is a paper written in a larger town about 45 minutes from Jena. This discusses IN DETAIL the findings of the FBI and complaints they received. It addresses all of the major issues in this whole situation.
Honestly, I had a huge letter written to refute many “hearsay”, opinionated, and inaccurate comments I found on different media and blog sites. The sad thing is, this article written by the Town Talk clarifies many things that I have been trying to tell this forum and others, but it also clarifies a few mistruths that I have heard.
I think this town’s most troubling problem is the citizens won’t swallow their pride and report things to authorities. People try to take matters into their own hands. SOMEBODY should have reported the noose incident to the authorities and more drastic action should have taken place.
Does this clarify alot Laura?
From Jena: No, it doesn’t clarify things. I read the Town Talk regularly and posted on that same article on August 3rd:
Also, the noose incident was reported – by whom I don’t know – to the FBI, who came out and did an investigation the same week it happened. Donald Washington spoke about it, and said it had been determined that it wasn’t a hate crime. I’m not sympathetic to the concept of hate crimes, but if burning a cross is not allowed under the first amendment, as SCOTUS has decreed, then I think it’s quite likely that hanging a noose isn’t either. But all of these things do not address the issue that felony charges for a high school fight in which no one was seriously injured and which was demonstrably not planned in advance are ridiculous. So much so that the Louisiana Supreme Court overturned a similar case involving adults, as I’ve posted on before – check the archives.
Laura:
I’m sorry you feel that way. The article you pointed me to has many of the “hearsay” ideas I’ve seen on the internet. You can’t verify them nor can anyone else. It was complete hearsay that Justin Barker called one of the guys the “n” word.
“No report from the Sheriff’s office… how convenient! It’s as convenient as something that happened over a year ago to a friend of mine – her schoolteacher daughter was illegally arrested because the mother of one of her students was mad at her, and worked in the police department as a clerk. She was arrested at school in front of her students, taken away in a police car, brought to the station, and released without being booked.”
This guy who pulled the gun isn’t in cahoots with law enforcement here. I know this for a fact. I also know several people from the police force, and I can vouch for their character. They are very fair and unbiased when they apply the law. I can’t vouch for the entire force, though (which isn’t very big).
“This is in complete opposition to previous reports, and the two are so different they can’t be reconciled. Someone is lying.”
Exactly my point, SOMEONE IS LYING. Should we assume that the racist white people in town are the ones that are lying?
“Well, that was helpful! Okay, black folk of Jena, simmah down now! There’s your place, get in it. Everybody else, shut up and go home. Nothing to worry about here, based on those photos Washington reviewed. Of course, both black and white locals disagree.”
At our football games, there is not a “black” section” like you may think. Everyone is always intermixed. It’s a big social event in Jena.
“I don’t find him a credible source on “misinformation.” As a general rule, I give the preponderance of personal accounts and local news more credence than I give outsiders. It doesn’t help that I’m predisposed to dislike Washington anyway because of his disingenuous comments about how to determine whether LaSalle DA Reed Walters is guilty of selective prosecution.”
The four FBI agents had access to police reports, procedures, etc. Do “personal accounts” reflect opinions that are weighed by specific police reports? The preponderance of personal accounts in Jena are not what are being displayed on these websites online. They are giving only the personal accounts of the black community in Jena. I’m basically echoing to you what the white community is saying.
By the way, I too am weighing my decision based on personal accounts. It’s too bad that you don’t see both sides of the “hearsay”. It seems as if the facts are absorbed and the hearsay that is most reflective of white-on-black racism and injustice is always represented on here and other websites. None of the hearsay from the white community is ever represented. Either play the hearsay game and present the other side, or completely remove hearsay from the conversation. That’s what’s fair and just.
that is messed up
To Jena:
What does the sexual advances of these young men have to do with the incident at hand? How do you know what type of response a noose hanging from a tree should spark? It isn’t about being accountable for your actions that is the problem folks, it is about the punishment and the reaction from ALL parties involved that is the problem. There was a problem with three nooses hung from a tree, and for those students to not be able to protest was another problem. In hindsight if the powers that be would have taken the time to hear from the African American community of Jena maybe these young people would not be in the situation they are in now. Also, there is a problem when you live in a community where you feel you have to ask if you can sit somewhere regardless of the intentions.
I must admit that i was totally disgusted when i heard about this. $90,000 for a highschool fight is just entirely to high. thats like a brand new bentley. that is something that should have lead to an expulsion at the most. And there is no evidence of attempted murder, it was just a simple case of ass whooping. And the racism in this town is perfectly clear. How could a white person pull a shot gun on you and you struugle to take it away and the black kids get charged with a crime. if there is anybody who doesn’t think that there isn’t racism involved in this case is full of shit
Correction from the post above:
I mentioned that I know “for a fact” that the white student who pulled the gun wasn’t in cahoots with the police. There’s no way for me to factually verify this, but I strongly suspect it’s the case.
I mentioned that “They are giving only the personal accounts of the black community in Jena”. What I meant was:
“They are giving only the personal accounts of a HANDFUL of members in the black community in Jena.” If you lived in town like I do, you’d realize that the overwhelming majority of black Jena townsmen and women are not protesting for the release of these 6 guys. It’s 95% outsiders. Most Jena protesters are family members of the accused.
I’d also like to add this:
When Hurricane Katrina and Rita hit, a flood of evacuees hit every town in this area of the state. A large percentage of these evacuees were black. Nearly every church in this town stepped up and took people in, UNSELECTIVELY. Some families stayed in our churches for weeks (up to a month), while members of the church cooked EVERY DAY and EVERY NIGHT to feed the evacuees out of their own pocketbooks. Many church members cooked home-cooked meals from their own stoves. Some formed close friendships with not only the white evacuees, but the black evacuees. I know this because I was involved.
Our community stepped up and helped people REGARDLESS of color and helped them get their lives back together.
Does this strike you as a racist town? This is why I defend Jena, and this is why I am angered by the assumptions that SOME people make about it. And Laura, I do realize you don’t make this assumption. This is for anyone else who gets online and tries to bash Jena as a hotbed of racist people.
Actually, unlike the people defending Barker and Jena, the people on the other side of the argument are willing to put their names to it. So when I have to figure out whether one of two people or groups is lying, I tend to believe the ones who will stand up for what they’re saying. You’re not; so I’m instantly more skeptical of you than I am of others who take ownership of their words. I also am very skeptical of people I already know to be dishonest, like Donald Washington. To say that he can’t prove selective prosecution because he doesn’t have racist statements from Reed Walters in writing or an oral report of them is quite simply a lie. I’ve posted the legal criteria for selective prosecution, and those things are not demanded in order to prove it. Sure, they’d be extremely helpful, but they are not mandatory. So that’s a huge strike against Washington, and strike two for your “team” as it were. I have also read many statements from both white and black folks in Jena who clearly say that there is open racism and that not everything is intermixed. So you sit together at football games; bully for you. But white parents don’t socialize with their kid’s black softball coach, and a black teacher had a hard time buying a house in a white neighborhood – and has lived there for years and still not been welcomed as small town neighborhoods are wont to do. If that’s not strike three, it’s at least a foul ball.
If you want me to take your accounts seriously – and I will publicize them to the best of my ability including getting them added to the Google news feed – then take ownership of what you’re saying and prove you are who you say you are. Give me something to work with here. Because other than that, for all I know you’re another Jessie McBride or a Scott Beauchamp.
The bottom line – and strike three – which is not disputed by anybody who can be taken seriously, is that Justin Barker was not seriously hurt, as evidenced by his attendance at the ring ceremony that night, the head nurse’s statement and his hospital discharge papers, and the lack of serious medical care like surgery, ongoing rehab, etc. He was injured, but not so bad that he had to be on pain pills for more than a couple of weeks, and the headaches he reports could not be proved medically. He was injured, but not so bad that Reed Walters could rest his case on actual medical testimony instead of photos which garnered an emotional reaction.
These extreme charges are unjust – which is why the LA Supremes overturned a similar case. That is the cake, and the rest is the frosting. The charges are indefensible, no matter how much we quibble over the details. But, again, I will gladly publicize any facts you want to get out there if you can back them up some kind of way. And I’d be willing to be that others would too.
I started typing my comment this morning and then left for several meetings, so I finished it and hit post before I read your #120 and #121. I appreciate that y’all took people in after Katrina. I know that everyone in town is not racist. But these charges are unjust. Church people ought to be front and center on this one, demanding more appropriate charges and a retrial where Bell has an attorney who actually does something.
SAD, SAD, SAD… Read these comments posted and it is sad to see that Race is still the # 1 factor that divides this country. Regardless of what color someone is, if you commit a crime you deserve punishment that fits the crime. But, out justice system does not prosecute in that manner in all cases. All you need to do is read… Federal charges should have been brought against those responsible for hanging a noose on that tree. # 2, everyone charged with fighting should have received the same sentencing but as we can see, that is not the case in these instances… 22 years for a high school fight? MOST of us reading and writing here would still be in jail or just getting out!!! People, black and white people; enough is enough! Stop trying to convince me that racism does not exist in this country! It still does! And, sure blacks are not getting beat by cops in the streets… BIt put us so far back that we can never catch up in this lifetime. ut we started so late in this country and that’s why their are so few balack business owners and CEO’s and big property owners. We were SLAVES. Nobody had anything to leave for me when they died! None of my family bought and sold slaves and saved or invested that money to give to their kids! None of my forefathers built communities and bought stock or real estate cause they were given that opportunity. Most my white friend say “well, that opportunity is here for you now.” That is an unfair statement. Here is what I tell them. “Ok, me and you are playig a game, ready go.” Then, I get 3/4 of the way to winning and give you the rules… That’s what slavery did for black people… Racism still is alive and well in the good ‘ol USA
This is very saddening. All I can add is that anyone who believes three nooses were just a “prank” is deluding themselves. It doesn’t matter if they watched “Lonesome Dove” or not. Putting the nooses up was a threat of violence, pure and simple, and there’s no way high school students didn’t know that.
Enter the River: Healing Steps from White Privilege Towards Racial Reconciliation
Laura:
Here is my stance about undisputed facts in this whole situation:
1.) Two white guys hung nooses near a spot where black guys were sitting the day before. Whether it was a direct threat or not, it was wrong and they should have been punished more severely. If criminal charges were to be filed, it would be done Federally because of the hate crime statute. The Feds (FBI) came in and did an investigation and said no force was used so it’s not directly a hate crime. This wasn’t just your Donald Washington, he only released the findings. Four FBI agents (two black, two white) investigated this incident. Are all four FBI agents questionable, or just Donald Washington? The FBI, as far as I’m concerned, is the final word on this situation. So far they’ve decided not to press charges. If they do, I would understand.
2. At least 3 to 4 black guys knocked a white guy unconscious and proceeded to beat him until his ears started bleeding. Two of their friends held back teachers while this happened. Though the guy was released the same day, he was beat rather brutally. Since he WAS treated and released that day, I believe these 6 guys, if proven by witnesses to be involved with this crime, should get the following:
Mychal Bell – DEPENDENT on his juvenile record (which I suspect is rather long), he should get a longer prison sentence; he is considered by many in the black community to be the instigator of this situation on the black side
The rest of them – I believe they should get 6 mts. prison up to a year based on their juvenile record; I’ve heard a couple of them aren’t really bad kids. They should be given a second chance. Sadly, some of these guys have already been in prison for awhile.
I do agree that the POTENTIAL prison sentence they may receive is MUCH greater than they deserve. But if I know the local judge well enough (J.P. Mauffray), he’ll let them off easy as he does everyone else.
The question to be asked is this: was it racism that put them in this position, or the District Attorney’s CLEAR warning to the entire school (that was even published in the local paper) that violence will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law? If someone can prove that Reed Walters actually prosecuted them in such a manor because of their race, he should very well be fired and he himself locked up for this. Who out there can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that his actions were the cause of his own racist beliefs?
3.) I’ve never denied that there is racism in Jena. As said before, it is a product of its surroundings (the South). Black and white members of the community need to join hands and help fight racism. If white people hang nooses and black people want to gang up on a white guy and beat him, racism will only GROW.
All the rest of the instances that happened around town have too much speculation and hearsay to make a determination. In my little world, this would be the proper punishment.
…and Laura, I understand why you take into consideration someone coming forth and stating who they are to accept responsibility for what they say. But in my particular situation, I have a career and would rather not take a chance on this coming back around on me in the future. What you type on the internet stays on the internet, so I choose to do it anonymously. I also realize that if I state my name, someone could pull my name up and find my address online. As said before, there have been death threats galore in this entire situation. Also, I am not directly involved with the situation so very little of what I say is “from the horse’s mouth” so to speak. It does little good for me to state my name.
Frankly, I’d be quite amazed if everything I’ve heard in this blog (Justin Barker said the “n” word to the Jena 6, several white students ganged up on a black student at the Fair Barn, etc.) had a name attached to it. Can you safely say that all of your commentary is backed by someone who spoke their name with their comment? Also keep this in mind: it’s very easy to state your name in public and make claims when its your own family members who are involved with the situation. This is where some of the hearsay is coming from (hearsay, or one person’s side of the story). If my son was Robert Bailey, it’d be very easy for me to tell the world HIS side of the story, because my name is already involved because one of the accused is my son. See where I’m coming from?
As a young African-American and a Sociologist, I cant’ help but be disturbed by how history repeats itself….I’ve researched the “Southern Civil Religion” a great deal and the ideas that have been thrown out on this board by people from Jena and other “Jena isn’t racist” commenters are straight out of the history books. As long as ignorance reigns, history is doomed to repeat itself.
Let’s look at the stereotypes/rituals that keep the Southern Civil Religion alive:
– Black men are aggressive, both physically, mentally and sexually
– but they don’t have brains and probably aren’t going anywhere or doing anything productive
– except constantly chasing after white females and trying to get close to them
– so the white males must come in and protect the white females and the rest of the community (including the “good” blacks) from these unruly Black men
– (racist) acts that cause mental harm and intimidation shouldn’t be punished
– but physical harm should be
Vincent Lamb:
“Race is still the # 1 factor that divides this country”
Black, white, Italian, Arab, you are right Vincent. This is sad and very true. If anything comes out of this whole Jena 6 thing, I wish it to be a further acknowledgment of racism and a course of action to help bind communities together that keep it separate because of race.
“Federal charges should have been brought against those responsible for hanging a noose on that tree.”
I tend to somewhat agree with you on that. My issue is that the FBI has already sent a team of investigators (two white, two black) to look at this specific issue and have decided SO FAR not to press charges.
“everyone charged with fighting should have received the same sentencing but as we can see, that is not the case in these instances”
The other fights in town are so diluted in hearsay from both sides that a factual argument can’t be established. Yes, a fight ensued at the Fair Barn. Yes, a white male most likely instigated the fight. From there the details get hazy. No charges were ever pressed, nor was any black student admitted to the local hospital for having a beer bottle broken over his head. The press has yet to mention the fact that these same black students created a list of guys that they thought were friends with the 3 guys who hung the noose. They were going around town trying to find these guys so they could attack them. Again, this is hearsay not based on facts. But if hearsay will be brought into these internet conversations, I will match it with MY hearsay from the actual town of Jena.
