This morning, a much-anticipated march and rally on the small town of Jena, Louisiana commenced in defense of the Jena 6 - six black teenagers who were charged with attempted murder in the alleged beating of a white teen who allegedly shouted racial epithets - and reportedly attended a party the same night of the altercation.
The unrest began when several young black students sat underneath a tree designated as
"white tree." The next day, three nooses were hung
from the tree; the superintendent of schools called the nooses "a prank," sparking racial tension and unrest in the majority-white community. Many white-on-black fights were reported, but according to Color of Change, it wasn't until the Jena 6 incident occurred that the District Attorney opted to prosecute.
Today, Rev. Al Sharpton lead the charge to the Jena courthouse, with a crowd that included family members of the charged teens and Martin Luther King III, son of the civil rights leader. Just before heading the march, Sharpton told CBS, "This is the most blatant example of disparity in the justice system that we've seen. You can't have two standards of justice. We didn't bring race into it. Those that hung the nooses brought the race into it."
According to the Jena district attorney, Reed Walters, he didn't charge the white teens who hung the nooses because he could not find statutes in the state law under which to charge them. Of the black teens charged with battery, two were juveniles and four adults. Mychael Bell, a juvenile, was tried as an adult because of a prior criminal charge. His conviction was tossed out by a state appeals court earlier this week. The district attorney denied all accusations of racism.
"It is not and never has been about race," Walters told the AP. "It is
about finding justice for an innocent victim and holding people
accountable for their actions." It is not known if he addressed why the other fights were tolerated.
Concurrent rallies were held throughout the country by those who couldn't make it to Jena, in a national day of action. In Brooklyn, Borough President Marty Markowitz was scheduled to speak in solidarity, along with Hazel Dukes, president of the NY NAACP, and writer/activist Kevin Powell.
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Comments
1.
M@chelle Ozarka says:
listen my fine n*ggas, keep god in your heart and make sure you pray everyday. apoligize, lie, offer a proposal, anything to get out of jail/courtroom.
October 21, 2007 at 6:38 pm
2.
Anthony says:
This case was just another example of injustice,I believe that guy on tv who said in jena if your black they throw the book at you but if your white you get a slap on the wrist.and to mr.mark you need to close your mouth rodney king did not deserve to be beating like that.and everytime something like this happens white folks say we use race as a excuse no we say what we see and they only say that cause they know its' true. I hope oneday issue like this will stop.
October 6, 2007 at 9:23 am
3.
tim says:
why is everybody acting like it is o.k. to have a WHITE tree in the united states anywhere! I am shocked that this kind of blatant racism is still tolerated in the u.s. and why is it o.k. for the white kids to jump the black ones, but when the black kids do it it is national news! I don't get it . Somebody, someday is gonna do more to protect themselves because if he attended a party afterwards then he wasn't hurt as bad as the media is portraying
October 4, 2007 at 4:57 am
4.
Mark says:
How dare anybody defend the actions of six black young men beating up anyone... whether the victim is white, black, yellow, or red... these individuals should be prosecuted to the fullest extent. And stop using the race card... when a group of WHITE police officers beat Rodney King- who deserved everything he got- are to be persecuted for racism, then what is the difference in this case... just because you are black does not mean you are not to be held responsible for your actions. And please don't mistake what kind of person i am- whoever pulled this dumb ass prank in the first place should also be help accountable for their actions... just because they were white does not mean they are free to partake in blatant racism...
October 2, 2007 at 4:42 pm
5.
quantez says:
yeah i jus want 2 say i love my niggas hot boy babbbbbbbbbbbbbbby throw ur d's up
September 28, 2007 at 12:21 pm
6.
Dave D says:
I for one am sick and tired of the racism in this country and Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson are 2 of the biggest racists alive. It is people like them that are the reason racism still exists.
Every time a person of color (I'm not just singling out blacks) does something wrong,they play the race card to get get sympathy. Face it you did the crime do the time and quit crying that the white man enslaved and oppressed you or stole your country from you or whatever else the latest gripe is.
If this had been 5 white kids beating a black kid they would have been out their crying that assault charges were not enough and that we should make an example of them. It doesn't work for me that when whites stand up for their race it is racism but a person of color (any color but white) stands up they are activists. If you want racism to stop all you people of color need to stop perpetuating it.
Take a good hard look at yourselves and than tell me who the racists are.
September 20, 2007 at 9:32 pm
7.
sasha says:
people you must remember it was the same white kid that got beat that just weeks b4 beat one of the jena 6 males.and it was 1 kid that retaliated on the guy that beat him..the media didnt give all the facts...as usual
September 20, 2007 at 4:59 pm
8.
jody says:
I think it is inequality, racist or not. There are three white men from Kutztown, PA who beat a white Kutztown University student to death and they are only be charged with aggravated assault. And yet they murdered the student. These kids in Gena only beat up the white kid. Why are they being charged with attempted murder?????
September 20, 2007 at 3:00 pm
9.
Josephine Barbin says:
We as a people has come a long way. We still are not getting fair justice. At least now we can go into a court system and demand justice. Sometimes we get it and sometime we don't. God is looking at all the wrongs and we are now being heard.
September 20, 2007 at 2:11 pm
10.
crystal charles says:
it is so unfair, the system will never change. hello america there is racism yes race was brought into this the whites hung noses from a tree, what do we call that? they should be charged but of course they wont do that there white! and guess what i am a white female and it's just wrong how they treat our black people. its dead wrong, im glad they kicked his butt!! i am all for the jena 6 i support them all the way.
September 20, 2007 at 2:10 pm
11.
james j mann says:
In Key West we have a statute against hate crime which, I'm sure, would cover hanging nooses.
It is too bad the young men who did the beating were unable to think of something more poetic and less violent.
September 20, 2007 at 2:10 pm
12.
Michael Santizo says:
Thsi is avery delicate issue. The white kids who hung the nooses should have been disciplined and punished for their actions; however, this does not give people the right to bruttaly attack another person. I know they were standing up for their rights, and they very well should have, but resulting to violence is not the answer. wasn't it Dr. king who taught us to result to peaceful protests when dealing with an issue, and not to violence?
September 20, 2007 at 1:05 pm