“Nobody had anything to leave for me when they died! None of my family bought and sold slaves and saved or invested that money to give to their kids! None of my forefathers built communities and bought stock or real estate cause they were given that opportunity. Most my white friend say “well, that opportunity is here for you now.” That is an unfair statement. Here is what I tell them. “Ok, me and you are playig a game, ready go.” Then, I get 3/4 of the way to winning and give you the rules… That’s what slavery did for black people…”
Slavery was a dark time in our nation’s history. But you have to consider this: many white people where I’M from started out with nothing, no real estate, no stock, no nothing. This is a free country where opportunity abundantly exists. Every high school student who qualifies in the state of Louisiana is eligible for free college tuition. Everyone has a chance to make something of themselves. Some in the black community use racism as a crutch, when they should use it as motivation for change. I’m sorry your forefathers weren’t wealthy land owners, but neither were mine!
You and me are in agreement on our philosophies on life, but you must understand that very little of the Jena 6 situation is centered around factual information. Many of the factual information does point to disparities, but not indeterminably racism. The only pure racist act that I’ve seen here is the noose hangings.
[From Laura - Actually one person involved in the Fair Barn beating was charged. A white guy, with a misdemeanor battery charge.
Show something, anything, any news report, any person willing to corroborate your account that anyone made a list of the guys who were friends with the noose hangers and were going around town looking for them to attack them. Because if no one is willing to stand up for it, it never happened, and I'm going to start deleting sections of your comments that can't be cited or corroborated. As bad as the newspapers are, at least when something is printed in them, someone is accountable for it. You can call it hearsay all day long but it doesn't make it so. It's a statement, and someone, somewhere is responsible. And if you're not going to take responsibility for your accusations, I'll delete them. Show me I'm wrong and I will gladly apologize and make retractions. I'll take responsibility for what I've written here - will you?]
This is to the user (from Jena) since i dont know your name…..If you read my comment #98 you will see my point of view on this situation……mychall bell most likely should serve some jail time but as far as the rest of the young men i do not believe the deserve prison terms over a high school fight when the student was not harmed in a serious matter, its not like the victim had to stay in the hospital, he was treated and released in hours time! so give me a break and honestly if those kids would have been trying to put him in a coma/(attempted murder) i doubt they would have kicked his ass at school in front off alot of people. they would have waited till after school to do so..at least a would have. As far as the other young men i dont believe that all them had prior records therefor put them on probation or give them a fine and move on…honestly if i lived in La i wouldn’t want my tax dollars going to waist to send a few young men with no priors or minor ones to prison wich will stay with them for the rest of their lives, who had a high school fight and the victims injuries were in no form life threatning!!
Andre:
Sounds like you have a level head for a senior in high school. It’s very difficult to look past media bias and form an accurate perception of reality.
What is most important to me is for everyone to understand the truth. Fair, balanced, and removed of hearsay. This will never happen in this country because the media propagandizes stories in order to create a controversy and profit from it. Not only does the media have a personal interest, but so do many other people who have angry feelings after reading misinformed reports that INCLUDE hearsay. It becomes a snowball effect. Admittedly, I have included hearsay in my posts on websites online (and present it as such), but this is only to act as a counterbalance to the hearsay that is presented only from the side that considers all events racist.
If I were reading these stories about my town, I would be outraged and I would think Jena is a HORRIBLE place full of racism. That’s why I am making my stand here, so people can understand there is misinformation that leads the public into having an unbalanced view of the events that transpired in Jena.
Racism is alive and if the “energy” from this story out of Jena gets people off their butts and helps bring communities together, I am for it. But to make Jena the Hiroshima or Nagasaki of racism is not fair, and people in Jena are gonna stand their ground.
I don’t know about partisiam opinions, and as you say ME, you live in Jena and should know that to an Black person in America a noose is meant as a threat. Do not be a turtle with you head in a shell! If one person went to jail all should have gone to Jail. That’s the bottom line it takes two to fight. Hanging that noose was like shouting fire in a crowed theater, a negative reaction was bound to happen. A noose is not a joke, perhaps you have never read about all the lynching that occured at the hands of hate filled Americans, unable to accept other as having the right to live a peaceful existance.
http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070727/NEWS01/707270319
For a town that keeps claiming it is not racist I would like from Jena to explain this. I read this and it seems the only people who were interested in talking about this issue were black people, since you are from Jena did you go to this forum and where were all these so call non racist white people.
Free:
I can’t vouch for the entire town, but I had family to tend to that day. I heard about this meeting but it was never brought up to me as a time for the black & white townsmen to get together and work through issues. It’s sad that less white people in Jena showed up to that event.
I think it’s partly because most people here are in shock about what is going on. Most people don’t know ALL the facts, and think that it is getting blown way out of proportion (including many in the black community). How fair that is, I’ll let you decide. Many of them may have taken it the way I have. I was under the impression that it was a question & answer session for the families and friends of people directly impacted by this. It wasn’t like “Hey, bring your kids, hot dogs and Cokes will be served”. That is how the Alexandria Town Talk is portraying it.
The population of LaSalle Parish is around 13,000 people. The two towns combined (Jena and Olla) amount to maybe 3500 of these people. So the majority of people in this parish live outside the city limits. This is where racism is alot more rampant.
I’ll just say that I am trying to take steps on my own to help the entire community come together and work towards reducing the racism here. It saddens me that few in the black community here do not have careers. I do feel that part of this is racism, but it is also a cultural epidemic. I’ve been friends with more than one black man in this town who was wanting to have a career in something (made good grades in school, dressed differently, joined clubs) and these guys were constantly ridiculed in the black community for this. They were accused of “trying to be white”. If both of these issues can be resolved, it would be very beneficial to the entire community, but especially the black community.
from Jena:
First of all it is Ms. Wallace. And second of all it is the fact that if it was six white students they would of been PROBABLY be given a lesser sentence and they would of been given the right to a speedy trial; their trial would of been over (just saying dont take me for qoute). I am not excusing the Jena 6 for what they did I am just saying that, that town should be fair and if not then the government should definetly step in because it is not right what they doing. And again I THINK THAT THEY SHOULD BE GIVEN A SECOND CHANCE!!!! THANK YOU!!!!!! Oh yeah and PLEASE dont think about getting smart with me….
And to Recent Grad you bring up a lot of good points and I very much applaud you because you are making sense. “Igorance is bliss”.
Thank you
Jena you stated that if 6 white boys had beat up one black kid then they would have been buried under the courthouse. I am wondering when the funeral is, because more than six white boys and grown men beat that black kid up at the party and nothing was done. You also say lets hear both sides and yada yada yada, but I don’t see you lashing out at idiots like Alan or Me who are on here spouting garbage from the “white” perspective, why is that? You also said in regards to Mychal Bell: He’s been a huge menace, moreso to the black community than to the white. The fact that he’s a star athlete doesn’t give him a right to conduct himself the way he has. A few of these boys definitely deserve second chances. One has a football scholarship that hopefully can be reinstated. I personally will be outraged if they receive lengthy prison sentences. Ummm fo rsomeone who knows so much personally on the subject…Mychal Bell had a scholarship that that he lost due to this mess!
Lastly-if the crime is one in which an adult would receive more than a year of time for, then that juvenile record would then become public knowledge… now this is a state by state ruling and I am checking to see if that is the case there. If it does apply to your state, I would love to see those records you claim are factual!
i so agree with Ruth because “from Jena” you aren’t talking to them but yet you are going down my throat for expressing my feelings. If you were in the Jena 6 postion i am pretty sure that you would tell people to give you a second chance. And how sure are you that it was Mychal Bell that is starting up trouble. You are hear saying. How do you know. For all we know it could be someone who over-heard something wrong. Did you ask Mychal if he starts up trouble, because i am pretty sure that right now he would definetly tell you whether he does or not. And i am not sure that he would lie to you or anyone about that.
Jena Person You keep saying how meancing they were to the black community, but clearly that is not the case when you have over 200 memebers of this group show up in defense for these kids!(see Free’s link on post 135) Clearly the black community has spoken for itself and you are not a member of the black community in Jena so please stop trying to speak for them!
There has been alot of talk about these young men “trying to go out with girls” and sitting under a tree to be closer to the girls. Well DUHH they are teenage boys. Am I the only female who got hit on or had boys try to date me in high school. The butt pinching is rude and crude and I’ve smacked a few boys for that when I was in school. That has no bearing on what’s happening in the court system of this town. I’m sad and sickened over it. Yes they should get in trouble. Suspension, expulsion, probation, community service. They all work for me. But an attempted murder rap and putting these boys in to a jail with adult criminals. Is this how we protect and teach the youth? All the people invoved should face the consequences of their actions. Why weren’t those teenage girls that beat up the young lady and put it on YOUTUBE not in prison for the next 20 years. Oh please. Spare me the rant of they were trouble makers. Guess what, name me one teenage boy that is perfect!
Ruth:
you say…
“I am wondering when the funeral is, because more than six white boys and grown men beat that black kid up at the party and nothing was done.”
Read the link I posted above and the comments that the FBI made. The fight at the Fair Barn had conflicted eye witness reports. According to the FBI’s investigator, ONE person tried to fight ONE black guy, and as people stepped in the fight was broken up. No one was sent to the hospital and no charges were filed. In the Jena 6 case, 16 people testified what they saw, the victim went to the hospital, and charges were pressed. Crucial differences between the stories. One is backed by documents and sworn testimony, the other one has NO documents backing it. Without backed up documents, the two cases have little basis for comparison.
“I don’t see you lashing out at idiots like Alan or Me who are on here spouting garbage from the “white” perspective, why is that?”
Lack of a response doesn’t indicate agreement. My responses in these chat rooms are aimed to dispel myths and conflicting eye witness accounts that have turned into fact in the eyes of the public as well as counteract hearsay with the other side of the story. Bashing Alan and Me doesn’t serve this purpose. Just to let you know, I have responded to some racist comments in other websites (YouTube, etc.). I’m not a racial activist, but I do openly disagree with racism.
“Mychal Bell had a scholarship that he lost due to this mess!”
I am aware of that. Maybe he should have thought about his scholarship when he decided to gang up on a guy and kick him while he’s on the ground unconscious. Did he stop for a second to think “Wait, the DA told the entire school that he could change my life with the stroke of a pen if I start a fight”? NO he DIDN’T!
“If it does apply to your state, I would love to see those records you claim are factual!”
I’d be ELATED if those records were released. I don’t feel this way about Mychal Bell because he’s black, I feel this way about Mychal Bell because he is a TROUBLEMAKER. I don’t care if he’s a martian from outer space, HE STARTS TROUBLE.
Mrs. Wallace:
About your comment (137) about me not getting smart with you: I won’t. Your comment has nothing in it for me to respond to.
About your last comment (139), I apologize if you feel I’m jumping down your throat for expressing your feelings. You are entitled to state how you feel as I am. What I am counteracting is the hearsay that you have brought into your conversation. Hearsay that you most likely have no idea is just hearsay.
“Did you ask Mychal if he starts up trouble, because i am pretty sure that right now he would definetly tell you whether he does or not. And i am not sure that he would lie to you or anyone about that.”
I’m sure he wouldn’t either, just as any other prisoner wouldn’t. They have no reason to say they’re innocent when they’re really guilty…..right?
One other thing:
Ruth:
When did 200 members of the black community in Jena show up to support these kids? If you are referring to the FBI’s forum they hosted, it says in that article that in the Town Talk that the forum was “aimed to educate those wanting to learn more about issues arising from the “Jena Six” case.” This doesn’t imply support to me. It says to me that these people want some answer to what is going on (and rightfully so).
Jena Person, clearly you didnt read the article: Lisa Anderson and her sister, Vickie Johnson, both of Jonesville, said they came to the forum to show their support for the Jena Six and to learn more about not only the case but also the laws that affect it.
If you keep reading the article, you will see that, like you, the black community feels their are sides-whites versus blacks. You will also see that they state that whites are in fact missing in action in fighting to build unity. I don’t know how you could not read that as support for these boys, especially when their are direct quotes from the black community! Again, you are not a memeber of the black community so stop trying to speak for them! In fact, stop trying to speak for anyone but yourself for just a moment and answer the question: Have you personally had a run in, encounter, or any kind of disagreement with these boys?
Martin Luther King III speaks to a large crowd Tuesday evening in temperatures above 100 degrees in Antioch Baptist Church in Jena in support of the “Jena Six.” (Leandro Huebner/Louisiana Gannett News)
large crowd of supporters Jena Person!
Another direct quote: The charges sparked outrage in the black community, drawing attention from the American Civil Liberties Union, which is now monitoring the cases, Sharpton and others.
“These young boys should be in school without stains on their names,” Sharpton said.
In a sermon during at the Trout Creek Baptist Church, Sharpton said he expected to see a scene like that of the 1960s when civil rights workers came to Louisiana to support integration. Sharpton said the case is drawing attention from national black leaders, including Martin Luther King III and Jesse Jackson.
With the family members of the accused in the audience, Sharpton told the predominantly black congregation, “I did not come to Jena to start trouble. I came to Jena to stop trouble.”
Sharpton said he would keep coming back to the town “until they leave our young men alone.
Sharpton’s presence was inspirational, said Donald Ray Smith, 47, a church member.
“He really made an impression on me,” Smith said. “I think this will go a long way toward uniting us.”
And another direct quote…If you want more then I can keep giving them! The burden of proof lies on your head, show me a legitimate direct quote from the black community, show me an article on these six “hoodlums” show me any newspaper, clipping something to dispel the “hearsay” that is going around! You are a grown man who has nothing to do with these kids, so your “personal opinions” of them are bogus! Gey me a quote from someone who is their age and goes to school with them…Thanks.
But i am just saying that he just seems as if he is not the type of person to do something like that. And i also think that you do bring up a good point, “I’m sure he wouldn’t either, just as any other prisoner wouldn’t. They have no reason to say they’re innocent when they’re really guilty…..right?” But we are talking about Mychal Bell, and i am sorry but he doesn’t seem like the type of person to do that, with his life a steak and his potential career.
B Wallace
Judging by people I’ve spoke with in our community (black & white), Mychal Bell would blatantly do anything he wants to and say anything to get away with it.
The other guys, who I’ve heard little about, SEEM to not be as big of troublemakers. It bothers me that Mychal Bell is getting so much attention. He, along with the white noose hangers, were the main instigators of these events. You should save your energy for the other guys who don’t have the rap sheet that Mychal Bell has. Many of whom I feel should get very little prison time.
Laura brought up a good point, everyone has a right to a speedy trial. I am not sure why this process is taking so long, but I suspect it is because of the attention it has received (media, protests, etc.). I’m gonna look into this more. Do you have anything on this Laura? I guess I should know more since I live here. I think it would be a travesty for the boys who couldn’t make bail to wait a year in prison waiting for their trial.
I just heard about the Jena 6 case on The Micael Baisden radio program a couple of days ago and I am very uphauled about the way people in power use their power to supress others. This is exactly what this case is about.
People who are suppose to justly uphold the law and statutes of this land are using those same laws to intimidate people, whom they feel they have supreme power over.
You don’ t use the law when it is benefical for you and unjust for someone else.
These students should have all received the same punishement no matter what their ethnicity. Apparently Jena officals did not feel the same way.
I really hope the United States Justice Department comes in and takes over the judicial system in Jena. I am quite sure that this is not the first time something like this has happened.
There is a reason this case has been exposed to the world. We have seen the pitfall of ignorance and misuse of judical power.
One this I also noticed in a few of the posts is that the person “From Jena” is very adamit in her defense of the town she is from. I do appauld that. I do also want to say that when you from a place and have been raise a certain way, you will automatically think that how things are is ok, and their is nothing wrong with how your town has been run for the last so many years. But the sad fact is that their is a major problem here and you don’t see it because you are not on the receiving in based on how your posts are presented.
You are on the inside looking out, but the rest of the world has at this point seen Jena in a different light.
I do believe that the town of Jena belieives that its idealogy and rituals are because they were able to hide, this foolishness and that is what it is. But now this town and its secret society of corrupted power has been uncovered. Thank God.
I also want to know “From Jena” have you ever been anywhere beside Jena and if not you might want to invest in some traveling shoes.
Move yourself from your current surrounding and see how the other part of the United States live and you will change your toon.
Ruth:
“Have you personally had a run in, encounter, or any kind of disagreement with these boys?”
No have you? In fact, have you ever been within 10 HOURS of the TOWN of Jena?
“Another direct quote: The charges sparked outrage in the black community, drawing attention from the American Civil Liberties Union, which is now monitoring the cases, Sharpton and others.”
I’ve said this several times but, THAT’S a DIRECT quote from a NEWS organization. It’s the media. Just because it’s directly quoted from the media don’t make it true.
“And another direct quote…If you want more then I can keep giving them! The burden of proof lies on your head, show me a legitimate direct quote from the black community, show me an article on these six “hoodlums” show me any newspaper, ..”
Please keep giving them, because all I’ve seen so far is direct quotes from people who ARE NOT from Jena. There are no articles on these “hoodlums” because they are juveniles. Their cases are sealed to the public. There are quotes from people in Jena, and I plan to do some research and find out the other side of the story (if there is one).
“…clipping something to dispel the “hearsay” that is going around! You are a grown man who has nothing to do with these kids, so your “personal opinions” of them are bogus! Gey me a quote from someone who is their age and goes to school with them…Thanks.”
Oh, so you’re saying that the hearsay that is swirling around is okay to be said as long as there’s no proof against it? I see.
I am a grown man, but I KNOW several people around their age. So my “personal opinions” are less bogus when you look at it in that context.
You welcome.
In case you didn’t know, Laura:
Today Mychal Bell was denied bail because of his past criminal record. The judge considered him a threat to the community. Read this article:
http://www.thenewsstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070824/UPDATES01/70824029
“During a bail hearing today in Jena, four other crimes of violence involving Bell were revealed.”
I’m very curious as to what these crimes of violence are. Hopefully the full truth will finally start to come out.
…and with this new revelation, I can finally refute some of these websites that claim he has “no prior criminal record” or “no prior discipline problems”. But I’ll wait until I get the entire story first.
[I'm responding here so it doesn't get lost in the shuffle. No, I didn't know, and I appreciate you posting the link. I've been offline for several days and haven't commented or posted, or even looked at the comments in the moderated queue - I've really been out of the loop! If what you've been saying is demonstrably true, I'll gladly retract, as I've said many times. I'll put a link to this in a new post. Please also keep in mind my offer to guest-post. - Laura 8/27/07 9:30am]
you keep speaking on here like what you have to say is the Gospel truth and everyone else’s comments are hearsay. You act as if you were there and like your sources are completely unstained. Your white friends I am sure have a lot to gain by fudging the truth. There are several websites where whites in Jena and around Jena admit that this Town has racial issues, such as the barber who does not cut black hair another source a white man close to him stated that the reason for this was he was worried that his white patrons would have issues with him cutting their hair with the same equipment used on blacks. You still refuse to acknowledge that a black kid was beaten up, and the DA decided not to press charges on all that were involved and it was more than one that hit him, why? because then you would have to admit to the disparity in justice, and as usual a lot not all white people do not like to admit that they have racial issues. Funny how you keep dismissing the white kids actions and try to downplay their part. You are white, you are from Jena, many of the whites there are your friends, and apparently you still have family there, so just how again is you opinion unbiased?. You have something directly to lose in this and that is a stain in the name of your town and you will distort and do or say what ever will make your side look good. There are accounts from other black students that state the comment was directed to the black side of the assemby( which in it self is utterly ridiculous) If the DA did not intend to direct the comment toward one group then they all should have been sitting together that would have never been allowed when I was in high school or at my kids school. There is definitely something wrong will people keep trying to make segregation look like a good thing. Funny how the white students heard something different from the black students who have stated he said(I can end you lives with the stroke of a pen) All because they protested an injustice. Well this time there will be no racist DA to shut down the black protest and threaten us because in Sept there is going to be a massive protest and I really mean massive there are buses being organized from states all over the country and I am in the process of filling a bus here from Ga and many are driving, some of the hotels in nearby cities are already booked solid. You can stick up for this town and all it’s little small minded beliefs but do not expect the black community to just sit back and shut up. The whole world will see that we will not tolerate this type of blatant racism anywhere. Just like the Ruth said stop trying to speak for the black community in Jena many have shown their support at various rallies, at least the ones not too scared to do so. You keep trying to justify this injustice due to the fact that you claim this boy was a menace, Who are these so call black people who are saying this? Where is the criminal record to back this up or is it just what you have heard (hearsay) from whites students at this school who clearly have issues with the black kids. You do not speak for the black community so stop trying to as it is ineffective.
you seem to think that just because you are from Jena that makes you an expert on this case. How is that? Were you there? where you in the minds of each of these individuals you keep claiming to get information from?. Did they take lie detector test? All you know just like the rest of us is what you have been told, and in your cased even more biased because of the fact that you have a stake in protecting this town and your friends and family. So whats your statements so objective?.
Free:
I’m sorry if I’ve come off to you as someone who thinks I only speak the “gospel truth”. I have put in many of my statements, if you’ll read above, that I am NOT speaking about just facts. I am also counterbalancing the hearsay and accounts of people with the other side of the story. I’m not speaking it as truth, I am speaking it as a way to show YOU and the rest of the country that I refuse to put up with people who are only willing to tell one side of the story. My sources may well be stained, but the accounts put in these forums and the media may just as well be. It’s alot more difficult to assess what has happened in a town of 3,000 from 10 hours away than it is to actually be in that town and live there every day. Can you agree with me on that?
“Your white friends I am sure have a lot to gain by fudging the truth.”
The defendants and their parents have more to lose.
“There are several websites where whites in Jena and around Jena admit that this Town has racial issues”
I have never denied there being racial issues in Jena (read my statements above). What I have said is that Jena is VERY VERY similar to all other towns its size across this area of the country. Racism is alive and well here, and it’s SAD. Just because there are racial issues here doesn’t mean that everyone in town and everyone involved in this case is racist.
“the barber who does not cut black hair another source a white man close to him stated that the reason for this was he was worried that his white patrons would have issues with him cutting their hair with the same equipment used on blacks”
Did the reports ask a black barber if he cuts white people’s hair? What would he have said? I’m not denying what the man said, and I’m not denying that what he said wasn’t racially insensitive, but where did you find this article from? I knew he was interviewed and heard about it but never actually read the story.
“You still refuse to acknowledge that a black kid was beaten up, and the DA decided not to press charges on all that were involved and it was more than one that hit him, why?”
WHY?? I’ll tell you why. Three people (two from the FBI and one from the justice department, two black, one white) came into Jena and conducted and investigation. If you read the article in the Alexandria Town Talk that I posted a link to a few days ago, it says the following:
“On Dec. 1, there was a private, invitation-only birthday party at the Fair Barn. Around 11 p.m., five black students tried to come into the party but were told by a woman that they weren’t allowed inside without an invitation. The boys persisted, saying they had friends inside. A white man then jumped in front of the woman, and a fight started.
A group broke the two up, and the woman asked the white man, not a student, and the black students to leave the party. Once outside, another fight started between a group of white men, not students, and the black students. Police were called, and a white man was arrested. He pleaded guilty to simple battery.
Even though there were reports of one of the black students receiving injuries that required medical attention, there is no record of that.”
This is what Washington discussed in this town forum. He seems to be in disagreement with you. You say a black kid was beaten up by MORE THAN ONE WHITE KID. The FBI agent’s statement says that five black students were there and one white student jumped on one of them. Then a fight ensued. Also, if you’ll read in the article, these 5 black guys (who, as you can see, were involved in many of the racial fights in town) showed up to a party that was invitation only, where many friends of some guys they had already got in a fist fight with were partying. So do you think they were showing up to “kick back a few beers” with some friends? I’ll let you speculate. Also, again, there was no charges pressed by anyone at the party that night, including the black kids involved. Also, there was no hospital admittance or “beating” by several people on one. No one was knocked unconscious and continued to be beaten. It’s VASTLY different from the BEATING that took place at the school.
“not all white people do not like to admit that they have racial issues”
It seems that few black people do as well. I do realize that racial issues affect the minority alot worse because they are smaller in numbers. I admit that I am not a model of perfection. I have my minor racial issues like most people do. It’s unfair of me to feel this way, and for anyone else to. It has to change.
“Funny how you keep dismissing the white kids actions and try to downplay their part.”
I’ve said in here over and over that the guys who hung the nooses are RACIST and committed a horrible act. They should have been expelled from school.
“how again is you opinion unbiased”
When did I ever say my opinoin was without bias? Just like the reports from the media you are getting, my opinions have bias to them. I try my hardest for them not to, but they still exist.
You have something directly to lose in this and that is a stain in the name of your town and you will distort and do or say what ever will make your side look good.
The Jena 6 and their parents have alot more to lose than we do.
“There are accounts from other black students that state the comment was directed to the black side of the assemby( which in it self is utterly ridiculous)”
That’s their side of the story. Most white people in the audience tell a different story. Which one do you believe? …and which one is the ONLY one that is represented in the media?
“there is going to be a massive protest and I really mean massive there are buses being organized from states all over the country”
Good, I’m sure the local business owners will be tickled pink.
“You can stick up for this town and all it’s little small minded beliefs but do not expect the black community to just sit back and shut up.”
You can unfairly criticize my town and claim we have small beliefs, but you don’t live here you don’t know what’s going on day to day!! I don’t expect the black community to just sit back and shut up. I expect them to try to join hands with the whites in the community and help us resolve this issue on our own. Black and white preachers need to get together (like done several months ago), black and white community leaders need to get together. Issues should be openly discussed. I HOPE THIS HAPPENS!
“You keep trying to justify this injustice due to the fact that you claim this boy was a menace”
All I’m saying is that he was WARNED (along with the rest of the school) days before this beating that any violence would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Also, he was denied bail today, citing 4 violent criminal acts in his past. That shouldn’t be weighed in his punishment? ANYONE (black or white) would be tried based on their record. If his record is bad, he should get a stiffer punishment. Where is the injustice?
to (from jena) i actually applaud you in you stating the facts and being open minded!!! If there were just more people like you and me and some of the others here, AMERICA and the WORLD would be alot better off!!! and also i like how you are standing up for your town because if that would have been PLANO,TX (suburdb of dallas) I would be doing the same!…and for those of you who think bell shouldnt have served any time, YOU r crazy as hell, this kid has four prior criminal acts on his record but at the same time he dosnt need to go to prison, hes served long enough time in jail in fact hes been there too damn long!
You said in you last post:
“The FBI agent’s statement says that five black students were there and ONE WHITE STUDENT jumped on one of them. Then a fight ensued”
But then you also say:
“A group broke the two up, and the woman asked the WHITE MAN NOT A STUDENT, and the black students to leave the party. Once outside, another fight started between a group of white men, not students, and the black students. Police were called, and a white man was arrested. He pleaded guilty to simple battery.”
Which account is right yours or the FBI’s?. You said the FBI said it was a student, then you state in your account from what source I am unsure of that it was not a student but a white man.
There are accounts that the parents gave permission for the student to come in to the party as long as he did not start trouble and once inside someone asked him if he was M. Bell he said yes and then a female hit him and a guy and then others jumped in and got in extra shots. No he did not go to the hospital but it does not meant he was not injured. I have been hit in the mouth with a rock and had a hole in the underside if my lip bleeding profusely and did not chose to go to the hospital, does that mean I was not injured?. If there were no injuries then why did this man plead guilty to battery?. What about the Gun incident at the gas station?, but I am sure you will find a way to justify that incident too.
I live in a small town myself, Fairburn, GA which has grown a lot over the last couple of years in size. I have been here most of my life and at the salon where I get my hair done I have seen white men come in and get their hair washed and cut, using the same scissors used on my head. I have seen the same thing in the town next to mine which is Union City. In my town people do not get excommunicated when they marry outside their race, as was quoted by a white young lady in Jena who married a black man. We all live in basically the same neighborhoods, we do not try to keep people out of certain neighborhoods based on race. Is there more than one black family that lives in a white neighborhood in Jena?. how many black owned businesses are there in the city of Jena?. This is normal to you because you have lived in it your whole life. In my town we do not allow areas specifically for blacks or whites, nor do we have separated assemblies. There seems to be a high tolerance for racism in your town. So why would that suddenly change with this case.
I am not surprised that sealed juvenile records were publicly read in this case as an attempt to continue to hold this young man. This had to be read publicly so that there would be a justifiable reason to keep this kid in jail. All these boys were charged with the same thing, so charges were not brought up based on past criminal issues. Some of these boys have no records, so do not use that as a reason these kids were charged so harshly. The FBI tried to get blacks and whites together but who did not show up?.
Yes he was warned along with the other black students separated from the white students that his life could be ended with the stroke of a pen. He was warned to stay in his place and he did not so he deserves
the harshest punishment under “JENA’s LAW”
Is the Alexandria Town Talk, also the media, or just the medis you chose to believe because it is based in La?. What makes what they report more so right than what other media outlets are?.
You said :
“It’s alot more difficult to assess what has happened in a town of 3,000 from 10 hours away than it is to actually be in that town and live there every day. Can you agree with me on that?”
Not really, because I think that you live, have friends and family in this town you are always going to slant the story in your towns favor. Also most of the information you are getting is probably coming from people who, would not admit to the FBI or anyone else for that matter, that they have done anything wrong, or participated or watched something racially wrong take place.
You are seriously asking me to believe the accounts of people who racially separate themselves from people. The same group of people who saw nothing wrong with the nooses, the same justice system that made it ok for a gun to be pulled out on these black kids, the same community that has no problem with a segregated assembly and a segregated tree, and segregated communities. A town that instead of moving a trial for the sake of fair justice, would allow a poor black kid to be tried in a court room with a white judge, a white DA, and an all white jury.
I am sorry but I have a hard time being able to believe statements from those I believe just want to conserve their small beliefs with out outside interference.
All these blacks that did not show up for jury duty, were they punished for not showing up. In my state if you do not show up you can go to jail. Funny no accounts of that in Jena, I wonder why. To create a fair trial they should have resent jury notices and enforced them or they should have moved the trial. This kid did not have a fair shot at defending himself. So as to not create the appearance of racism, he should have never been charged by an all white jury. DA and a public defender who did nothing to defend him. This kid did not stand a chance. How would you feel to be tried in a case where you were accused of attacking a black person and all you see in the court room was a black judge, a black jury, and a black defense attorney?. Would you feel you have received a fair trial, so because these blacks did not show up he deserved to be punished for that?. Not to mention their were people on the jury who were friends and family of the victim and the district attorney. That was a biased trial. Regardless of all the other issues, I got involved due to the fact that I believe this trial was not fair, and just because some people from the FBI said it aint so does not make it the truth. They have been wrong before. I believe they are wrong now. I am coming because I believe that if we do not this will happen again, All white judge, and jury’s convicting non whites, and I might have to one day see one of my kids in a court room (God Forbid) starring at nothing but white faces with no hope.
what has Mychal Bell done in the past that makes him such a bad person. He has apparentely made a huge turn around because he has a schlorship (from what i heard) to play football. Not i am not saying that Mychal Bell should not be punished I am just saying that he shouldn’t be the only one since he has a rap sheet.
to wallace: Just because someone gets a scholarship doesnt mean that they have turned their life around, I’ve known plenty of people to recieve scholarships and still known to be trouble makers or criminals!
i am just saying that for a black person to get a scholarship is a big deal because that is paving the way for us. And i am not sure or even think that he (Mycahl Bell) would throw that away for anything. And i am not sure that his mother or anybody in his family would be happy if he just threw that away.
Free:
Make your own choice about who to believe. The FBI pulled police reports, something I’ve yet to do. They reviewed statements I don’t have, so you should believe them over me if there’s a disparity. I know who the white male was. He’s about 22, he’s an adult.
“There are accounts that the parents gave permission for the student to come in to the party as long as he did not start trouble and once inside someone asked him if he was M. Bell he said yes and then a female hit him and a guy and then others jumped in and got in extra shots.”
Where did you find this information at? I’d like to see it. I’m not saying your lying, just want to know where that came from to verify.
“No he did not go to the hospital but it does not meant he was not injured.”
Maybe the white male who was involved with the fight had injuries. Maybe the girl at the front of the entrance got injured. Maybe a CAT got hit by one of the CARS when everyone left? No one knows because no report was filed.
“If there were no injuries then why did this man plead guilty to battery?”
He started the fight, plain and simple. He’s at fault. There’s no documented evidence that he injured someone, and there was no one there to press charges. Does that make a strong case for the DA to charge?
“In my town people do not get excommunicated when they marry outside their race, as was quoted by a white young lady in Jena who married a black man.”
Multiracial couples get heat from BOTH communities when they date. Typically multiracial couples (at least around here) are a black man and white woman. The black man gets alot of heat from the white guys, the white woman gets alot of heat from the black women. You’re assuming that being “excommunicated” means that only the WHITE people in town take issue with it. Either way, people need to mind their own business and let people date whoever they want, I agree.
“Is there more than one black family that lives in a white neighborhood in Jena?”
I can think of several black families that live in the city limits. Most of them rent, but a small handful have bought homes. My point is, did you hear the TOTAL population of black citizens in Jena? It’s 350! Most of them are kin to each other, it’s a tightly woven community. Have you thought about this: MAYBE they’d rather live next to their family members than move around a few stray friends here and there, but mostly people they don’t know!
Do you think the white people are racist unless they FORCE the town to integrate? Do you think the black people in town would WANT to move into neighborhoods away from their family? Segregation isn’t right, NOR IS desegregation. As long as both sides are in agreement.
“There seems to be a high tolerance for racism in your town.”
You are right, there is a high tolerance for racism in this town. Almost 75% of the entire parish live outside the city limits. Some people live out in the sticks, and yes, some are VERY racist. The majority of the town (like me) don’t like it but have put up with it for awhile. This needs to change, I agree.
“I am not surprised that sealed juvenile records were publicly read in this case as an attempt to continue to hold this young man.”
So the judge revealing the reason WHY he thinks this person is a threat to the community makes him racist? Is it his fault, or ANYONE ELSES BUT MYCHAL BELL’S, that he has 4 violent criminal acts in his past? But wait, it’s a huge conspiracy, the white people in Jena hate him because he’s black, so when he committed these violent acts, they were there to arrest him! It’s not fair, dang it!!
“This had to be read publicly so that there would be a justifiable reason to keep this kid in jail.”
Is this NOT a justifiable reason to keep him in jail? If you were Mychal Bell’s next door neighbor and he had already committed 4 violent criminal acts at 16 years old (working on the 5th one), would you feel comfortable?
“All these boys were charged with the same thing, so charges were not brought up based on past criminal issues. ”
I think the system works this way: Someone is charged with a crime. When the trial actually happens and the sentencing is given, the judge weighs all of the variables, including if he has past prior convictions. So I don’t believe charges are based on prior records, but the sentencing and punishment do. I’m not a scholar of the justice system but this is how I believe it is done.
“Some of these boys have no records, so do not use that as a reason these kids were charged so harshly.”
How do you KNOW they don’t have criminal records? They were juveniles! The only information that has been released about any one of them’s past is Mychal Bell’s prior convictions. I’ve read on SEVERAL websites online that said that none of these boys had prior discipline problems. I guess now that ONLY Mychal Bell’s juvenile record has been factually questioned, that they will say “All of these boys, with exception of Mychal Bell, have had no prior discipline problems.” NO ONE KNOWS!
“He was warned to stay in his place”
Stay in his place? No, he was warned that any violent acts will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law…and what happened? EXACTLY what the DA said. Is it a case of a racist DA, or a DA simply following through with what he says?
“Is the Alexandria Town Talk, also the media, or just the medis you chose to believe because it is based in La?. What makes what they report more so right than what other media outlets are?”
The Town Talk is also the media, and I have questioned some of the things they have said, but until I find actual documents quoting what the FBI said in that room that night, I’ll assume the Town Talk was releasing what was said in the forum. They are still the media and I don’t take their stories as fact, but they were at the meeting. Most media organizations that you read online were not. So I believe they have more validity than anyone at this point.
“Also most of the information you are getting is probably coming from people who, would not admit to the FBI or anyone else for that matter, that they have done anything wrong, or participated or watched something racially wrong take place. ”
Either the white people in town are ALL spinning the story to cover up racism, or the accused and their families are spinning the story to help keep them out of prison. Maybe both?
“The same group of people who saw nothing wrong with the nooses”
I’ve said in here over and over, most in the white community here feel that the boys should have been expelled and that it was wrong. What else do you want them to believe? Should they string 3 white kids up IN the nooses? Expulsion is a fair punishment and should have been delegated but wasn’t.
“would allow a poor black kid to be tried in a court room with a white judge, a white DA, and an all white jury”
Poor guy, he’s working on his 5th violent criminal act and he just turned 17. I feel so horrible for him. Forget his victims in the white AND black community. Let’s go give him a huge hug.
A white judge, a white DA and an all white jury. THE TOWN IS ABOUT 88% PERCENT WHITE! WHAT DO YOU EXPECT? As said before, the all-white jury was only because black members of the community failed to show up for jury duty? WHOSE FAULT IS THAT? If ONE (JUST ONE) black person in the community would have showed up, been selected, and got on the jury team, they could have disagreed with the verdict and changed the outcome of the case.
“I am sorry but I have a hard time being able to believe statements from those I believe just want to conserve their small beliefs with out outside interference.”
I have a hard time believing someone who’s so angered by racism that it clouts his ability to see both sides of the story.
“To create a fair trial they should have resent jury notices and enforced them or they should have moved the trial.”
I’m not sure how our system works in Louisiana, but I’ll look into this. Our laws are a great deal different in LA because we follow part of the Napoleonic Code as well.
“This kid did not have a fair shot at defending himself.”
No he didn’t! It sounds like his public defender plain SUCKED! Whose fault was this? Was it a huge conspiracy? It’s no one’s fault but the lawyer who didn’t handle the case well.
“So as to not create the appearance of racism, he should have never been charged by an all white jury.”
You’re right, why didn’t the lawyer apply for a change in venue? I plan on investigating this further.
“How would you feel to be tried in a case where you were accused of attacking a black person and all you see in the court room was a black judge, a black jury, and a black {district} attorney?”
I would feel uncomfortable about the situation, but would hope they had a clear mind to see the facts and past the issue of race.
“I am coming because I believe that if we do not this will happen again, All white judge, and jury’s convicting non whites, and I might have to one day see one of my kids in a court room (God Forbid) starring at nothing but white faces with no hope.”
I hope you raise your kids right, and that they never get in this kind of trouble. Let’s pray that your kids will not be involved with a 6-person beating of one person.
Also, let’s hope that your kids and mine can play together one day without racial prejudice and form close friendships. There IS more to be done and racial prejudice in this country is a valid issue, including here in Jena, and let’s hope a difference is made. I’m excited to hear the details of this entire situation and hope that all the facts finally evolve. Once this occurs, I’m very confident that Jena will be seen in a different light.
B Wallace:
It honestly puts a smile to my face when I see a black member of this community get a scholarship and go to college. You’re right, it is a big deal. I hope I don’t come off as a racist, but I understand the difficulties in the black community regarding education and I pray that it is changed. Correcting racism is one way to do this. I’ve heard Bill Cosby discuss issues like this and I very much respect the way he was stepped up and tried to help his people. As a white person, I wish there was more I could do to help the situation.
from Jena:
it is because of all the sterotypes that go around. Me as a black person it is hard because people would say, “why are you here you need to be out gettin’ my money(if you know what i mean)” and that hurts sometimes it really hurts but i dont let that get in the way of my education, as my mother says dont worry about them because they are going to be the ones to be baggin’ your groceries. I understand that you dont want to come off racist, but i guess you would just have be in our postion to understand. And you NO you dont come off racist.
from Jena:
its hard because of all of the sterotypes that go around. I am a black person and its hard to go to school because one time this boy came up to me and said, “What are you doing here? You need to be makin’ my money (if you know what i mean)” and things worst then that, and that hurts. But i contiune to get my education because sometimes i don’t let that get to me. My mother told me that people would say that, she said get your education. SHe said that those people would be the ones baggin’ my groceries when i go up. So it is very hard to get an education when we have go through that almost evryday or sometimes very day. And i understand why you didn’ want to come off racist. Because you didn’t. I understand that it was just a question. Thank you!!
So because no black person showed up this kid did not deserve a fair trial?. A number of jury members were friends of the DA and the boy who was fought, and on top of all that the jury and judge were all white.
Did not the Jena or Louisiana hire this public defender did this boys family have a choice? I was shocked that no one in this community or involved with this trial stood up to say, hey let’s not do this until we have a fair jury that represents the entire town of Jena. This public defender almost seemed scared, he would he not even attempt to defend this kid.
The reason I brought up the reading of the record publicly is because I know that those records were only to be known by the judge and attorneys they are sealed yet it seems purposely done and with intent, to justify why he has been held so long, even before these records came to light.
When I said this poor kid I was saying financially poor in the sense he could not afford good representation, he was given a person who did nothing.
My kids are raised right and are raised to treat every human being equally. Yet one day I have to tell my kids the full truth as to protect them and so that they can protect themselves, and that is that not much has changed, never get to comfortable thinking you have equality.
There are a number of people arrested and convicted for crimes they did not do as three such cases have come to light in Georgia and these black people were released after of years of imprisonment. So a kid does not have to necessarily be bad to get caught up in this legal system. How do I know my kids will not be in a situation where have to defend themselves and what happens if that person happens to be white, and end up getting charged and have to face a jury of all whites, and a white judge. If this is allowed to be okay then there is a possibility of that happening to any black or minority person.
This case should have been moved the DA the Judge or someone should have said this does not look right. You do not understand the implications of what an all white judge and jury mean to black people. It is like taking a walk back in history when all white judges and juries convicted, sentenced, and hung blacks, many of them innocent while all the while whites could kill blacks and never face an all black jury, but a jury of whites who almost always aquited them. For a lot of blacks this is a slap in the face a walk back through history. Don’t say you can understand because you never could unless you have walked a mile in a black persons shoes. I am a black woman, I have never in my life been to jail or in any kind of trouble, yet every time I have been pulled over I have been scared to death. Afraid that I am going to encounter some racist white cop who will beat me, or rape me, or try to falsely charge me. The fear may seem irrational to you but, but my grandmother’s grandma lived to be 108 and was a slave and has passed down stories of slavery, rapes, and cross burnings. My grandmother speaks of the times when schools were segregated and she and other black kids had to walk miles to their school while the white kids passed them laughing and spitting on the school bus. She speaks of times when she had to sit in the back and enter into the back of establishments. Stories of hangings and beatings too numerous to mention . So trials like these stir up raw emotions in me as well as others in the black community. My anger is over the way this trial was conducted and over the fact that whites got slaps on the wrist for their parts their names untarnished and just because you agree that that was wrong does not undo it or make it right. It should have never been allowed to go any further. If those kids had been expelled non of this would probably be happening.
Are you guys serious? Your telling me that the Jena 6 deserve jail time for a school yard fight, but you fail to mention how a GROWN MAN fought a 16 year old boy and he was jumped i don’t see you guys screaming about giving them jail time! for those who say the boys deserve jail time you guys are outside of your minds for a school yard fight are you serious and yes the town of Jena Louisana needs to be bankrupt and burned because the whole situation is not JUST and this is AMERICA why should we show both sides of the story when the justice system is already on “thier” side? I don’t understand how you guys can be so stupid. lets forget about the jumping of the 16 year old black kid lets forget about the shotgun pulled on the kid lets forget about the shotgun and bullets justin barker had in his car lets forget about the nooses. A GROWN MAN ASSULTED A 16 YEAR OLD BOY and didn’t go to jail. I’m not understanding what the otherside could possibly say? This is why people don’t want to go to the south.
B Wallace:
I admire you alot for sticking to your guns and continuing your education. It is sad that racism still exists, I have to live around it every day. People like you deserve everything positive you have coming for you. I can’t possibly understand being a racial minority in this country and how it feels. I can, however, sympathize with you in some respects. Everyone has people that want to drag them down. People from another race, people from another sex, people from another social class, people from another “click”. Everyone has obstacles in their lives, and undoubtedly being a racial minority is (in some areas of the country) a pretty big obstacle. You are a black WOMAN, so it’s difficult for me to understand the obstacles you have to go through.
I’ll respond later to Free’s posting.
Jena- you claim that you are not racist, you may not want to be but you are. You talk about how small and tight knit your town is, you were raised and taught your morals by a town full of raicst people. Please don’t try to tell me that your family was the one family that was not like those other racist folks. You never left that town full of racist people, you still live there! Try traveling for a bit and seeing the world outside of that town then you can have a more open minded view! No I have never been to Jena, but I grew up in a town much like it. My family was the only black family in an all white town so believe me I know what Jena is like. Atleast where I grew up, there was a clear line drawn in the sand as to who was racist and where blacks did not belong! Sure there were plenty of people who had black “friends” but as soon as they got upset, you better believe the N word “slipped” freely from there “non-racist” mouths. In fact, I’m sure it’s killing you right now to have to refrain from using it! Good luck with that
I really wish you would write on here you have never said it!
Ruth:
Read my Post 155. I have never said I have no racist bone in my body. I have never said I haven’t said racial slurs before. I’m not a model of perfection. I admit sometimes I am quick to judge and make assumptions. In some ways you are right. But the thing is, at least half of the town is like me. They may not be completely void of racism, but most people who LIVE in the town of Jena have the moral clarity to make decisions removed of racial bias. Of course, that is my opinion. I’ve only lived here over 20 years of my life.
It’s difficult to dig in people’s heads, though. Besides, I’m not here to defend everybody in my town, just the town in general. Some people here are very racist and WOULD make decisions based on race, but I feel the individuals in question aren’t that way.
Here’s the deal, though. You say I’ve never left town and experienced other places. I have moved other places before. I’ve never lived outside of Louisiana, though. But I have seen other perspectives. No, it’s not as rounded as if I were to hop around to California, to New York, to Houston, but I am happy where I live.
..and it’s sad that you say it’s killing me not to say that word. I have no burning desire to use racial slurs. That’s silly.
Cali_Kid
You should read all of my posts above and then tell me how you feel. This information will be complemented by other information I plan to get from written documents in the next two weeks. I’ve already spoken to someone who HAS done research on the issue and has told me several key points that were said in eye witness reports of these incidents. I won’t put them in here until I’ve verified it myself. I’ll respect Laura’s insistence on verified accounts and factual information.
Only one of the Jena 6 is still in jail, Mychal Bell. I’ve said on here several times why I personally think they should throw the book at him specifically. The others are out on bond and awaiting trial. The term “Free the Jena 6″ isn’t really an appropriate slogan anymore. One is living with his cousin in Dallas (pro football player Jason Hatcher).
It’s interesting that no one has interviewed Jason Hatcher about this.
Pray for the ignorance that people do. Jena isn’t by far the most racist place in America. I have family there and I’ve visited there. I live in B’ham and I still think Cullman and Fayette AL are much worse. This is a nation of GOD. Pray, put things in His hands, have faith, and believe that every thing will be blessed. But don’t be stupid and sit back and not have opinion. If something is not done, the future generation will have nothing. Our parents and grandparents have endured more than enough pain and suffering for us. We should not have to go through this today. This incident just lets me know, we really have not come to far. I do plan on being in Jena once again on Thursday with my children. I do not plan on spending a dime in Jena. I tell my family to move. We will help them. They will not have any peace there. We have been sending them alot of things, and asking them to leave the area to make purchases (gas, food, clothing,etc). Don’t spend your money somewhere like this. By the way if any one is going to Jena for the hearing, leave your shoes in the car. They are weapons according to the Jena officials.
Well I am glad to see you dont have a problem somewhat taking off the white hood.
Ruth:
If you are joking, that’s cool.
If you are not joking, any more flagrant comments about the Klan in this message board and I’ll fight back. I’m as offended about being referred to as a Klansmen as you are being referred to as a gangbanger. Should I assume you’re a gangbanger just because you are black and from the inner city? That would be considered racist to assume, and it’s not fair to have a double standard.
This events in Jena have been transformed to support the “free the jena 6″ people. You have people on here saying that the black students took the gun, then tried to turn it in to the police. Actually, they tried to hide the gun in a car in one of the kid’s backyards. Get the facts straight. This beating doesn’t warrant 22 years in prison, but it warrants significant punishment. These kids are not vigilantes who can take the law into their own hands. And stop telling people who support punishing these kids to take their “white hoods” off. Take you black panther fadora off if that is the case.
You may not be a Klansmen, but you sure aren’t opposed to what they stand for. I am saying you’re racist and you agree with me and I am glad that you are willing to openly defend your “minor racism.” Their is nothing minor about being racist or having “racist tendencies.” As far as your comment about about my being a gangbanger it is laughable, and you are entitled to any opinion you would like to have. Your stereotype may not be the N word or a noose, but hey whats a bit of minor lunch time racism LOL! You say you will “fight back,” but sticks and stones sweetie sticks and stones. The reality of this situation is that this is a message board that really has no affect on these young men’s lives other than pertinent information that our host and other supporters have linked in here. I am willing to REALLY fight back and get on a bus or send money in support of these young men! if you want to fight something, you stand up and fight the racism in your town.
P.S. if you go back and read, I am not from the inner city… Only black family in an all white farm town. Unless you know a city that is all white?
I will also be personally writing to Mychal Bell and letting him know his time in jail is not spent in vain, as it is causing a movement in Jena that is long overdue!
From Jena:
Thank you i appreciate that.
To everyone else:
We have to be talking to eachother not going down each others’ throat. I think that we all have a good say in what we believe and i also think that we probably should think about what we write and how it might read on the computer.
But anyways i think that everything that you all have talked about is so good. And to Keysha you make up a good point because you say that we shouldn’t be going through the same pain and suffering that our mothers and fathers way before us went through i think that, that is so true we should make this place so much more better not worst.
THANK YOU
why are my comments taking so long to moderate….don’t tell me you are going to allow one person to call another a klansman, and then disallow me satirically saying that she should remove her panther fedora.
[Actually, I was at the doctor's and just got back. Nothing more sinster than that. And I didn't catch the "klansman" comment - once one comment has been approved, the rest go straight through unless they are caught by the spam filter. - Laura]
B Wallace
You seem like a compassionate person. Wish there were more people like you.
This is how the world should work. People focus on the differences between religions, the difference between denominations, the difference between countries, the difference between races, the difference between cultures. Why doesn’t everyone focus on the similarities? Why won’t people accept that everyone is different and this is the way God intended?
Ruth:
I’ve taken steps to fight racism in my town. That’s all I will say. You quote “minor racism” issues from my argument. YOU have minor racism issues as well, if you haven’t noticed in your writings. Their is extreme and varying degrees of racism. It’s not just black & white (pardon the pun). And I never assumed you lived in a larger city. I was just saying, if you DID, and I made that assumption then it would be wrong.
And what have I said on here that gives me the “Klansmen” mentality? I’d love to hear this. If I have a Klansmen mentality, half or MORE of the white people in this country do.
I know these similarities:
1) I am white
2) I’m proud of my culture and my background
3) I pay taxes
4) I’m from the same generalized area of the country as they have been in the past
That is IT. My philosophy on life doesn’t REMOTELY resemble theirs. If you disagree with this, I’d love to hear your case.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20218937/site/newsweek/page/3/
This is the link to the story that I spoke of in one of my post. I just wanted you to know that I was not making it up and that there are some whites in Jena that will admit to certain things. but I find it strange how none of these blacks in Jena, that people keep saying do not support the Jena 6, have not spoken to anyone even once in support of the actions of this town. Just like I stated on my post Aug 25, which I never got any answers to I think that there is something extremely fishy about the fact that none of these so called 50 blacks that never showed up for jury duty were never fined or imprisoned for not showing up. I wonder what the real reason is that not even one out of fifty did not show up. I think there is more to this than meets the eye.
Free and everyone else interested:
Here are direct quotes from the Jena Times under an article entitled “Civil Rights Leaders Hold Town Hall Meeting in Jena”:
“Noel and his partners (a lawyer for Mychal Bell out of Monroe) are arguing that the reduction in charges meant Bell’s case should have been sent back down to juvenile court.
However, according to the code that governs which court handles juvenile cases, ‘the court exercising criminal jurisdiction shall retain jurisdiction over the child’s case, even though he pleads guilty to or is convicted of a lesser included offense.’”
Laura, I know this doesn’t “clear up” that burning question you had, but that is what the Jena Times put in the paper. I haven’t read law books so I’m not sure how accurate they are.
Another quote is the following:
“At the meeting, the attorneys field questions from audience members including the issue of Bell being convicted of an all-white jury. The question was if it was legal for such a conviction to take place?
The attorneys responded the all-white jury and the conviction was indeed legal, noting that unless evidence is produced demonstrating that potential black jurors were persuaded to not show up for jury duty, then the process was completely legal.”
This seems like it’s coming straight from the horse’s mouth, a lawyer. The all-white jury was perfectly legal as long as no black potential jurors were persuaded to not show up.
Does this clear this issue up alot for you, Free?
No it does not where is the proof that non of the black potential jurors were persuaded to not come. If these people were to scare to show up for jury duty, what makes you think they are going to tell this newspaper that they were. They would face the same retaliation. Further more the fact that any such thing is considered legal is just further proof that the U.S. has not changed or learned anything this just reiterates the need to show this country that we will not once again be tried and convicted by all white jurys designed to make sure blacks are always found guilty. It Happened back then, it’s happening now and we are saying NO MORE!!!!
The fact that someone had the audacacity to think this is perfectly legal and ok just makes me even hotter.
Free, you can’t prove a negative. Saying that the jurors were intimidated unless it is proved otherwise, is like saying that the Jena 6 planned the attack unless it can be proved they didn’t. So far there has been no such evidence. It really is legal to have a jury all of one race – it happens all the time in New Orleans where juries are all black. New Orleans is majority black, Jena is majority white. My problem with the Jena 6 jury is that it’s been reported that half of the 6 person jury consisted of people with ties to the case. And to the prosecution, no less!
From Jena – I’m sorry, off the top of my head I don’t remember the “burning question.” I did read that article when it was first published. I’m just not getting the significance of what you’re saying with it.
to common sense… I did not call him a klansmen, but if the shoe fits buy them both. As for my panther Fedora, I don’t see how that could be offensive at all, as they fought for black rights but nice try ; ). To Jena-I agree with you in that there are a lot of people who have the klansmen mentality. Down south it is right out there in the open for you to see hanging from a tree and up north it is hidden under a shroud of “niceness.”You say I quote “minor racism” from your arguement? No I used your words from your post number 155 in which you state, “I have my minor racial issues like most people do.” Again there is no such thing as “minor” racial issues, just like a noose is not just a prank.
And what steps have you taken? have you signed the attatched petition? Have you tried to speak so openly at a public forum in your town? what?
I wouldn’t be too proud to call myself a panther. I didn’t know you wan’t to associate yourself with a militant group that at the end of the day got minimal accomplished when compared with activists such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. At the end of the day though, whether you agree with the punishment dealt to these kids or not, at least one (Mychal Bell) will serve time, if only because the DA and the state don’t want to embarass themselves at the this point because that would imply that they are admitting to being in the wrong. What is sad about this case is that it has created two sides that claim to support the “victim” when there are actually no “victims” in this case besides the people living in Jena who were not involved but are now being called racist by people on blog sites like this and in the media. Clearly the white students who carried out the racist acts are in the wrong, but the black students who gang beat the other are clearly in the wrong as well. Victimizing either side detracts from the scope of the case, and should not be happening. This kid will serve some time, probably about 5 years, and unfortunately, you can’t serve time for being racist. They committed the blatently violent act and “victim” chose to press charges, its just too bad they can’t file a counter claim for his racism and then they would both sit in jail as they should.
free-
The comment that blacks are intentionally being tried by white juries so that they don’t go free is totally ridiculous. OJ, “the gloves don’t fit” Simpson’s lawyers spent a large portion of their time finding the kinds of juries they wanted. This can be done in any case. Clearly, the lawyers representing these kids are not doing their job effectively. If OJ can get off for a murder he obviously committed, then anyone can off for anything. And don’t say he got off because of his celebrity status, because the entire country wanted him to go down for he did. You are making accusations about the justice system in this country that are clearly untrue, perhaps you should think of relocating and requesting a change of citizenship if you are that hateful towards your own system of government.
Laura:
Your burning question was why it wasn’t handled in juvenile court. You questioned if it was legal to give the larger charge (attempted murder) and try Mychal Bell as an adult, then drop the charges to a less serious one later on.
Am I correct or did I misread what you said?
Ruth:
I have NOT signed the attached petition, because I don’t feel they should be set free. And being on this side of the argument does not make me a racist. It makes me an advocate for fair justice after weighing all the facts I know so far about the case.
I personally don’t think this should happen in our school system. The noose hangers should have been expelled (as the principal suggested) and the black attackers who beat the white student should be prosecuted. Their sentences should be weighed based on their criminal history. I suspect this doesn’t fare well for Mychal Bell, being that he has four violent criminal acts in his past.
From Jena, yes, thank you, I see. I still do think it should have been handled in juvenile court, but the prior convictions definitely add weight to the argument that he should have been prosecuted as an adult. I still believe that it’s a cheap and (very common) prosecutorial trick to have the higher charge (2nd degree attempted murder) then drop it to the lesser assault charges right before trial, with the intent of increasing the total time spent in jail and intimidating the others. That is, of course, my opinion.
Questioning whether it was legal to use the higher charge to get him and keep him as an adult, where the lesser charge would have sent him into the juvenile system immediately was done by Bell’s new attorneys; my knowledge of the law is limited. Doubtless I quoted them in a post somewhere. I don’t know whether it was legal, but I agree that it was wrong; I’ve contended from the beginning that the attempted 2nd degree murder charges – with shoes as weapons – were ridiculous.
Laura:
I agree.
Malcolm X said it best (paraphrase). If you depend on your enemies to help you, then you’re going to be waiting a long time. I’m not saying that white people are the enemies of blacks but WHAT ARE THEY??? They treated us like animals for hundreds of years. What makes you think we would be equal now? It’s not even logical. In a way the problem is with blacks, not whites. We depend on white people. Why? We have every opportunity in the world living in America but we depend on white people for us to take full advantage of them. News Flash: They are not going to do it. Ever! And I don’t blame them, in some ways. Every other race comes to this country and goes out and gets it. I understand that the situation of blacks is different but we have to wake up. Mexicans come here, open up there own markets, restaurants, and hang outs. They support each other and could give a damn what white people think. Black people get mad because white people don’t want them in their stores, restaurants, and hangouts. SUPPORT BLACK BUSINESSES!!! I’m by no means for separation of the races. Honestly about half my friends are white and half black but this is necessary in order for blacks to be in a better situation. There is no way the average white person can understand how it feels to be black in America. My oldest friend in the world is white and he doesn’t understand. I don’t hate him for it. For example, I can understand why white people aren’t for affirmative action. It’s using a wrong to fix a wrong. Quit complaining about racism. Learn about Black Nationalism and see what our TRUE leaders were trying to tell us long ago. That’s how we equal the playing field. Black and white doesn’t exist where green is the focus. Let’s get it!! STAND UP OR SHUT UP!!!
P.S. If white people treated black people as good as they do their dogs then the race problem might have been solved long ago. Black people will get that, whites probably won’t. I love ALL you guys on here though.
common sense- your name should be lack of common sense, at least from Jena is arguing a point and researching things he’s being questioned on. You on the other hand just jumped on here and started writing garbage.
From Jena- No, arguing your side and researching what you stand for does not make you racist. You admitted in your own words that you have “racist tendencies” or “minor racial issues.” It is silly to say that racial issues can be minor! Also Free’s link in post 180 talks of 100 supporters gathering for these kids. No matter what we say on here, they are going to get the support I feel they deserve, including support from myself and my freinds and family.
Ruth -
I am sure he will enjoy your support while he sits in jail.
Ruth-
By the way, I am posting garbage? You are accusing people on here of have klansman tendencies. I would say you are the one posting the garbage. Stop accusing people you don’t even know of being/acting a certain way. You really should have been blocked from posting after accusing people of being part of the Klan. I’d say that qualifies as “incivility”, “abuse”, and “fools”
Ruth:
My point is this Ruth:
I consider my racial issues minor because it will never clout my judgment towards anyone. If I were an employer, I’m VERY confident I would hire based on qualifications. If I were a police officer, I would not pull someone over “simply because they are black”. If I shook someone’s hand and talked to them, no matter if they are black or white, I start out giving them the same dignity and respect. It’s from there that I form my perception of them. Yeah, if I see somebody who is dressed real trashy or I can see their boxer shorts when they walk, that will factor into how I feel about them. I will think “Why does this person not care if everyone in public, including children, see their underwear?” If it was a black OR white person, my sentiments would be exactly the same. That’s why I am saying my racial issues are minor.
Again, I reiterate what I said in a previous posting. There are VARIOUS DEGREES of racism, just as there are various degrees of almost everything.
If I come off to you as a bad person because of the kinda of person I am (that I just expressed to you), you are entitled to your opinion. But I strongly contest your opinion. In fact, I am happy that I admit I have minor racial issues. Acceptance is the first step to understand your strengths and weaknesses, and I realize this is one of mine.
You, on the other hand, seem to have some underlying race issues with white people. If you are comparing me with a Klansmen, I strongly suspect you have your own “minor racial issues” that you refuse to discuss in here. Yet you don’t see me calling you a “gangbanger” or anything of the sort for it. I realize you differ alot from someone who is like that.
Here is my stance:
I have minor racial isssues, but I have MAJOR issues with someone bringing this kind of violence in my local school.
From Jena-Well if you truly would do all those things you say as far as fairness, then what do you consider to be your minor racial issues to be?
Lack of Common Sense- I’m done wasting time responding to your garbage, as you haven’t said really anything pertaining to the debates that others are having. LOL you are a joke.
from Jena, do you have MAJOR issues with the nooses (I know the answer) what are you going to do about it?
I understand that you believe there are varying degrees of racism, so does that mean you think one degree is less harmful than another?
Ruth-
Please stop attacking everyone. It is clear that you need to get help addressing your own racial issues. I wish you the best in that endeavor and again hope that laura stops posting your comments because they are direct attacks at other members of this discussion board. If you would like me to direct you to service providers that specialize in addressing latant racist tendencies, I would be more than happy to do so.
Good Afternoon Mychal:
I recently began following the story of what happened to you and your friends in Jena, Louisiana about two weeks ago. I am utterly baffled that this incident happened nearly a year ago and it’s only now becoming wide spread public knowledge.
I am deeply sorry you life has been turned inside out, but I want to encourage you to maintain your faith. Even though your name is spelled differently than Michael is traditionally spelled, Michael is a name of power and authority.
God has elected you to bring right-order into the small town of Jena. You may not think it’s fair you’re in the position you’re in, but what an honor and priviledge to be use to the degree in which GOD is using you and your friends.
Please keep your head up. Have faith in Justice. I live in New York, but I am originally from Louisiana, New Orleans to be exact. I am getting ready to move back down south in a few days (Atlanta).
I plan to join the thousand you have committed to fighting for the release of you and your friends. I will be among those to protest outside the court house and I will advocate for you. Please know Mychal, God is with you.
He has ignited passion, determination and conviction in the hearts of people He knows will stand for RIGHTEOUSNESS. Be of good heart my brother and watch the hand of GOD prevail.
I pray many blessings for you aren the other members of JENA 6. You guys are BLESSED and HIGHLY FAVORED! Don’t you forget that.
Love, Peace & Blessings,
Karen Jones
Ruth-
By the way, the things I have said all relate to your debate with From Jena. You are putting her on trial for her addmitted minor racist tendencies when you in fact deal with this same type of racism. It would be clear to any literate, intelligent person from simply reading over the above postings that you hold racist feelings towards whites. At least she was willing to admit to the fact that she has at times exhibited minor racist behavior. Now you, a racist as well, are going to crucify her. On what grounds?
It’s okay to be angry. But let’s try to use some of that anger and turn it into energy to make a change. Don’t be a part of the problem, be a part of the solution. I pray for all that are logging onto here with anger. Hope to see you in Jena on Thursday. But please be peaceful. Acting like a fool only shows your ignorance. Be easy and Be BLESSED.
Keysha-
I am not angry. I just take offense to Ruth attacking From Jena for admitting that she sometimes expresses minor racist tendencies. Ruth, on the other hand, fails to acknowledge that she is blatantly racist towards whites (which is obvious to everyone in here anyway). She has charged free Jena with having klansmen tendencies and in all reality should be pulled from this blog site. It is unfair that we crucify honest people like From Jena, who tell the entire truth, but allow blatant racism towards whites to flow from the ignorant mouth of Ruth. I truly would like to assist her in getting educated, a process that can start once she acknowledges her issues and concedes that she needs help to address the deepseeded racism that she is battling.
Keysha:
I agree with you. Read my Comment #179.
Common Sense:
I’m definitely a guy.
…and I see where you’re coming from with Ruth. Not trying to gang up on her or anything, but it seems as if she has this unquenched anger towards me because I’m white (I can’t think of any other explanation for it). Their hasn’t been a point to where she’s said “Oh, I understand.” I think she lacks a serious ability to understand other people’s opinions when they differ from her own. People who genuinely want to work through the race issue want to come to agreements on things, they want to understand the other side and vice versa. Ruth seems to want accountability for me because I’ve reached out by admitting I have minor racial issues; but she doesn’t want to extend her hand by acknowledging that she understands and sharing her own faults as a person.
This indicates to me that she’s forming her opinions based on her anger and not her desire to change things for the better.
From Jena-
I apologize, I figured you were a guy, I think I just wrote she because I was using she in reference to Ruth. And all I am saying is that she realy doesn’t know the facts of this case and has turned this against you (who with the exception of maybe laura is the most knowledgable of the case). It is almost like she so badly wants to disagree with the points you are making (that are for the most part true) and she is attempting to do so by accusing you of being a racist/klansmen. Clearly, she has undisclosed feelings regarding white people in this country, but has spun the argument on you unfairly. I really hope that she realizes this is not an attack on her, just a defense on your behalf because of her attempts at undercutting your opinions by accusing you of being racist. If you scroll through the postings, it becomes clear that she holds more racially motivated opinions than anyone else here. I just hope she recognizes that and comes to terms with it.
Let me start off by saying.. They were fighting not committing a murder. To be charged with murder is FOOLISH. Just like some of these responses on here. To be locked up for seven months for fighting is FOOLISHNESS!!! I didn’t read about the boys with the rifle and gun being locked up for seven months and the lives being changed. You know why because the town is racist. It’s a shame they we still live in a SOCIETY like that. And yes COUNRTY people do watch MTV.. Come on not let’s not be stupid and say that they don’t. Your wrong for say they don’t. It was a fight, A FIGHT!!! and you want to young guys to spend the lives in prison for fighting.. Then something is wrong with you. MAybe ya’ll need to go visit some other places around the world and not live in you LITTLE town of only maybe 2% of blacks. Life is to short to racist and to be brought up like that. It seems to me it goes by the color of your skin in JENA!!! Now would the white guys have spented seven months in jail. NO and you know they wouldn’t. So that just let me know how it really is!!!!!
WOW all I am hearing is that blacks are racist too. A black person can pre-judge or even be Prejudice but we do not have the power to be racist. To be racist is to oppress another race. Blacks do not have the power to oppress another race. Also just wanted to say that the charges are unreasonable (using the shoe as a weapon). I will not say anymore besides I hope this changes things.
Nicole:
You haven’t read all of the story. You read this update, read a few postings at the top, and made a comment based on that little information you got. Read the entire thing.
HE’S NOT GETTING 100 years in prison. AT MOST he’ll get 22, and I suspect he’ll get alot less than that. The charges on Mychal Bell were reduced to aggravated battery. Mychal Bell is a CRIMINAL, he has four prior VIOLENT acts in his past. That is a CONFIRMED FACT!! What if you had brothers and sisters that lived next to him, would YOU want him set free?
…and no, as said at least 7 or 8 times on here, SIX ganging up on ONE unconscious body and kicking the mess out of it isn’t a fight. He was sucker punched and BEATEN, without regards to whether or not he was alive.
What if this was 6 white guys kicking a black guy. THEN what would you say? An answer isn’t necessary, I already have you figured out.
Would the white guys have spent 7 months in jail for doing this to a black guy?????? HELL YEAH!!! You know what kind of MEDIA story THAT WOULD BE? Every angry black person in America (that includes you) would be asking for LIFE in prison.
…and yeah, country people DO watch MTV, but they ALSO watch shows like Gunsmoke, Lonesome Dove, Wyatt Earp. You don’t know how it is in Jena so quit acting like you can describe what this town is like with ANY validity. Okay?
I am deeply appalled by the comments of both blacks and whites. We have become complacent in our thinking to actually believe that racism has been eradicated by laws. Racism can not be eliminated at all. It is a thought process that is purely based on ignorance. I was born and raised in Princeton, WV, left in 1973. My family and I return yearly. These small towns do not and have not changed their thinking. My 16 year old son experienced his first taste of racism and was very angry, hurt and upset. He should not have to deal with that in this year of 2007.
To the person that commented that blacks are the only ones whom do not get along with whites is utterly ridiculous. Other races do not report the crimes.
This case is a prime example of racism that is alive and well in America and all races are guilty of it. I have experienced racism at its best in WVA and in Baltimore MD(recently) .People wake up. RACISM EXISTS. Plain and simple.
And for those you that say you have “black friends” ,No you dont have “black friends” you know a black person. You are associates because if someone is your friend you dont say I have a black friend you state this is my friend John Doe not my black friend John Doe. You are already segregating your friends in and by color groups. That is racist.
“SIMPLY SAID THE PUNISHMENTS DO NOT FIT THE CRIME.”
Thanks “FromJena” I was just about to respond to Nicole before I read yours. A “fight” is not 6 people stomping an unconscious kid’s head into concrete.
“I am not surprised that sealed juvenile records were publicly read in this case as an attempt to continue to hold this young man.”
Mychal Bell was placed on probation in April of 2005 until his 18th birthday and violated it twice. It was relevant because the attack on Justin Barker was also a probation violation.
all day at work i’ve been reading everyone’s comments. every single one. this way i could see every point of view and then speak my mind. first off i see great points from both sides. those in favor and those who oppose. when hearing about this story i literally became sick. i believe this case has now become much more then about racism. if you break it down its simply between right and wrong. to label the hanging of the nooses as a prank is simply sad. since when did something that represents so much hate become funny. i’m not laughing. yes it has been stated that everyone involved in this incident and those leading up to it should be punished. and i agree. however the type of punishment by no means fits the crime. its unfortunate that the da in Jena is flexing his power way too much and is trying to make what i believe an example out of Mychal Bell. it is a known stereo type that black men are good for nothing but making babies, being bums, or doing nothing with thier lives. but here we have a young black man with a scholorship who is inturn trying to break all of those unjust stereotype, but now all he will be doing is trying to find a way to break free. regardless if he goes to jail or not this will follow and be with him as long as he lives. yes, in his past he may have caused some trouble which none of us know the extent of. but i ask who hasn’t made a mistake regardless of how small or big. there are many important people in todays society that have made great mistakes and have turned thier lives around. who are we to say these boys cant do the same. why let another body take up a jail cell spot where i feel would better be suited for a rapist or murderer. and for justin who went to a event that same day..how hurt could he really be. that also needs to be taken in account. if i’m correct i believe “From Jenna” has said the media has made her town look horrible. (maybe not word from word but around that if i’m correct.) and sadly shes right. but i feel that many are so outraged that the fail to realize that theres a little Jena everywhere you go. it’s not the place it’s the mindset of the people. as much as we would like to change everyone and everything when it comes to racism we have to realize we just cant. i feel it’s never going to change. hate is all over and is still in many peoples hearts. and as long as even an ounce of hate is in one persons heart it will spread just like it has now…generations to generations. hate and ignorance is what generated all of these events. the nooses, the Robert getting jumped, the pulling of the gun on the boys, and also justins attack. it’s just sad that it took something like this to get people to finally face and stop ignoring the kind of world we live in. i wish the best for the six and thier families. this is just a test of thier faith.
To common sense,
so the solution to changing a system that you think is unfair is to get up and leave, I think not. There are so many cases where the justice system has failed african americans.
* Right here in Georgia we have a young man in jail who was sentenced to 10 yrs for having consentual oral sex with a girl that he was only a year or two older than. Then in the same court room you have a white teacher who had sex with one of her young students get a slap on the wrist probation.
* 3 black males accused of rape spent years in jail for crimes that never committed and were released
*Emmit till an all white jury found his killers innocent. That is why we need racial diversity in jurys
There are too many numerous cases to mention. Justice is still handed down a lot of the time base on race and if you would like I can compile you a list of such cases in comparison to what minorites in this country get VS whites for the same crimes. As far as Oj, he was tried by a diverse jury not everyone in America wanted to see him go down for that because there are many that did not believe he did it. Personally, I think he may have but will I ever know for sure no. I do think that his money helped him, just like Micheal Jackson, and Nicole Richie. If you are black and Rich a lot of the time you can buy justice sometimes not.
Ruth:
as far as the comment you made about proof ,From Jena did not have any proof in saying that non of the jurors were pursuaded to stay away. I am making the argument that it seems fishy to me that none of a group of fifty show up for jury duty and none of them got in trouble for it. I do feel that there is something not quite right about that situation. I had Jury duty today and I sat from 8:00 to 3:00 and then was told I was not needed, it seemed like a waste of time to me, to not get a chance to serve, yet had I not shown up I would have faced a fine and or imprisonment. Showing up or not is not suppose to be a choice it is an obligation.
Anyways I have found that my time is better served helping the bus organizers here in my state and passing around the info on the trip, so I will not be spending to much more time on this blog. I never expected to change anyone’s mind as I said those from Jena will protect Jena. All that common sense did was reiterate the need for us to do what we are doing. The fact that it is legal for anyone to be tried completely by the opposite race and not have anyone on those juries that are a reflection of your ethnic background is sad. Of course it is okay with some White people because this country does not have a history of standing by and watching injustices happening to you. That is why I am fighting because I do not believe that it is right, it is what led to injustices in the past and it will in the future, if it is allowed to continue.
I was born in and live in America, My ancestors help to build this country. My family is here and so is my history, I aint going no where, but I will work with others to help to make this country a place where everyone can get equal justice under the law. So common sense if you do not like the way I think why don’t you leave, cause this is my home as wrong as this country has treated my people and my ancestors it is still my home too and I am going to work my but off trying to make it better not just for what is comfortable for whites but for all people.
I will look in from time to time but f or the most part this blog has been a place for nothing more than racial debate and one side wanting the other side to bend, and since I have no intention on bending then maybe my continuing to post here is pointless.
Wrong is wrong. Your all kown that this little town is so racist. To give one so mush time it is crazy.and not give the other kids nothing you have to be dum to said that you can not fine this dum judge racist. the only reason these dum white do the things they do is because they can get alway with it. but the day that they have to answer to there action is the they all this race will end. Not all white are racist lets keep it real. Just the low life one that are not sure of them self.
Hello all, I was born and raised in Alexandria one of the towns near Jena. I think we all are missing the point in what really going on in Jena. If you read all the blogs and understand it you will understand about what these cases stem from. It stem from black boys messing with white girls and the town is tired of it. You may say that I’m wrong but believe me living in that enviroment for all my teenage life I do recoginize it. No matter what Mychal Bell alleged did it doesn’t warrant jail time. We are missing the point here and it’s sad. The point is you will never change the enviroment and the thinking of the whites in Jena, it’s embedded for generation. The blacks their have that slave mentality as if they can’t change the way things are. Remind you the lifestyle of blacks in Jena are just the same as whites but the mental awareness between each race is very different. I encourage people in Jena to travel and see how race relation is around the nation before saying nothing is wrong. It is I lived and I thank god everyday I got out of there. Just think he would go to jail longer than a person for attempted armed robbery would or a woman that kill her husband and only got seven days. So I ask you do his crime fits the punishment. If you think it does well I pray for you.
Free:
I apologize if you feel like you haven’t swayed anyone, but you have to realize that the media:
1.) Put UNVERIFIED information out to the public
(ex. Justin Barker called some black students the “n” word. No eye witness statements say this. It’s complete hearsay.)
2.) Put information out that was partial to one side ONLY.
(ex. The Fair Barn incident, where stories differ, yet the only story that was reported was what the angry black students’ families are saying; it’s obvious that no eye witness statements were pulled during their information gathering)
3.) Put only part of the information about a particular incident out there, without mentioning the other parts that seem to “water down” their racism bit.
(ex. Mychal Bell was convicted of an all-white jury, yet not ONE MEDIA publication that I’VE read so far has shown that the black potential jurors never showed up for jury duty)
You see this as an overall fight for racism and, if I’m on the other side, then I’m against you. This is not true! I am not a racial activist. Racism isn’t an issue that affects me in such a deep way (at least at this point in my life) as to be an activist. But I do agree racism is wrong and I am willing to take small steps to do my part.
Me and several of us in here see this as a fight to clear the air about our town, despite the racist badge the media has seemed to give it.
So we’re fighting two different fights here, and they aren’t as correlated as the media insists.
Believe me From Jena I’m not racist, a matter of fact i’m in a interracial relationship. So, I live all of the United States and a graduate of Bolton High School 88′ Which I do understand where you are coming from but when we sit here and play Monday morning quarterback. We all know Jena is separated by income and race. Jena is not a metro city but you guys have metro problems and if you don’t have any idea why kids are the way they are the city of Jena will always have race relation problem. Sometimes things like this helps each race have a better understanding of each other but if people continue to be narrow minded on both sides things will never change. Just think this about a fight a high school. This was bound to happen. But if you want to make all this go away just make the right thing is done. And no matter what happen you have exhausted all means that justice have been done. And you keep sleep at night knowing that. I love my state but sometimes my state doesn’t love me.
From Jena- You still have not answered my question in regards to what you think your “minor” racism is. The thing is, while even you agree that the noose hanging was racism and should be handled as such, the people in your town are defending it and justifying by calling it a “minor” prank. So one person’s persepective of what is minor is another’s boiling point, therefore no amount of racism is acceptable-period! And like Sunevborn stated in 207, I do not have the power to oppress another race-period. You admitted in your own words that you are racist whether or not you think it’s minor. Why are you so hard on kids who gave this young white man a “minor” beat down, so minor in fact he was out that same evening partying with his friends? Bottom line it was wrong to jump that kid, but not to the point where they should spend months in jail for it! And I did state that no matter how silly or loosely based your arguement, you are atleast standing up for something. There ends my agreement with anything you have said, and I will not kid glove my responses to you by sugar coating anything, because like I said sticks and stones. You are basically saying, “I’m racist, but hey it’s only minor- i’m not hanging nooses or anything.” Lastly, the Klan hides behind white hoods for protection, because of their wrong doings. You are hiding behind your assumed name for your “protection” because you are on this blog openly admitting that you are racist-albeit “minor.” I agree wholeheartedly with free in heading to Jena in a peaceful movement, as it will only make things worse to start trouble.
To Laura or Free or anyone else- Have you heard anything about donating money to a scholarship fund for the scholarships that these young men lost? I would be interested in getting some information on that, as educating these young men and getting them out of that town seems necessary now more than ever!
Also to Free- I agree with you on the juror thing, I can say that I have never personally known any of my friends, family, or co-workers from any minority group to have jury duty. Whereas I know several of my white friends, family, and coworkers to have had it on more than one occasion.
All of you who think this case is not related to race is in denial. This is another act against black america. These boys were standing up for themselves and defending themselves in what seems to be a PREJUDICE town. The only reason you are not willing to acknowledge that this incident is tied to race is because it will make you have to examine yourself. And the guilt that would come from that would probably be to much to handle. As many say, truth is a hard thing to face. WAKE UP!!!!! It’s time to stop singling out individuals based on racial differences. YOU, the “white man” your no better and this is no longer your America!!!!! WAKE UP!!!! It’s time for this injustice to end!!!
Free:
I won’t elaborate on MY minor racist issues until you extend your hand and admit yours.
I’m prepared to elaborate, but I do not wish to dig myself in a hole. If I elaborate, what’s next? Let’s focus on racism on both sides, not just one. You don’t seem the type to wish for fairness in this argument. You don’t realize that bridging the racism gap involves admitting weaknesses and prejudices, not just forcing others to.
Ruth-
Everyone must do jury duty at some point, it just depends on when you are called. Please don’t imply that the government is intentionally trying to stop blacks from sitting on juries by not calling them for jury duty. I was at jury duty 2 weeks ago and there were 5 to 10 african americans called, at least 5 latinos, a few asian americans, and whites. To say that they are intentionally trying to block blacks from serving on juries is a ridiculous claim that you cannot back up with any substance, only a story about your black friend who have not served but your white friends (who I hope you are not racist towards like you are us) who have.
free-
I never said the system was unfair, you did. my point was that oj’s attorney’s knew what they were doing and took their time picking jurors that would actually believe that he didn’t kill them, and the tactic worked somehow. Just because this kids lawyer did a terrible job, don’t blame the justice system. And again, in agreement with From Jena, please stop with the accusations of racism. They may hold more weight when you and ruth are able to admit that you are blatently racist towards whites but they hold none right now. A racist trying to call someone else racist doesn’t work.
Jena -I do not believe telling someone they are racist, who admits to it, makes me racist or prejudice. You are basically saying that arguing against racism and biased small town opinions makes me racist. You are saying that my references to your hiding behind an assumed name for your protection makes me racist . So is it fair to say, that by my saying those people who pulled what THEY FEEL is a “minor” prank by hanging nooses racists, I am in turm a racist for speaking up? Should I just simmah down and stay in ma place? LOL! as for anger, no small mindeness is laughable to me. You wouldnt have to hide, if you weren’t openly admitting to your racism and then trying to justify it by calling it minor. I see you could not comment on my last post in its entirety, why is that? Is a “minor” prank or a “minor” beat down not the same as “minor” racism? A sin is a sin-period. Racism is racism period. Thanks for your time ; )
This is how the legal system works:
Someone commits a crime. The DA decides whether or not to prosecute. If he decides to prosecute, he takes the defendant to court and tries to convict. The defendant gets a lawyer who will try to prove that the defendant either didn’t commit the crime or doesn’t deserve the charges which the DA has given. If the defendant can’t afford a lawyer, a court-appointed lawyer is given (hence the Miranda Rights).
The district attorney doesn’t have total control over the outcome of the case. The judge doesn’t have total control over the outcome of the case (but he does have alot). It is the DEFENSE team’s job to apply for a change in venue. Apparently the defense team didn’t do this. So who’s fault is this? Some people think this is some huge conspiracy where the judge, district attorney, and public defender have all collaborated to put these boys behind bars. The public defender admittedly SUCKED, but he was a black court-appointed lawyer. Do you expect Lasalle Parish to hire Johnny Cochrane? The truth is, when you can’t afford your own lawyer, you get a court-appointed lawyer. Whether you are white or black. If you happen to get a lousy court-appointed lawyer, you can’t blame this on Jena or anyone else. Blame it on the system. This is unfair to defendants who have very little money. The lousy public defender is because of our the way our justice system works, NOT racism.
Jena is surprisingly by the book when it comes to it’s judicial system. Now some people get off for “smaller” crimes because they know people, like DWI’s, tickets, etc. But our judicial system here is normally done by the book alot more than most towns its size.
You agree with me From Jena 2? You might know more about this than me.
Ruth:
“I do not believe telling someone they are racist, who admits to it, makes me racist or prejudice.”
I never said that. I cited several comments ago that you said I have a Klansmen attitude and philosophy about things. This is where I explained my basis for your racism. Go back and read it.
“You are basically saying that arguing against racism and biased small town opinions makes me racist.”
I never said that, either. You should argue against small town racism and bias. But you are using twisted facts that the media has given you to fuel your argument.
“You are saying that my references to your hiding behind an assumed name for your protection makes me racist .”
I never said anything CLOSE to that. I am behind an assumed name. Are you like Prince? Or Cher? Are you just “Free”? Is that your legal name?
“So is it fair to say, that by my saying those people who pulled what THEY FEEL is a “minor” prank by hanging nooses racists, I am in turm a racist for speaking up?”
Some feel that the nooses were a minor prank, but I’VE never said that. Read back on every comment I’ve made about it. I think it was very insensitive and thought the students should have been expelled. So did the principal, and SO did every other white person in town I asked. You are not arguing the nooses, though, you are arguing about other false reports from the media.
” Should I just simmah down and stay in ma place?”
That’s completely silly. You can simmah down or do whatever you want. If you want to fight racism in this country, DO IT. I agree that racism is wrong and should be fought against.
“small mindeness is laughable to me.”
IT IS TO ME, TOO!! So when I see it, I tend to argue.
“You wouldnt have to hide, if you weren’t openly admitting to your racism and then trying to justify it by calling it minor.”
I hide my identity on here because there have been death threats in town towards white jurors and other involved in the case. I prefer not getting involved with that. I’ve never “justified” my racism. I’ve simply acknowledged it and said racism needs to change, including in myself. No justification has been made, yet you keep pointing the argument towards my racism. You’re too dense to understand that it’s you as well. You’re too dense to understand that I will not go any further analyzing my racism issues until you AT LEAST acknowledge your own.
“Is a “minor” prank or a “minor” beat down not the same as “minor” racism? A sin is a sin-period. Racism is racism period”
This wasn’t a “minor” prank in my eyes, nor was this a “MINOR” beat down. I have never hung nooses, nor have I ever ganged up on a black guy and beat him senselessly with 5 of my buddies while he was unconscious. It’s clear to me which crime is the worse of the two. One involves violence, the other doesn’t. You may say the nooses “implied” violence. PROVE the intent? If the FBI could prove that the noose hangers were intending to cause violence by the act, they would have prosecuted. Go back and read that article that I put about the FBI’s findings.
“Thanks for your time”
Anytime, I’ll eagerly await your next posting.
Clarification from last posting:
I realize your name is Ruth, not Free.
From Jena, I don’t think no one is disputing what you are saying the issue is why did this go to a prosecutor or why did this go to a judge. They fought this should have been taken care of by the school board. Now if you think for one minute that this was a crime, remember when you were in school and the fights went on then do you think they were crimes. Come on guys be truthful about this. This was a case of enough is enough. Too many black kids was trying to get with the white girls the white guys got tired of that. Let’s be real here. All that’s happening could have been stopped. Jena calls itself a nice and quiet town. Why is it so much hate among the racist with the kids. Kids only learn from what they see and hear. Now I ask you where are these black kids and white kids getting this hate from? In the nice and quiet city of Jena
A-Town-
When I was in high school, I don’t recall every seeing one kid get jumped by 6 others, we allowed for fair, one on one fighting. If other kids jumped in, then everyone else jumped in an broke it up because it was no longer a fair fight. Don’t call this a normal school fight, because it is not.
From Jena-
Nice posting in regards to Ruth’s comments. It seems to me that she is attempting to sidestep the fact that you know a great deal more about this case than she does and turning this into a battle with you because she cleary is unable to debate the actual issues. This is evidenced in her claim that none of her black or minority friends have ever been called to a jury. Other ridiculous comments throughout this discussion board point to her inability to truly argue the issues. Now she has resorted to her own form of racism and is attempting to put you on trial because you oppose her view regarding this case and actually have the evidence to back your claims up. She simply makes ludacris, speculative claims. As I have now said several times, she has personal issues regarding race that she needs to address and may need to look into continuing her education so she can realize that she is misguided.
It has been argued the most racist people of the United States or black women and white men. Now if that is not true look at the blogs on here. We tend to ignore the obvious facts in this case. Mychal Bell has a past of his violent ways, but he is a teenager. He’s not killing dogs or people. Again I think the Parish has done nothing to end this situation. We talking about 6 young men and other young men doing something really silly and dumb but for him to go to jail for 20yrs over this is dumb. Now this is the kicker. I see on this blog everyone talking about race. Why isn’t no one mad about how the system has failed these young people. Again the older people who lived there don’t understand this new wave of culture and they don’t want to understand. The reason that this got so much attention is because of the internet, media and word of mouth. This is injustice, I would say this if this was a white kid or black kid but what you failed to understand it’s not a white kids it is a black kids in a white majority run city, so it will come with a lot of eyes looking. If you don’t think the crime doesn’t fit the punishment. It should be white and black people at city hall saying this is wrong. Until then whatever critizism comes with what the citizens of Jena are not doing is warrant.
A-Town-
I think most people on here agree that the punishment currently on the table is too severe. But remember, this punishment is only being handed down to one boy (with 4 priors). The problem here is that we have people seeking to donate to a scholarship fund for these boys. Ruth – “I would be interested in getting some information on that (info on donating to scholarship fund), as educating these young men and getting them out of that town seems necessary now more than ever!” I certainly don’t think we should be donating to a scholarship fund for a kid who has four priors, soon to be five. I would like to see scholarship money go to deserving young people. But hey, people actually believe Mumia shouldn’t rot away in jail, so I guess the fact that people are supporting the criminals in Jena shouldn’t come as a surprise. None of the kids, those who hung the nooses, the kid who pulled the shotgun, the kids in the fight at the barn, and the Jena 6, are at all deserving on scholarship money. They should feel fortunate if they don’t serve jail time.
A-Town:
This whole entire case has VERY little to do with white girls being hit on by black guys. There is a rumor going around town that these particular black guys had repeatedly made lewd gesturess towards white girls in the school. It’s not confirmed. Matter of fact, I won’t believe it until someone steps up and makes a statement. Whether the white guys hung the nooses to “protect” the white girls is not clear. I don’t know them so I can’t ask. If they felt something illegal or improper was happening, they made a horribly bad decision. Someone should have reported it to the faculty. So nothing about the “black guy flirting with white girl” theory is verified.
You say that there are school fights all the time. That is right, but several years ago Jena High School initiated a zero tolerance policy for fighting. Several people have been arrested since then. You fight, you go to jail, plain and simple. This is what happened to these guys, but the severity of their crimes require stiffer prosecution. I believe the severity of the crimes are more dangerous because the victim laid unconscious on the ground. Despite the attackers not knowing if he was dead or alive, they still proceeded to kick him over and over. That’s flagrant, that’s violent. That’s why I think the Jena 6 who are repeat offenders should get prison time.
Roy Ce:
I completely agree with you. That was very well-put. You are echoing the same beliefs (in my opinion) as Martin Luther King and Bill Cosby. I know that sounds funny, but I’ve heard Bill Cosby talk about these issues. He’s a great black activist with a true passion for bettering his community.
Matter of fact, I wish I could see more of what he’s said.
From Jena you wish you can see more of what nothing has change and for you to think its not about what i said you sadly mistaken I have relatives that live there and have relatives that goes to Jena High, so when i writing these things down. It’s inside info. So like said before you down play what I said. I agree with you 100% that everyone involve need to be punish in someone but I guess you guys missing the point. Do you think that puinshment fit the crime and have you ever heard about laying down and don’t move. Because obviously the young man wasn’t that hurt if the hospital let him go within a hour getting there. Look at the release report (Oh by the way I know someone that works at the hospital who treated him). No wear did it say concusion. Read the report. I like debating and I keep an open mind about everything. My question to the bloggers are you keeping an open mind.
LOOK IM AM 21 YEARS OLD AND STILL REMEMBER HIGH SCHOOL VERY WELL AND LET ME TELL YOU IM FROM A ALL BLACK SCHOOL THAT NO ONE CARED ABOUT AND FIGHTS LIKE THAT TOOK PLACE MONTHLY AND NEVER WAS THERE THIS MUCH HYPE OVER IT, AND YOU KNOW WHY? BECAUSE IT WAS BLACK KIDS WHO WERE GETTING BEAT UP BY OTHER BLACK KIDS SO IN THE LAWS EYES WE WERE DOING THEM A FAVOR, AND ONE LAST THING, DID THE COPS WHO BEAT THE LIFE OUT OF RODNEY KING KNOW IF HE WAS DYING WHILE THEY WERE BEATING HIM? AND HOW MUCH TIME DID THEY GET?EXACTLY!!!! ZERO TOLERENCE. FINE. GIVE THEM JAIL TIME BUT COME ON 7 MONTHS AND COUNTING THATS INSANE. IM SICK TO MY STOMACH ABOUT THIS AND WHEN WILL PEOPLE GROW UP RACISM IS NOT FUNNY AND YOU DONT JOKE WITH IT(NOOSES) SO ALL THOSE PEOPLE IN JENA NEED TO LOOK THEMSELVES IN THE MIRROR AND WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE, ITS 2007 NOT 1967.
Jena- I made the mistake of thinking you would actually be smart enough to understand the references I made in some of my last posts. Clearly i need to dumb it down for you! I never said you were a klansmen or had klansmen tendencies, if you go back and read again you will see that I wrote you are hiding behind your assumed name for protection, because you say there are deaththreats to those involved in the case, well are you invloved in the case? It is my belief that you are hiding behind your name (i.e. the proverbial white hood) because you are openly admitting that you are a racist. I also said you are not opposed to what the klan stands for, which I don’t believe you are. That in no way makes me a racist as I do not have the power to oppress another race and am entitled to an opinion which you have yet to successfully refute-you are racist period. If you re-read my posts again you will see how I am using the word “minor” to show you how silly it is to believe that there is such a thing as “minor” racism. READ SLOOOWLY minor racism exist as much as those nooses were a minor prank. I stated that YOU DID NOT feel those nooses were a minor prank and that they were in fact a large part of the problem. My point in comparing the “minor” racism you claim to have, to the “minor” prank or the “minor” beating is that those people who did it, may think that their racism is only minor as well. It is ludacris to use the word minor in any of these scenarios, racism is racism, the nooses are a clear signal (I wish you would try to deny that), and the kid was beaten up, but that does not warrant the punishment that the DA is trying to give these kids.
On another note you posted: “There is a rumor going around town that these particular black guys had repeatedly made lewd gesturess towards white girls in the school. It’s not confirmed. Matter of fact, I won’t believe it until someone steps up and makes a statement….So nothing about the “black guy flirting with white girl” theory is verified. ”
You were the first person to use this arguement about the white girls being harrassed, and now you don’t believe it? You actually presented these girls as part of your arguement more than once, but I took the liberty of adding one of your posts (4) because clearly you can’t even remember your arguements. “This article also doesn’t mention something else: many of the white females at Jena High School were complaining about this particular group of black guys who were being overly flirtatious w/ them (pinching their butts). These black guys sat under this tree to get close to the girls so they could flirt with them some more.”
Ruth-
I think we all have to “dumb down” our arguments when addressing you. Telling a white person that is not involved with the klan to slip out from under his hood is a racist comment. I don’t know how your posts continue to make it onto the board with you blatantly attacking From Jena. You have no knowledge of this case, clearly, and continue to make arguments based soley on your hatred of white american and small towns in the south where apparently lines are drawn in the sand to separate the blacks from the whites. You are criticizing a town you have never been to, a person you have never met, and a country that at this point provides every possible opportunity for African Americans via affirmative action. Again, STOP ATTACKING PEOPLE ON THIS MESSAGE BOARD. You accuse people of hiding behind fake names while you sit behind a computer and attack Free Jena. This whole board has turned completely towards a discussion of racism and based on your idiotic comments, it is clear that we need to begin to address racism from blacks towards whites.
Ruth-
“You may not be a Klansmen, but you sure aren’t opposed to what they stand for.”
This is a racist comment…the first step in getting help is admitting you have a problem. I think it would be great if you could acknowledge the underlying problems you have with white America and your latant racist beliefs. It would benefit you in the long wrong. Stop viticmizing these boys and the African American race, it will get you nowhere in the long run.
Ruth:
When I first logged into this website my comments were less factual and based more on hearsay. I admit I have changed my stance on that issue (and others). Until some document shows that this actually happened, I try to put it out of my mind. I realize now moreso than before that if I’m to convince people in this chat room that people like you are wrong about the facts in this case, then I will have to rely on facts and eye witness statements. That’s what I’m sticking to at this point. Am I allowed to change my opinion?
…and still..where is your admission to racial tendencies? Again, I will not further discuss my admitted MINOR racial issues unless you are willing to. You’ll get no more empathy from me until you do!
“I made the mistake of thinking you would actually be smart enough to understand the references I made in some of my last posts. Clearly i need to dumb it down for you!”
I clearly refuted your entire last posting. You’ve been “dumbing” everything you’ve said so far.
“You may not be a Klansmen, but you sure aren’t opposed to what they stand for.”
This is what you put in a previous post. You STILL haven’t pointed out the similarities between my beliefs and the KKK’s. Go ahead, I’m all ears….since this topic is completely focused on MY prejudices and not yours.
“because you say there are death threats to those involved in the case, well are you involved in the case?”
I am not involved in the case because I choose to remain anonymous. Posting my name in a message board that is viewed by just about anyone who punches in “Jena 6″ in Google isn’t very wise of me. Despite what YOU may think, many in the WHITE community feel oppressed in Jena right now, because black people from other towns have come in and started trouble. An attack on a guy occurred a couple of weeks ago. He’s in serious condition right now. I’ll make sure and report it on here when the facts become clear. I blame all of this on the media and propagandists who are using misinformation to anger people.
“It is my belief that you are hiding behind your name (i.e. the proverbial white hood) because you are openly admitting that you are a racist.”
You haven’t openly admitted anything, nor have you uttered a WORD about your feelings about the white community. I see a pattern developing. Look at the Fair Barn incident, a WHITE man pleaded to misdemeanor assault. He ADMITTED that he started the fight and pleaded guilty. But SIX black students beat one white student while unconscious with FORTY written statements saying they did it, yet THEY plead innocent. Makes you wonder. People should take responsibility for their own actions and feelings, no matter WHAT race you are. I have admitted mine…have you?
My name is Freda, I go by the name and a way to express myself. I am not hiding behind a computer, as I have no need to. As far as my being racist I am far from it, I have no power or intention to hold any race of people down, as a human being I would never sit on an all black jury and try anyone, I treat all people the same until they show me differently, as I feel about a lot of the whites in the town of Jena. I can admit that I do have some prejudices even among my own race. I am prejudice in the fact that I believe that a good number of white people do not even try to understand why blacks feel like they do in America. I do feel that a lot try to down play our experiences here, as I stated in my last post I could post a list of injustices, which I just may do after I get home from work. I do believe that there are so many family links and ties to racism in this small community that, people will lie to the FBI and anyone else to keep themselves or their friends and family out of trouble. Not one racist person in this town is going to voluntarily step up and say to the FBI that yes we jumped a kid at the fair barn, or yes the DA spoke to black students, or yes this boy was taunting and openly using the N- word in school, Yes I pulled a gun on a group of blacks just because they are black, no more so than I would expect the black students involved to just roll over on each other. That is the main reason why I don’t give much weight to the FBI’s opinion, tell them what they want to hear and they will go away. As far as the jury I am still wanting to know why non of these people were punished for not showing up for jury duty. I am sure there are some good white people in Jena many have spoken up and have not tried to claim this is some little oasis amongst all the big cities. Many have spoken out although I have yet to hear from one black in Jena that has stated these boys are trouble makers and they do not support them. If these people are being silent, I wonder why?. I am prejudice in the fact that I think all white people think that all black people think you owe us something. I am prejudice in the fact that I believe that if I get pulled over by a white male police officer, I may get charged falsely, beaten, or raped. I think that based on the history of what white police officers have done to my ancestors in the past, It is a prejudice that I do not want to have to live with, but feel I must to survive. I have got to go to work now, but I will be back to conclude my post.
Free-
“I am prejudice in the fact that I think all white people think that all black people think you owe us something. I am prejudice in the fact that I believe that if I get pulled over by a white male police officer, I may get charged falsely, beaten, or raped. I think that based on the history of what white police officers have done to my ancestors in the past, It is a prejudice that I do not want to have to live with, but feel I must to survive.”
It is funny that you begin the post by claiming to not be racist then end with this lovely tidbit. If sentiments like those don’t paint you as a racist towards white, I don’t know what does.
Hey family…well I guess reality has set in. I am all into the case involving the 6 young black boys being tried as adults for an assault against a white boy in LA.
This has hit me to the core – to imagine that racism is still prevalent in today society. I remember the case surfacing a couple months ago, but I was too high on our family reunion, that I just forgot about the case until people started speaking out against it.
I was listening to Steve Harvey show this morning and they had one of the young boys father on, and he was telling us the story that led up to the event. So sad to hear that the other students – who happened to be white are being taught racism in this day and time…and the District Attorney who made the statement “I can be your best friend or your worst enemy… I can take away your lives with a stroke of my pen.”
I listen to stories that my father talked about growing up in the south and the things he and his brothers had to endure, and that hurt me to the core. The way black men and women are treated, the way they were beaten and some killed.
I don’t know the all facts that led to this white boy getting jumped on, but the ones that are being discussed leads me to believe that this society only see wrong when a black person is defending themselves. Not all white people are “evil” or racist, but to be taught to hate other races is crazy.
Some of the information I am hearing and you have to read it to believe it: The “white” tree in they school yard, the noose hanging from the tree, the confrontation, the protest, the DA coming to the school for “meeting” with all students, the comments that was made to the black students, the beat down that one of the black boys received – and NO ONE was arrested, the harassment at the convenient store, the fight, recovery and the arrest of the boys -
see: http://www.colorofchange.org/jena/main.html and click full story.
No one can ever say “this will never happen to me” or “why would a person do what they do” but in that split second, we make a decision and we react. There have been many occasions when I have wanted to ‘slap’ a person in their face (color doesn’t matter to me at this moment) for a comment that they make – and by the way, they will never understand how I am feeling, but I control myself and pray….I got to. But I can truly understand how they (the boys)feel.
When you get the opportunity – read the stories written on the web and make a judgment for yourself and then see if you feel the pain that these young boys are feeling and the heartbreak that their parents are feeling.
You sister, cousin and friend
Alicia
Free:
Thank you so much for posting that.
It takes alot to admit your prejudices. I can understand how you feel the way you do. This is how we’re gonna work through society’s racial issues.
I’ll talk more about this later. Just wanted to tell you I appreciate you admitting those things.
To the person from Jena that posted above. I was glad to hear the other side, and I realize you do not consider yourself racist, but I have to say that your prejudice was showing in your reply. I’m sure you “wave” at black people all the time, but to act as if the boys were guilty of something because you think they were sitting under the tree to try and hit on the girls? THis is 2007! Teenage boys hit on teenage girls. And black boys hit on white girls just like white boys do. Would it be inappropriate if the white boys hit on the girls? I don’t think so. The manner in which you made the comment made everyone very aware of how the circumstances are in Jena. It’s like the 60′s all over again. I pray for your town…both the blacks and the white. God Bless.
Ruth:
Actually, that has come up on numerous threads and by quite a few people, to the point that I posted on it here. So From Jena is by far not the first person to comment about it. Go read the archives.
And lay off the personal attacks – that goes for everybody. If you can’t make your argument without a personal attack, you have a weak, pitiful argument and you should have a nice cup of STFU while the grownups comment. Keep it up and you’ll get a “time-out” in the form of a banning. I block the worst of the comments, and it’s very hard to know where to draw the line, but basically if you don’t want it said to you, don’t say it to others. If this continues we’ll go to a registration system which is a pain for everybody.
From Jena: Reports on those 40 statements were very contradictory. I’m looking forward to reading them myself, but unless they’re in perfect agreement, you ought to reconsider the way you characterize them.
Everybody: If you have comments, post them in this Jena 6 open thread.
I think you should all read Cane River and Red River, both by Lalita Tademy. After reading both those books, nothing that has happened in Jena during this whole episode surprises me. It is what it is. Do I think the court system did it’s job, of course they did, to the absoulte letter. Do I think they followed the letter of the law because the perpetrators were black boys? ABSOLUTELY.